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You are here: Home / Sax Lessons / Sax Altissimo / New Altissimo Lesson
New Altissimo Lesson

New Altissimo Lesson

Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 7 customer ratings
(7 customer reviews)

$9.99

SKU: 260 Category: Sax Altissimo Tags: altissimo, fingerings, saxophone, video lesson
  • Description
  • Reviews (7)
  • Lesson Sample

Description

This is a remake of my original Altissimo video lesson.  The original lesson was one of my first video lesson that I had done and the quality was not as good as my current lessons so I decided to redo it.  This covers the same material as the first lesson but is easier to watch.  I also include some  files of the fingerings that I use for the altissimo range on the tenor saxophone. Here is the description from the original  video lesson.  I have also included the original lesson as a bonus in case there is something in there you would like to see.

Get ready to wail!!!
Finally, a comprehensive lesson on the altissimo register, which allows you to see and hear the whole process, as each step is clearly explained and demonstrated in a logical and easy to follow manner. In this great half hour video lesson I show you how to get started playing the altissimo register just like the players you see and hear on record. No longer do you have to decipher quasi anatomical descriptions of how to produce those top tones. With this video lesson you get to watch and listen as all the necessary techniques are demonstrated for you in a step by step manner. I show you the exact same methods I use with my students to get them playing in the altissimo register. It’s just like being here in the studio having a one on one lesson with me as I walk you through the entire process from the fingerings, to the techniques I use to voice the upper notes.

I show you the fingerings and the necessary tongue position to get these high notes to speak clearly and in tune. I discuss and demonstrate the common mistakes many beginners make when attempting to play the altissimo register for the first time. I show you what’s going wrong and why and then show you how to voice the note correctly. I discuss the common beginner’s habit of “biting” to get the altissimo notes and show you how you can use correct breathing and tongue positioning to play the upper range without having to resort to biting.
I then demonstrate how to navigate your way through these various altissimo fingerings so that you can play musically in the altissimo register. We have to find fingerings that facilitate playing actual lines and musical phrases in the upper range and I discuss and demonstrate how you can accomplish this. I demonstrate playing pentatonic scales and licks in the altissimo register as a means to achieving this fluency and learning to really get around up there.

Once we’ve learned to play these upper notes, I walk you through a number of ways you might actually use them in a solo.

This lesson is a must for anyone who has struggled endlessly with the vague descriptions and meaningless jargon found in most books on the subject. I also include a 4 pages PDF file including various altissimo fingerings you can use for each note.   (Audio,Video & PDF) (33 minutes)

7 reviews for New Altissimo Lesson

  1. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jon G (verified owner) – July 20, 2009

    I love the two Altissimo lessons. In the first Steve shows you how to play the notes and in the second he shows how to put them together into usable licks. The video(s) really help unlock the way to do this stuff. In the past I tried to learn these notes with limited success – now I can play all of them (which my neighbours will verify) and am now starting to use (some) of them with confidence. Highly recommended – well done Steve !

  2. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    C.N. (verified owner) – September 4, 2010

    Steve is the best! His explanation and demonstration of the altissimo register is easy to understand and follow. And the icing on the cake, you get a video to see and hear the lesson as well! Having this video lesson to refer to again and again on altissimo is invaluable! If you want to learn how to improve your application and understanding of the altissimo register, get this video. It is a must have. Thank you Steve! C.N.

  3. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Tom P (verified owner) – November 4, 2010

    How I wish I could have this video long before I had to self-study on those altissimo fingering charts. Thanks for a great lesson, Steve.

  4. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    SelmerC* (verified owner) – January 2, 2011

    All credit to you Steve for lifting the lid off this topic, reproduced in the higher resolution it offers anyone interested in the subject a great lead in, still lot’s of hard work but perhaps now without the book throwing thanks to this.

  5. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Roger (verified owner) – April 4, 2011

    Really found this very helpful – great lesson.
    Steve gives great examples and context in this lesson. I really recommend this one if you’re working on your altissimo.

