I play tenor, but will definitely apply this lesson! I believe I’ve been playing in the AHHH position even on high notes which has been a struggle. Great lesson Paul, gonna subscribe.
Great lesson, Paul. Thanks. I figured all these extra but seemingly useless keys on my sax must have a purpose, or the makers would not have put them there. Now I have to start using them!
Excellent! Your altissimo video is the only one I've seen which talked about the ee/ah tongue position. The three others I watched didn't, and I was completely unable to play anything beyond high D reliably. With the the ee position you taught me, I can finally add high F to my toolbox.
Paul, I watched all the videos from all the masters here on YT, and did learn many things.....however, for the life of me I couldn't get any note higher than the D with the Octave key....until now - after watching your video. You nailed it, sir! Thanks so much! The Eeee embouchure for higher notes, and the Aaaa embouchure for the lower/regular notes put me on the right track. Of course my intonation still leaves much to be desired,, but I hope to iron that out....with practice. Just received my new Jean Paul Alto 400 - 2 days ago, and 'am trying to learn....in my 60s. God bless! Greetings from Toronto.
Hi Prem Menon, that's fantastic, I'm so glad I could help you with that. Spread the word. :) Hey that's exciting you've got a new sax coming! I hope it plays great for you. Keep up the good work! I will be getting back to filming and uploading new videos soon as I can. I currently dont have a space to film in as my daughter has moved back home for a while. 😊 good ol dad! 😂 Anyway thanks for the comment and feedback, much appreciated!
I just realised that the reason why my D has sounded so wrong in On Wisconsin is because my knuckle's been hitting the 2nd key, instead of the first. Rookie mistake, but it slipped my eye- thanks a million, guy!
Thanks so much for the great video Paul, it's been a massive help! I'm finding that the right thumb under the support hook is barely clinging on when using the right palm key for the high E/F/F sharp - do you find this also or have any advice for a solid hand position?
Great video Sir. Thanks for sharing. Tell me something though. When switching from tenor to alto do u slightly change your embouchure? When I switch from tenor to alto my alto sounds kind of flat especially the higher notes?
I do have a slightly different embouchure on the two. The different size mouthpieces need it. I have fairly similar style mouthpieces on both but are different makes and different size tip openings etc... Saxophones aren't the best instruments for being in tune with themselves (top octave s bottom octave etc) so if you have your tuning in right for one instrument it might need a different approach on the other instrument. I would do a bit of experimenting to see which instrument does what and then try and practice in some tuning exercises to try and train the embouchure to work slightly differently, where needed, with each sax.
thanks for teaching me how to locate the buttons on the saxophone and telling me how to put each induvidual finger on them i dont know how to read a fingering chart or try it myself i need ur guidance through every single little step
@@deltashot5608 you know it's really important to get the right side key on the right knuckle and part of the hand. Which isn't written on fingering charts. Thanks for exposing your attitude chum! ;)
Ps if you'd bother reading any of the comments instead of just making assumptions you'd see that this style of simple visual lesson is really helpful to a lot of people. Don't let that heart full of poison and hate ruin you before it's too late, will you friend.
This is just what I needed to know as I’m teaching myself sax (as my 12th instrument lol). I’m not sure whether to get a tenor or an alto. I love jazz but I also want to play Balkan and Middle Eastern music. Is alto better for that repertoire?
