The Cult of Altissimo (A Mini-Polemic)
Joe Ramirez
Why do questions about altissimo appear to outnumber those about any
other topic related to saxophone performance? Is it only because
altissimo is difficult, or is part of the explanation our musically
unhealthy obsession with the ultra-high register? Before answering
that question, think about how many times you have seen posts like
this: "Hello -- I've been playing the sax for three months and would
like to know some good fingerings for altissimo G."
I recognize that elaborate overtone exercises can be beneficial for
general tone production and control. Reliance on such training should
be distinguished, however, from the view that mastery of an octave's
worth (or more) of altissimo notes for performance purposes is an
essential part of every saxophonist's bag of tricks. How did it
happen that the relatively easily accessible "standard" range of the
sax (low Bb to high F or F#) came to be regarded as so inadequate that
it required supplementation with an extreme upper register born of
iron chops, throat yoga, and tortured, trial-and-error fingerings?
Perhaps only the historians among you can answer this question
satisfactorily. My own guess is that there were two principal
factors:
1. The saxophone has achieved its greatest success in jazz, a music
which places a premium on improvisational ingenuity, personal
expression, and stylistic originality. The "composers" are the
performers themselves, diminishing the "tyranny" of the written note
and establishing what comes out of the horn as the music. Not
surprisingly, therefore, the creative imperative becomes hard to
distinguish from the urge to "do more" with the horn. If altissimo is
possible, it becomes necessary to try it, and where one player leads,
others must follow or risk obsolescence. A similar dynamic is at work
in rock (saxophone altissimo has become popular in rock and funk
styles as well). Indeed, the most extreme example of the phenomenon
is probably the "guitarism" of some forms of rock, where sheer
technique is worshipped for its own sake.
2. Sigurd Rascher was a (perhaps *the*) master of classical
saxophone, and was a master of altissimo as well, with his famous
four-octave range. Confusion between these two types of mastery,
combined as they were in the person of Rascher and a few other
legendary classical players, has resulted in the formation of a
consensus that mind-boggling altissimo technique is a legitimate --
no, *necessary* -- part of classical saxophony. Composers, probably
few of whom have independent experience with the saxophone, tend to
defer to the players regarding the feasibility and desirability of
incorporating altissimo into their works. In his *Top Tones for the
Saxophone* instructional book, Rascher put it this way: "[E]asily the
most famous work for saxophone is Jacques Ibert's *Concertino da
Camera*, composed for and dedicated to me in 1935. It was only
because of the composer's friendship with me and the resulting special
knowledge of the saxophone that he dared ask for a range of almost
four octaves. ... In regard to most other works dedicated to me since
1931, the situation is identical; that is, the composer heard more
than two and one-half octaves from my saxophone and, therefore, wrote
for more!"
To reiterate, the problem is not the existence or occasional use of
the altissimo register, but rather too many saxophonists' virtual
deification of it. (That may be too strong a word, but this is a
polemic, after all. <g>) The biography of Rascher that appears in the
*Top Tones* book notes that he "has shown that the seeming upper limit
of the saxophone's range is due to lack of ability on the performer's
part, and is the fault of neither the instrument nor its inventor."
This crazed assertion is a perfect example of the cult of altissimo.
The premise, of course, is that the standard range of the saxophone is
somehow self-evidently "bad," such that we must look around for a
scapegoat to saddle with the "fault" for this sad state of affairs.
And who is at fault? Why, the pathetic, ability-lacking saxophonist
who has not mastered Rascher's extra octaves. Humbug!
One of the wonderful things about the saxophone is that it is not just
one instrument, but an entire family of horns that complement each
other magnificently. Would it be too bold to suggest that a tenor
player who is determined to add an octave or two to the top of his
range might be better off simply picking up an alto or a soprano
instead, and spending his practice time mastering the smaller horn?
At the least the musical result would preserve the beauty and
distinctiveness of the sound of the saxophone. The clarinet has a
more easily achieved altissimo register than that that of the sax,
with much more stable and standardized fingerings. Nevertheless,
notes above high F or G are rather uncommon in clarinet music, and
notes above high A are decidedly rare. Why? Because they don't sound
like a clarinet! Most of the fine qualities of the timbre are lost as
the tone is reduced to the thinnest of shrieks. The saxophone is much
the same. The upper atmosphere is high indeed, but there's not enough
air up there to sustain life for very long.
Hey, I get goosebumps like everyone else when I hear a titan like
Michael Brecker squealing up to the ceiling, and staying in tune to
boot. But goosebumps don't tell the whole story. For most of us,
altissimo is best used sparingly, if at all.
Joe Ramirez
a.g.w.
jra...@ibm.net (Joe Ramirez) writes:
> Why do questions about altissimo appear to outnumber those about any
> other topic related to saxophone performance? Is it only because
> altissimo is difficult, or is part of the explanation our musically
> unhealthy obsession with the ultra-high register? Before answering
> that question, think about how many times you have seen posts like
> this: "Hello -- I've been playing the sax for three months and would
> like to know some good fingerings for altissimo G."
