progress

[Anonymous]

Dazza great to hear someone progressing on the altissimo course – i’m sure Michael & JF can give their comments on how they do it.

If you’re interested in my experience with playing the altissimo G, what works for me is you don’t have to increase the biting (unless you want to bite through the mouthpiece like my instructor) – just open your throat and breathe out using a hell of a lot more diaphragm!

If you open your throat & blow on the back of your hand, you should feel warm air, if you don’t feel warm air then your throat isn’t open – there is absolutely no need to go overboard on biting! a slight increase in biting is normal.

Hope this helps!

[Michael]

Hey Dazza,
Good for you to take those steps forward in the Altissimo course..as you can see by now it takes a lot of work and, at first, it can drive you nuts LOL I possible solution for you to consider are 2 things (that I can think of right off the bat, a quick video demo from you would really help because it helps to see what you’re doing v.s. just reading about it):
1. Not necessarily jumping up in reed size, but in Reed strength. For example, if you’re using a soft reed, a stiffer reed will help get those notes out much better…it can make a huge difference. For example, lets take the Rigotti Gold line of reeds (I’m just using this line of reeds an example for you, although I use them and they are very good). They sell these reeds in 3 “strengths” and that’s light, medium and strong. If you’re using say 2.5 medium like I do, then you may consider going to 2.5 strong. A stiffer reed will help you out a lot v.s. changing reed size. I’m not saying changing reed size won’t work, but most people usually find that more difficult, but we’re all different.
2. If you’re using a size 5 Mouthpiece, you might consider going to a size 6 or so. You’ve got a really nice tone Dazza and I don’t think you would have any problems going to a size 6 or so. For some people who have really nice tones in the normal range of the Sax like you have, using an MP with a small tip opening like a Meyer 5 is tough in the Altissimo range because of the narrow tip opening and that can be one of the reasons why you’re getting that F# to die off…think of it like if someone were to put their hands around us and “choke” us…we can’t breathe! The same thing can happen when going into that Altissimo range with MPs that have narrow tip openings, the reed gets constricted against the narrow tip opening and the air flow is restricted, so like a Meyer size 6 or so with a bigger tip opening can free that up. Again, not saying that this is the solution, but it’s something to definately take into consideration. Try experimenting with going to a stiffer reed first (cheaper alternative) then you can look at going to say a Meyer 6 or so that has a bigger tip opening.

[William Cingolani]

The Altissimo is out of my reach for now. I’m satisfied if I can play the high notes D, E flat, E, F, and F Sharp in tune and in time with the rest of the music.

[Anonymous]

Don’t give up William 10 mins a day on Johnny’s Altissimo course over a period of months should do the trick.

You can actually play altissimo on any mouthpiece size with any reed, for me a yamaha 4c with a nunber 1.5 reed worked with altissimo G, but like Michael says, some setups are a lot easier to play altissimo. But basically, regardless of the mouthpiece, if you use a soft soggy reed, you’ll just end up biting a lot more.

[jake]

I also have troubles with those overtones. I can get out the low Bb, mid Bb, F and the 3rd Bb but that’s it. That goes for the same on the B and C overtones as well. I have to admit I don’t spend as much time trying these overtones as I would like but that’s all I can get for now.
I still struggle with getting the high F# (3rd f#) out cleanly consistently. Some days are def better than others. When I do hit it, it is in tune generally but its not an automatic for me yet. This goes for the 3 different fingerings as well. The alt A seems to be the easiest alt note for me. Once I hit the A I then can grab the B, Bb, C, and C# using the palm keys. The alt G and G# tend to be harder for me.
For practice I tend to start with overtones and do various exercises like the arpeggios that end with an octave altissimo note and arpeggios that end on the altissimo notes. I def don’t have the success Michael has but he has dedicated more time to this area for sure. I feel Johnny has given us the tools but it just takes time and dedication to get there. I use a metal high baffle mp on my tenor with a tip opening of around .110 and I use rigotti gold 2.5 medium reeds. I also experiment with a berg metal .120 mp as well. I also have tried java 2.5, java 3’s, and various rico selects reeds and they all have the same results for me. I feel most comfortable with the rigotti gold 2.5 reeds for sure, but they are also the reeds I primarily use. Since the results are the same on all the setups, I am under the assumption that the problem lies within me. So I will be keeping at it for sure.