To be honest i'm not entirely sure. I've seen both instruments used in that context but not sure about repertoire as that genre isn't my speciality. I would always recommend to people who are choosing between alto or tenor, to find players that they love listening to and would like to emulate. whoever you are most inspired by, pick the sax they play. The most important thing is to stay motivated to put the time in and being inspired by what you listen to is great motivation. :)
Just the excellent lesson I needed Paul, for over 10 months I've struggled on high e f and f sharp on alto . I have just parted with my tutor of over 2 years as it wasn't happening . The tutor went against every bit of advice that's out there regarding high notes on alto .They said I should not be saying eee on high notes but ahh throughout the entite range and saying eeee is only for beginners in order to initially reach the top range . I personally find their advice contradictory and I seem to get a better overall sound by saying eee on high notes like you recommend .Can you comment on this plus can you tell me if my change over point from ahh to eee with my mouth shape is correct eg when I do try going from the ahh to eee shape I use the crossover point saying eeee when I use high palm keys. Regards Alan
Hi Eva. Have you checked you're using the correct fingering? D flat is the same as C Sharp, so no fingers, just the octave key. And D is the octave key and first palm key on the left hand. Check that the octave key is lifting the octave mechanism on the neck/crook of the sax. If all that is in place then it will likely be down to either your emboucure or possibly needing a new or stronger strength reed. For the emboucure check the tips I give in the video. For the reed put on a new reed the strength you normally use and see of that helps, if not, try one half strength stronger. Let me know how you get on...good luck. :)
Hey Paul. Great work you're doing with these lessons. I'm trying to learn the saxophone but would like to know if I learn this way with this fingering if I can be able to play with other instrumentalists or I can only play solo?
Hi Chitalu! Thanks for the comment. :) This is the correct fingering and also note names. However I think what you might be referring to is the transposition of the instrument. (Alto sax is in Eb and piano and guitar etc are in C) Its a chore, but us alto players need to remember we play a minor 3rd below (or major 6th above). So basically when a piano plays their C natural, we have to play our A natural to play the same sounding notes. When a piano plays an Eb we play our C natural. (That's why they say alto sax is in Eb). If reading music, you either need to learn to sight transpose, or which is far easier, use the correct Eb alto sax part, and the other instrument use the correct part for their instrument. :) hope that helps.
@@PaulHaywood alright. Thanks for the reply. I can only sight read at the moment, I can't play music be ear. So let's say, for example I join a band , with people that play guitars, percussion and piano . And I'm told the song is in a certain key. Do I have to transpose the notes to be in harmony with them or I play the notes as is on the saxophone?
Oh and which one would make playing with others easier For me as a beginner? Learning the saxophone in the already transposed fingering or learning it in its original fingering?
@@Chitalu_Banda Always learn the original saxophone fingering first. When I was first learning I wrote out a little chart of the 12 chromatic notes. 2 rows next to each other, one row for saxophone and one row for concert pitch (piano guitar etc). Then I could just refer to that in any situations playing with others. :)
Alright, thanks Paul. Last question. Do you have any videos on learning to play saxophone by ear? If not do you have any tips and tricks that could help with that, or a RUclips channel you could point me to?
Hi, if you're asking what a ligature is in general it's the part that holds the reed to the mouthpiece. if you're wondering what ligature i'm using: it's a "rovner" for alto metal mouthpieces. simple but effective.
Hi Paul, Can you Let me know if by replacing the “neck” of my Yamaha Intermediate Alto, would that allow me to hit my Altissimo notes? I am curious to know if you recommend a Selmer neck and it that could allow me to hit my Altissimo range? : )
Hi Mark, I would say that the mouthpiece is probably the first thing to consider experimenting with. I have found different mouthpieces have wildly varying abilities for altissimo production. Also i found different reeds also can be more easy for altissimo. An extreme case was the legere signature synthetic reeds i used for a while. They happily screamed away.
