Was asked about saxophone altissimo a little while back. It turns out the person who asked the question was really talking about the higher notes, especially high F at the top of the normal range. If you’re unsure about what altissimo means or might not be absolutely sure, keep reading.

Question:

Can you tell me the easiest way to play the altissimo register? And some of the fingering for it?
-Edward stone

Response:

Which altissimo notes can you play right now?

-Neal

Edward:

Umm at the moment occasionally an F but It’s not stable nod I can’t hold it for long, and I can’t instantly get it.

Neal:

How are D, Eb, and E?

And what do you understand the word altissimo to mean?

Edward:

My D is ok, but Eb and E I can’t get to work, and it stands for ‘very high’ I believe so it’s a 3rd and 4th octave above the high notes on the alto?

Neal:

The boundary between the high notes and altissimo is starting at F# an octave above the top of the staff.

It seems like you are having trouble with the high notes of the saxophone, Eb, E, F, and F#?

Edward:

Oh ok that makes sense so altissimo starts at the F#?
Yeah I have issues with finding the fingering for the E, Eb, F there seem to be different fingering a for each of them and I’m never sure which to choose.

Neal:

Usually there is a main fingering and an alternate fingering.

Have you looked at the fingering chart I put together?

It goes up to F#.

Edward:

Oh right, thank you! Ill take a look, no I hadn’t seen it.