[Michael]

Jake got me hooked on the Rigotti Gold Reeds about a year ago and I’ve been using them every since then…they’re fantastic reeds. He sent me some in the mail so that I could sample them before buying a box; I’m eternally in Jake’s debt for those reeds 🙂 Just about every single one of them play great straight out of the box, once in a while you’ll find one that needs some adjusting to it. I really love the Java Greens too, absolutely. With the Rigotti Golds, they sound “richer” than the Javas. There’s a new tool that came out on the market not too long ago called “The Reed Geek” that helps adjust your reeds, it’s been getting great reviews from many players–not just professional players who may “endorse” something only to turn around and use something else–we’ve all heard of those stories of players who were endorsed my Yamaha Saxophones, but when it came time to record they pulled out the Selmer instead LOL
In terms of how much time I spent on those lessons….we’re talking hours on end of practice and it required sacrifices on my part. I don’t know..maybe I spent “too much” time on practicing it all given the fact I have a family LOL But I wanted it really badly and my wife/kids understood that and supported it…my wife especially knows it was a dream of mine to learn to play a Saxophone…not saying I’m any good at it LOL I still “crash and burn’ or screw up on video sometimes as you’ve seen; it’s all part of learning and it can be discouraging. While working on Johnny’s Altissimo course, I can remember at least 3 parties/gatherings that my family and I were invited to and I skipped those gatherings because practice was on my agenda instead. During my days off from work, I spent many, many hours practicing. I skipped fishing trips that I normally take because I have worked as a pro fly fishing guide but still do it for fun, and that included skipping fishing trips that I normally take with good friends. My friends were starting to wonder what’s wrong with me..Michael skipping fishing trips?!? LOL I just explained to them what I was doing and would share a video with them that I posted here on Johnny’s blog and they were totally cool about it and supported it 100% too. I’m by no means anti-social..no way! I would be lying if I were to say there’s times I didn’t feel discouraged, asking myself questions like “why am I putting myself through this” when I could be out on the river catching beautiful brown trout instead, etc….DON’T GIVE UP GUYS!!! If I did it, so can you! Like Jake said, Johnny has given us all the tools. When I nailed the audition a few weeks back…you should have seen the look on the people’s face who were doing the selecting to hear those high notes being played only 5 feet from their faces…it’s really left an Impression on me to say the least 🙂 The other guys were playing smooth jazz far, far better than I am capable of right now, but playing simple Blues licks/riffs with those high-screaming notes did the job 🙂 It’s one thing to record something that has Altissimo notes in it…it’s another to hear it/see it with your own eyes because we all know recording is kind of a subjective thing given the quality of our recording equipment that we’re using. Keep at it guys, don’t give up…the rewards far outweigh anything else and it’s just an awesome feeling 🙂

[john]

Good stuff guys… with persistent problems sometimes experimenting with other reeds or even mouthpieces can help solve a problem and get you some advancement.
It’s an individual decision tho cause I don’t know how much work you’re putting into it. the overtone exercises take time and require much experimenting as I say in the lessons with oral cavity, embouchure, throat and air support. I mean, you can’t spend only a week or 2 and if you can’t hit the whole overtone series start buying all sorts of new equipment. But after several months of real work at it I would definately try other reeds and mp’s.

[jake]

After reading through these entries again, I threw on a rico select jazz 2H reed and that high F# was more consistent (tenor sax). I love the sound the riggotis generate though. These rico select sound so bland and plain in comparison. Just ordered me up a box of rigotti gold 2.5 strong reeds (using 2.5 mediums now). Fingers are crossed that these will be a step in rite direction. I don’t think I’m read to jump reed sizes yet. Thanks for all the valuable input guys. Will keep ya posted!!

[Michael]

You got me hooked on those Rigotti Reeds Jake, very nice reeds to say the least. With you playing Bari Sax, getting them in 2.5 strong seems to make a lot of sense, I don’t think you should have a problem with a strong grade…it’s a known fact that a stiffer reed can help you really hit those high notes….who knows, it may even help you get a good Altissimo G too. I’ve never tried the Rico Jazz Select Reeds but have heard good thing about them. Since I started using the Rigotti Reeds, I havene’t even thought about trying them though LOL Seems like with so many things there’s a “trade off”. I’ve been using a lot more lately Johnny’s fingering position No.1 for Altissimo G now v.s. No.2 because, on my Saxophone, the intonation is better. I can hit Alt.G with fingering position No.2 of course, but the intonation on my Trevor James is better with fingering position No.1, so I’m using it more these days. But on my Selmer Bundy, fingering position No.2 is better. Funny thing I discovered by accident is the following: Try fingering high F# with the fingering position No.2 in Johnny’s course….if your sax has the high f# key on the side, add that to the high F# position no.2 and it instantly becomes Altissimo G–comes out pretty clear too.

[Anonymous]

i’m glad i’ve only got one saxophone, trying to remember different altissimo finger positions for different sax’s would really cheese me off.

[Author]

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