@@PaulHaywood Hi, I been told that certain things also have to happen in your mouth, aside from the altissimo fingers. Can you further describe as best you can, please?
dan madsen Hi Dan. Im sure i could help. Are you looking to commision for me to create a video tutorial for the channel on a particular piece or to have an online one to one session? Also which piece is it? :)
Eugene Mitchell Hi Eugene. Sorry if I was a bit quick with showing the fingerings. Something you can do is slow the video down. On laptop or desktop you can click the gear icon and change play speed settings , and on mobile devices you can hit pause and then click the three dots in the top right hand corner, there you'll find the same "play speed" settings. (Ps it makes me sound like I'm drunk when it's slowed down 🤣🤣) hope that helps. 👍🎷
Say AAH EEE AAH EEE back and forth and notice that to make the change of sound you have to move your tongue. Some people think it's because of the lips getting wider but you can keep your lips in the same position and still say AHH EEE AAH EEE, but you have to change the shape and position of the tongue. That's what i'm refering to here. :)
Hi! I’m currently playing a piece where I have high D#. I can play it legato but when it’s short and forte, nothing comes out. Can anyone help, please?
It could be that when you tongue the note you are sealing the mouthpiece by squeezing your emboucure too much which would stop the note. to remedy this try squeezing the embouchure less and rely on the "eee" tongue position to keep the note in tune. The other possibility is that when you tongue the note you are not getting your tongue back away from the reed and into the "eee" position quickly enough. to fix this, focus on what your tongue is doing immediately after you tongue the note. try and get it back to the correct position asap. Perhaps check out my video on correct tonguing just to double check thats all in order. ruclips.net/video/Xf4beX1IWgc/видео.html Really hope that helps. thanks for the comment!
If you mean above the high F and F# then the answer is yes. This is called the altissimo register and can be quite difficult. It takes most players a long time to be succesful and much much longer to master it, because you are effectively playing harmonics on lower notes of the saxophone forced into higher notes by the precise use of embouchure, tongue position and mouth cavity. The tips in this video about the tongue position will seriously help with altissimo though. good luck!
Hey Paul. I have a problem biting when i reach high notes. Tightening my embouchure. I try to relax, but I lose control after just a few minutes, if i play up high for a several measures. Low notes are fine. What advise can you give to make this problem go away? I do practice long tones as a warm up. Also, high C# --- since there are so few fingers holding the sax, it gets wobbly and out of control sometimes. Thank you for another great video!!!
Heya DC. This is something I have personal experience struggling with and eventually finding a fix for. I've nearly finished the script for a video I'll be recording next week. It's quite in depth so a bit long to explain here. I'll get it posted up soon as I can. A little insight before that though... I found my lip was slightly too far over my teeth, which puts half of the embouchure muscles in a weak position. I had to pout a bit more and have less lip rolled over my bottom teeth, as well as do lots of restrengthening work to retrain the muscles to be strong in that position. Lots of detail in the upcoming video. :)
I can get a decent tone on these notes but feel like the instrument is falling out of my hands when I play them. Does anyone use the low c key to stabilize?
Keep working at it! the mouthpiece will only amplify the skills you already have. You can do pretty much anything on a 4c, but it gets restricting at a certain level of experience. Hope this helped
(i'm sorry for being the 70th comment, i ruined it) i have to play high E for my region band audition. i can get the note out just fine but it's *super* sharp most the time, when i use a lot of air support its still a little sharp. i'm tuning my F# a little flat and lipping everything else up and it's still sharp. am i doing something wrong?
If your High E is coming out sharp you likely need to add less "squeeze" on the mouthpiece and/or lower your tongue position slightly from "eee" sound position towards "aah" sound position. Also just double check your not catching any other keys that might raise the pitch.
I have a problem. I just got my octave key fixed because I could not play a note higher than a G. After I got it fixed I noticed my tone for a high c sounded airy and very hard to blow and tongue(I didn’t get it fixed till after a month I found this out). Can anyone help?
I have a problem when I play my sax, after a while me bottom lip starts to badly hurt after playing for about 30min-hour is there something I’m doing wrong and is there something I can fix to help this problem and also will how tight my ligature is effect my sound?
try with different reeds too in case youve got a duff one. Some reeds can just be really useless at high notes making it much harder work than on others.
@@PaulHaywood update! I managed to do it a couple minutes before I hit the record button for the project! This video definitely helped a lot in finding my mistake which was not having a better mouth posture!