  6. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Bernhard (verified owner) – November 23, 2014

    I nearly gave up with this ….!…!.Top tones. I gave them the last chance with this lesson. And oh Wonder! I just chatted the A and went up to C 30 min after the Video ( i recorded it on Video)! The G is still in the mist. But this is really cool! On this lesson is nothing really new to me but the way you took me through, was a master piece. I am so exited. Thank you Master Steve : )

  7. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Michael Byington – October 2, 2015

    Your material is great! I got your New Altissimo Lesson 6 months ago and I have learned more from that than in all my 44 years of playing! I appreciate your down to earth teaching method and I really appreciate the heart that you teach with. I have been a subscriber to your lessons for the past 6 months and I have learned a great deal. Over that period of time I have had some questions and you have never failed to respond. Thanks! I have already recommended your lessons to a number of players in my area. Again, THANKS! Your lessons have been a real blessing!

    Sincerely, Michael Byington

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Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/New%20Altissimo%20Lesson%20clip.mp4

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I bought Steve’s dominant bebop book and took a couple of online lesson from him. I really appreciated Steve’s careful listening of what I wanted to get done in a lesson and his clear, concise ideas on next steps to improve my playing and musical interpretation.  His mastering  the Dominant Bebop Scale has lots of exercises to use a scale that addresses the largest percentage of chords I come across in pop/blues music. The dominant V7.  Needless say it has improved my playing.  I teach and a… Read more
Keith
Thank you for all the educational information you provide.  I am a classically trained musician.  Professionally, I am a 4th and 5th grade band teacher.  I have played piano and sax for many years, but now I am starting to gig out more. I have always improvised by ear in the past. I have gotten by with my strong sense of pitch, rhythm and melodic contour. However, I want to go deeper. I want to play with a greater variety of melodic and rhythmic ideas to pull from.  I have studied to gain a … Read more
Ray
Steve really changed my way of practicing: I got a whole lot of new ideas for my playing the tenor.  His lessons are really helpful, give a lot stuff to practice and give clear answers to complicated stuff.  Steve has a lot of humor and I wish I had laughed so much in my former days with the horn.  All topics, from Blues to Approach note are dealt with clearness that wet ones appetite to play and practice that great ideas.
Uwe
I would like to say that in the last year my sax playing has progressed loads from your lessons. I have had a sax for about 20 years and dabbled with lessons from a few teachers and have learnt very little from them. As you have said in your lessons many teachers tell you to use the blues scale and leave it there, not even showing you the resolution points!!. I am now believing I can in time become a good improviser.
Thanks again,
Shane
Shane
I like so many other subscribers feel so encouraged by Steve’s learning techniques; you will enjoy reading the comments of praise others have left as you too will feel that you share a common view and path. I feel very lucky to have come across Neffmusic and that feeling will remain with you as you search through a treasure trove of learning materials on offer, you will quickly find the lessons that you are suited to. You will instantly recognize the unparalleled quality of Steve’s teaching … Read more
Stephen
I want to let you know that your instructional material is transforming my playing.  It is an immense pleasure to learn and play now, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. The instructional material I got from you is by far the best of any I own (and I have over 100 books, DVDs, and what not). I literally can’t thank you enough! Deric
Deric

I must say again how much I appreciate all your material. Including the video tutorials. It help keep me focused and knowing what to aim for. And your laid back teaching style appeals to me too. 

Thanks

P

P
It is so refreshing to have a great player, who can provide lessons and examples in a manner which is understandable to most any enthusiastic saxophonist who is ready to improve. not just the, do this, do that, memorize this, memorize that… while all that is absolutely necessary, you go on to give reasons and examples to explain and validate why you have to do all of these things, the benefits, if you will… that is the key for me, you tell, explain, demonstrate, explain some more, you give perso… Read more
Cedric
Just a brief note to compliment you on your teaching skills and in particular for the honesty of your lessons.  I am a returning alto sax player in my 50’s and I was looking for a no nonsense, straight to the point kind of guidance. I had intended to email you with a few questions regarding the use of the bis key but then I noticed that there was a lesson on that specific topic and after viewing it,  all my questions were answered. I once took a group lesson with a well known professional sax … Read more
Patrick
Hey Steve, I’m a 22-year-old from Australia. I thought it would be worth saying. You’re an absolute legend. I can’t thank you enough. You have helped me rekindle my love for the saxophone and music as a whole. All the best for the future, your work doesn’t go unnoticed. PS. I am loving your devastating minor lines pdf.
Sapph

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