Alternate Fingering: High Notes

This week, we'll shortly explore alternate fingering for notes in the higher range. Alternate fingerings have the purpose of making things easier for us to perform and extending our technical ability. Some alternate fingerings serve the purpose of changing the timber of a certain note. The easiest way to demonstrate this is to play your left palm high "D" without the octave key to alternatively play middle "D". This "D" is more "open" the regular fingering for this note. Try playing low "C#" with the octave key in order to play middle "C#". This produces a "C#" that has a more "closed" sound rather than regular open C# fingering.

I'd like to present two sets of alternate fingerings here that are used to enhance your technique for playing high "E", "F" and "F#".

The first set involves using the alternate high "F" key found above the "b" key on the left hand. If you depress this key with your left index finger, and then your middle finger depressing the "C/A" key, and your ring finger depressing the "G" key, and using the octave key, you'll produce a high "E".

To produce high "F", use the same fingerings mentioned above omitting the ring finger on the "G" key.

To produce high "F#", use the same alternate fingering for high "F" as above and include the side "A#" key (right hand palm key).

The second set of alternate fingering are a bit unusual and may at first be difficult to produce the desired tone, but if you play them often, they will speak as they should.

To produce a high "E", use the normal fingering for a high "G#" and include the high "E" key (as played by the right hand when you play a nor mal high "E").

To produce a high "F", use the same fingering for high "E", minus the left hand ring finger.

To produce a high "F#", finger the "Bis Bb", depress the "G#" key and the high "E" key on the right hand palm.

I've prepared some exercises to begin using these fingerings, which you can download under http://www.evantate.de/media/altfingeringex.pdf

Evan Tate is a freelance musician/instructor and the author of "Way to Mastery: Saxophone". He holds a BM of Music from the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Joe Allard and has over 20 years of professional playing and teaching experience and has performed at various jazz festivals and radio broadcasts. Since 1993, he is an endorser for Julius Keilwerth saxophones.http://www.evantate.de or mailto:evan@evantate.de