I'm putting my tongue in both the ahh and e position, but absolutely nothing changes in the sound. If anything, It gets even flatter. Does anyone know why this is happening?
@@erinmassey1135 ok, so the octave mechanism changes when you go above G# (A and up) from midle D to G# the octave key opens an octave hole on the side of the sax (usually 2-3 inches above the octave key and slightly to the right. When you play a high A this mechanism changes and should then open the octave hole on the top of the neck of the sax. It's possible there is something wrong with the switch to this mechanism, have a look and see if anything is stuck, or springs broken. ALso make sure the rod that joins the mechanism from the body of the sax to the neck/crook. Can you play any high notes above A? is it only A that doesnt work? IS it that you are playing in the upper octave and when you reach the A it jumps back down to middle A without you wanting it to? Let me know, we'll get to the bottom of it! :)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
May i recommend to show the key notes on the screen? Thank you
Will do next time! :)
this
I play tenor, but will definitely apply this lesson! I believe I’ve been playing in the AHHH position even on high notes which has been a struggle. Great lesson Paul, gonna subscribe.
Great lesson, I've been struggling with high e and f for about a month now, hopefully these techniques will help me progress, thanks Paul :-)
Great lesson, Paul. Thanks. I figured all these extra but seemingly useless keys on my sax must have a purpose, or the makers would not have put them there. Now I have to start using them!
Alexo1954 stydysyayszdyzyz
Thank you man I'm just starting to learn Saxophone and I can't find a video anywhere about what every single key does so this helped a lot
Excellent! Your altissimo video is the only one I've seen which talked about the ee/ah tongue position. The three others I watched didn't, and I was completely unable to play anything beyond high D reliably. With the the ee position you taught me, I can finally add high F to my toolbox.
Paul, I watched all the videos from all the masters here on YT, and did learn many things.....however, for the life of me I couldn't get any note higher than the D with the Octave key....until now - after watching your video. You nailed it, sir! Thanks so much!
The Eeee embouchure for higher notes, and the Aaaa embouchure for the lower/regular notes put me on the right track. Of course my intonation still leaves much to be desired,, but I hope to iron that out....with practice.
Just received my new Jean Paul Alto 400 - 2 days ago, and 'am trying to learn....in my 60s.
God bless!
Greetings from Toronto.
Hi Prem Menon, that's fantastic, I'm so glad I could help you with that. Spread the word. :)
Hey that's exciting you've got a new sax coming! I hope it plays great for you. Keep up the good work! I will be getting back to filming and uploading new videos soon as I can. I currently dont have a space to film in as my daughter has moved back home for a while. 😊 good ol dad! 😂
Anyway thanks for the comment and feedback, much appreciated!
I appreciate your time.
Sir from India🇮🇳 thanks🙏🙇
My high notes sound like a cry for help
XD haha, an amazing description! Hey Larry, i really hope this video can help a bit with that!
Dont worry Larry you're not alone lol
haha - SAME!
Same
Y’all get sound
I just realised that the reason why my D has sounded so wrong in On Wisconsin is because my knuckle's been hitting the 2nd key, instead of the first. Rookie mistake, but it slipped my eye- thanks a million, guy!
Awesome, i'm so glad i could help! :D
Good content Herr Paul!
Excellent explanation brother.
Awesome video! This really helped my understanding!
Hey, that's great to know. Thanks for cthe comment Raghava! :)
thanks Paul , your this lesson was very helpful
Thanks Paul really helped me
love this guy's lessons!
Hey Nick, thanks man! Great to have you as a viewer! :)
Thank you for the lessons......
That's help me a lot....
You are doing a great job
Hi Catalin, your welcome. really glad there helpful. Thanks for watching and for the nice comment. :D
Thanks so much for the great video Paul, it's been a massive help! I'm finding that the right thumb under the support hook is barely clinging on when using the right palm key for the high E/F/F sharp - do you find this also or have any advice for a solid hand position?
Will apply this EE thing first thing in the morning. Been doing it all wrong
Thanks Poul
Good tips my friend. That high G is a monster. I cant get that one yet.
Thank you so much for your information
Great video lesson
Super helpful
Can’t wait for tomorrow
thank you bro
Thanks Paul! Definitly gonna try those tuning tips. Can you do also a video on the low notes? Everything below a D just won't get out properly
Blow hot air in the instrument
lots of air with open relaxed embochure
Great video Sir. Thanks for sharing. Tell me something though. When switching from tenor to alto do u slightly change your embouchure? When I switch from tenor to alto my alto sounds kind of flat especially the higher notes?
I do have a slightly different embouchure on the two. The different size mouthpieces need it. I have fairly similar style mouthpieces on both but are different makes and different size tip openings etc... Saxophones aren't the best instruments for being in tune with themselves (top octave s bottom octave etc) so if you have your tuning in right for one instrument it might need a different approach on the other instrument. I would do a bit of experimenting to see which instrument does what and then try and practice in some tuning exercises to try and train the embouchure to work slightly differently, where needed, with each sax.
Thank you.
can you have the notes you're pressing show up when pressing.
We easily learn if you use a diagram.
Thanks
You are a very talented man
Thanks Paul I will try
Thanks!!!
thanks for teaching me how to locate the buttons on the saxophone and telling me how to put each induvidual finger on them i dont know how to read a fingering chart or try it myself i need ur guidance through every single little step
Hi Dare, your welcome! I'm so glad this video was helpful to you! :)
@@PaulHaywood i would feel so sorry for the band students whos teacher plays your videos for them before letting them play their instrument
@@deltashot5608 you know it's really important to get the right side key on the right knuckle and part of the hand. Which isn't written on fingering charts. Thanks for exposing your attitude chum! ;)
Ps if you'd bother reading any of the comments instead of just making assumptions you'd see that this style of simple visual lesson is really helpful to a lot of people. Don't let that heart full of poison and hate ruin you before it's too late, will you friend.
@@PaulHaywood no that just means this comment section is full of boomers
This is just what I needed to know as I’m teaching myself sax (as my 12th instrument lol). I’m not sure whether to get a tenor or an alto. I love jazz but I also want to play Balkan and Middle Eastern music. Is alto better for that repertoire?
To be honest i'm not entirely sure. I've seen both instruments used in that context but not sure about repertoire as that genre isn't my speciality. I would always recommend to people who are choosing between alto or tenor, to find players that they love listening to and would like to emulate. whoever you are most inspired by, pick the sax they play. The most important thing is to stay motivated to put the time in and being inspired by what you listen to is great motivation. :)
Alto definetly
Just the excellent lesson I needed Paul, for over 10 months I've struggled on high e f and f sharp on alto . I have just parted with my tutor of over 2 years as it wasn't happening . The tutor went against every bit of advice that's out there regarding high notes on alto .They said I should not be saying eee on high notes but ahh throughout the entite range and saying eeee is only for beginners in order to initially reach the top range . I personally find their advice contradictory and I seem to get a better overall sound by saying eee on high notes like you recommend .Can you comment on this plus can you tell me if my change over point from ahh to eee with my mouth shape is correct eg when I do try going from the ahh to eee shape I use the crossover point saying eeee when I use high palm keys. Regards Alan
How do you get a d flat (high ) and a d? To come out? It Just sounds horrible and I need to play it by Wednesday Jan 2nd and I can’t play it !
Hi Eva. Have you checked you're using the correct fingering? D flat is the same as C Sharp, so no fingers, just the octave key. And D is the octave key and first palm key on the left hand. Check that the octave key is lifting the octave mechanism on the neck/crook of the sax. If all that is in place then it will likely be down to either your emboucure or possibly needing a new or stronger strength reed. For the emboucure check the tips I give in the video. For the reed put on a new reed the strength you normally use and see of that helps, if not, try one half strength stronger. Let me know how you get on...good luck. :)
Paul Haywood okay thanks I have got the keys right ! I’ll tell you how it goes Tomorrow when I try it out then
High keys tone Does it depends as well to mouth piece to produce a growl octave sound pitch?
Hey Paul. Great work you're doing with these lessons. I'm trying to learn the saxophone but would like to know if I learn this way with this fingering if I can be able to play with other instrumentalists or I can only play solo?
Hi Chitalu! Thanks for the comment. :)
This is the correct fingering and also note names. However I think what you might be referring to is the transposition of the instrument. (Alto sax is in Eb and piano and guitar etc are in C) Its a chore, but us alto players need to remember we play a minor 3rd below (or major 6th above). So basically when a piano plays their C natural, we have to play our A natural to play the same sounding notes. When a piano plays an Eb we play our C natural. (That's why they say alto sax is in Eb).
If reading music, you either need to learn to sight transpose, or which is far easier, use the correct Eb alto sax part, and the other instrument use the correct part for their instrument. :) hope that helps.
@@PaulHaywood alright. Thanks for the reply. I can only sight read at the moment, I can't play music be ear. So let's say, for example I join a band , with people that play guitars, percussion and piano . And I'm told the song is in a certain key. Do I have to transpose the notes to be in harmony with them or I play the notes as is on the saxophone?
Oh and which one would make playing with others easier For me as a beginner?
Learning the saxophone in the already transposed fingering or learning it in its original fingering?
@@Chitalu_Banda Always learn the original saxophone fingering first. When I was first learning I wrote out a little chart of the 12 chromatic notes. 2 rows next to each other, one row for saxophone and one row for concert pitch (piano guitar etc). Then I could just refer to that in any situations playing with others. :)
Alright, thanks Paul. Last question. Do you have any videos on learning to play saxophone by ear?
If not do you have any tips and tricks that could help with that, or a RUclips channel you could point me to?
In alto sax. If we press which keys, the octave crook key does not go up?
Paul
What is the ligature ???
TKS
Hi, if you're asking what a ligature is in general it's the part that holds the reed to the mouthpiece. if you're wondering what ligature i'm using: it's a "rovner" for alto metal mouthpieces. simple but effective.
Hey Paul...My sax don't have the F# key....how is it played with a sax that doesn't have that key? Tks
thanks
Hi Paul, Can you Let me know if by replacing the “neck” of my Yamaha Intermediate Alto, would that allow me to hit my Altissimo notes? I am curious to know if you recommend a Selmer neck and it that could allow me to hit my Altissimo range? : )
Hi Mark, I would say that the mouthpiece is probably the first thing to consider experimenting with. I have found different mouthpieces have wildly varying abilities for altissimo production.
Also i found different reeds also can be more easy for altissimo. An extreme case was the legere signature synthetic reeds i used for a while. They happily screamed away.
@@PaulHaywood Hi, I been told that certain things also have to happen in your mouth, aside from the altissimo fingers. Can you further describe as best you can, please?
非常感谢，受益良多！
别客气。我很高兴听到这个消息。
Excellent video, nice sound, what ligature do you use?
nice one keep it up Sir
Thanks very much! lots more coming soon! :D
Please are there any high keys for G and G#?
Altissimo
is there a way to play f# without the key altissimo key
Play F with the palm keys or front F and C key (all with octave key) and add the side Bb trill key.
hi paul could you help me play a particular track? how much do you charge for a tutorial?
dan madsen Hi Dan. Im sure i could help. Are you looking to commision for me to create a video tutorial for the channel on a particular piece or to have an online one to one session? Also which piece is it? :)
I am about to get a new saxophone
i have a test tomorrow and i have to play a high d and i cant 😭
Oof
Oh No!! How did the test go?!
i cant either omg
thank u
Eli just would like to see you show the high keys a bit slower..but I will try to keep stoping the v
Eugene Mitchell Hi Eugene. Sorry if I was a bit quick with showing the fingerings. Something you can do is slow the video down. On laptop or desktop you can click the gear icon and change play speed settings , and on mobile devices you can hit pause and then click the three dots in the top right hand corner, there you'll find the same "play speed" settings. (Ps it makes me sound like I'm drunk when it's slowed down 🤣🤣) hope that helps. 👍🎷
What do you mean moving your tongue R and E?
ItsToasty that’s just the sound for when you lift your toung up and down on your reed
Say AAH EEE AAH EEE back and forth and notice that to make the change of sound you have to move your tongue. Some people think it's because of the lips getting wider but you can keep your lips in the same position and still say AHH EEE AAH EEE, but you have to change the shape and position of the tongue. That's what i'm refering to here. :)
Hi! I’m currently playing a piece where I have high D#. I can play it legato but when it’s short and forte, nothing comes out. Can anyone help, please?
It could be that when you tongue the note you are sealing the mouthpiece by squeezing your emboucure too much which would stop the note. to remedy this try squeezing the embouchure less and rely on the "eee" tongue position to keep the note in tune.
The other possibility is that when you tongue the note you are not getting your tongue back away from the reed and into the "eee" position quickly enough. to fix this, focus on what your tongue is doing immediately after you tongue the note. try and get it back to the correct position asap.
Perhaps check out my video on correct tonguing just to double check thats all in order. ruclips.net/video/Xf4beX1IWgc/видео.html
Really hope that helps.
thanks for the comment!
@@PaulHaywood Thank you so much! All of that has really helped.
My 4c yam. Gives a poor result, and like lucky Ross. May try a different m.p. but saying that, your vids as always give umpf thanks.
Is it possible to play high G , A , B.
If you mean above the high F and F# then the answer is yes. This is called the altissimo register and can be quite difficult. It takes most players a long time to be succesful and much much longer to master it, because you are effectively playing harmonics on lower notes of the saxophone forced into higher notes by the precise use of embouchure, tongue position and mouth cavity. The tips in this video about the tongue position will seriously help with altissimo though. good luck!
Nice....😎
Hey Paul. I have a problem biting when i reach high notes. Tightening my embouchure. I try to relax, but I lose control after just a few minutes, if i play up high for a several measures. Low notes are fine. What advise can you give to make this problem go away? I do practice long tones as a warm up.
Also, high C# --- since there are so few fingers holding the sax, it gets wobbly and out of control sometimes.
Thank you for another great video!!!
Heya DC. This is something I have personal experience struggling with and eventually finding a fix for. I've nearly finished the script for a video I'll be recording next week. It's quite in depth so a bit long to explain here. I'll get it posted up soon as I can. A little insight before that though... I found my lip was slightly too far over my teeth, which puts half of the embouchure muscles in a weak position. I had to pout a bit more and have less lip rolled over my bottom teeth, as well as do lots of restrengthening work to retrain the muscles to be strong in that position. Lots of detail in the upcoming video. :)
Pls help for play altismo notes
I can get a decent tone on these notes but feel like the instrument is falling out of my hands when I play them. Does anyone use the low c key to stabilize?
Hey man, great tips! I love your vids, I love your alto sound! What mouthpiece are you using?
Hi Jacob. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching too. Really glad you like the videos. I'm using a beechler Bellite number 6.
I still cant get High F#, should I change my mouthpiece (Yamaha 4C) to get altissimo?
Keep working at it! the mouthpiece will only amplify the skills you already have. You can do pretty much anything on a 4c, but it gets restricting at a certain level of experience. Hope this helped
Hello sir, iam ramnath
Iam saxophonist
Which is brand best alto saxophone?
I literally can’t play high a or above it is so out of tune and I’ve tried alternate fingerings it’s not that much better😭
alitissimo A? because an A just above the staff should be easy to play
My tone is pretty good. I just don't know where to put my fingers for a high E. I can't really see what you're doing. Thanks
(i'm sorry for being the 70th comment, i ruined it)
i have to play high E for my region band audition. i can get the note out just fine but it's *super* sharp most the time, when i use a lot of air support its still a little sharp. i'm tuning my F# a little flat and lipping everything else up and it's still sharp. am i doing something wrong?
If your High E is coming out sharp you likely need to add less "squeeze" on the mouthpiece and/or lower your tongue position slightly from "eee" sound position towards "aah" sound position. Also just double check your not catching any other keys that might raise the pitch.
@@PaulHaywood ok, thank you! i'll work on that
I have a problem. I just got my octave key fixed because I could not play a note higher than a G. After I got it fixed I noticed my tone for a high c sounded airy and very hard to blow and tongue(I didn’t get it fixed till after a month I found this out). Can anyone help?
Would have liked to see the notes
I have a problem when I play my sax, after a while me bottom lip starts to badly hurt after playing for about 30min-hour is there something I’m doing wrong and is there something I can fix to help this problem and also will how tight my ligature is effect my sound?
play more often, you will get used to it.
Mark Fernandez , well I have been playing in school for 5 years
how often do you practice at home?
Mark Fernandez not enough
that should help build up your chops, ive been practicing around 30 mins a day and can go for around 4-5 hours before i really feel it
I have a video recording to do for a concert on “Race against Time” and I was able to do a high D before but I suddenly can’t at all so I’m here 😭
try with different reeds too in case youve got a duff one. Some reeds can just be really useless at high notes making it much harder work than on others.
@@PaulHaywood update! I managed to do it a couple minutes before I hit the record button for the project! This video definitely helped a lot in finding my mistake which was not having a better mouth posture!
I'm putting my tongue in both the ahh and e position, but absolutely nothing changes in the sound. If anything, It gets even flatter. Does anyone know why this is happening?
Try moving from EE to OR and back. See if that works any better.
@@PaulHaywood yes this seems to work better, thanks for the tips
Uhh my sax doesnt have that button at 3:37
BlueyJuey thats not normal
@@memefortheboys7078 i thought my saxophone wasn't normal because im the only one in mt section who has that key
Older saxaphones don't have the F# key. You can get a F# out of playing the front F key with the Bb key. That was the original was to play F#.
You got a pretty old sax mate
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I was waiting for the ways to get a good tone in the high notes but didn’t see or hear it the coverage.
did you watch any of the second half of the video? tuning and tone starts from 4minutes 10 seconds. I hope that helps
Sir how play to saxaphone high notes in hindi language pls pls sir
I’m watching this because my high f sounds like a C sharp without me building up to it (like g a b c d e and then high f)
I cant play a high A for some reason
A with the octave key on? (You dont mean altissimo A right?)
@@PaulHaywood Yes octave key
@@erinmassey1135 ok, so the octave mechanism changes when you go above G# (A and up) from midle D to G# the octave key opens an octave hole on the side of the sax (usually 2-3 inches above the octave key and slightly to the right. When you play a high A this mechanism changes and should then open the octave hole on the top of the neck of the sax. It's possible there is something wrong with the switch to this mechanism, have a look and see if anything is stuck, or springs broken. ALso make sure the rod that joins the mechanism from the body of the sax to the neck/crook.
Can you play any high notes above A? is it only A that doesnt work?
IS it that you are playing in the upper octave and when you reach the A it jumps back down to middle A without you wanting it to?
Let me know, we'll get to the bottom of it! :)
@@PaulHaywood my octave key is broken
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Please show the notes on the screen
i dont get it. my note is a half note lower than your note with only the octave key on and no other keys on
so you cant do fsharp if you dont have that key? sorry noob w sax
Thanks!
Hi Matt, youre welcome. Thanks ever so much, I really appreciate the support.