>
> I recognize that elaborate overtone exercises can be beneficial for
> general tone production and control. Reliance on such training should
> be distinguished, however, from the view that mastery of an octave's
> worth (or more) of altissimo notes for performance purposes is an
> essential part of every saxophonist's bag of tricks. How did it
> happen that the relatively easily accessible "standard" range of the
> sax (low Bb to high F or F#) came to be regarded as so inadequate that
> it required supplementation with an extreme upper register born of
> iron chops, throat yoga, and tortured, trial-and-error fingerings?
(SNIPPED)
> To reiterate, the problem is not the existence or occasional use of
> the altissimo register, but rather too many saxophonists' virtual
> deification of it. (That may be too strong a word, but this is a
> polemic, after all. <g>) The biography of Rascher that appears in the
> *Top Tones* book notes that he "has shown that the seeming upper limit
> of the saxophone's range is due to lack of ability on the performer's
> part, and is the fault of neither the instrument nor its inventor."
> This crazed assertion is a perfect example of the cult of altissimo.
>
> Joe Ramirez
My own opinion (yours may differ!)...
yeah, I kinda agree.
Actually, I think it's partly to do with people's *competitiveness*:-
"I can go higher than you"
is easier to verify than:
"I can play over those changes better than you"
...that's too subjective
I know too many players who've come through the grades (UK Associated Board)1-8,
they're all excellent readers with great technique, but many of them
get past grade 8, then they say "what now?" -the answer seems to be "Altissimo".
IMHO, the *ability* to *improvise* over any given chord sequence at any tempo is
actually *harder* to learn than Altissimo!, whether it's recognisably bop,
blues, postbop, funk or whatever you like. There are younger players here in
Scotland that can do the full 4 octaves, but I admire the few that can play a
fresh, nicely executed line that really grabs your attention. I'm sure I'm quite
conservative in my sax tastes, and though I admire Sandborn / Brecker et. al.
when they're right up there in outer space - I just ask:
"did Charlie Parker ever go above the line?"
[end of my own mini-polemic :-) ]
anyway,
I'd love to see a good civilised discusion on a.m.s about improvisation methods,
particularly how to teach it / think about it.
I'll contribute what I can, but I could learn a lot.
Maybe we could start with the pros & cons of "Downbeat Reduction" ?.....
Andy, Glasgow
those new Gods / cult leaders, in no particular order:-
Sigmund Rascher & his high notes
Henri Selmer & his Mark Six
We're not worthy!
Robert L. Carroll
Joe Ramirez wrote:
> Why do questions about altissimo appear to outnumber those about any
> other topic related to saxophone performance? Is it only because
> altissimo is difficult, or is part of the explanation our musically
> unhealthy obsession with the ultra-high register?
>
<snip>
> To reiterate, the problem is not the existence or occasional use of
> the altissimo register, but rather too many saxophonists' virtual
> deification of it. (That may be too strong a word, but this is a
> polemic, after all. <g>)
<snip>
A few brief comments and opinions about altissimo.
1. Adolphe Sax demonstrated the saxophone to Berlioz a year or two before
Sax patented the design. Berlioz wrote of the demonstration that the new
instrument had a three and one-half octave range. This is usually taken
as reliable evidence that the altissimo register was part of Sax's plan
for the saxophone.
2. The saxophone has never attained the popularity in a classical
orchestra that Sax envisioned. (There are numerous compositions for
orchestras with saxes, especially French ones, but the saxophone is not a
regular member of the orchestra.) Why have classical composers not
embraced the saxophone either as a solo instrument or an orchestral
ensemble instrument? Some classical saxophonists believe that the
"missing" altissimo register -- largely forgotten between the times of Sax
and Rascher -- made composers view the saxophone as an unexciting and
undramatic instrument, like the cello was viewed before Bach composed his
five suites for cello. The addition of the higher register (tho not in
Bach's five suites -- a sixth suite to be performed on piccolo cello is
now performed with extended range on cello) caused composers to turn to
the cello as an expressive solo instrument that we know today, and some
saxophonists believe the facile use of altissimo will do the same for the
classical saxophone repretoire. If so, altissimo would be an integral
part of the saxophone sound, not just an occasional use of a note or two.
3. The altissimo register is just plain fun!
Adam Michlin
In article <35591d29...@news3.ibm.net>, jra...@ibm.net (Joe Ramirez) wrote:
>Why do questions about altissimo appear to outnumber those about any
>other topic related to saxophone performance? Is it only because
>altissimo is difficult, or is part of the explanation our musically
>unhealthy obsession with the ultra-high register? Before answering
>that question, think about how many times you have seen posts like
>this: "Hello -- I've been playing the sax for three months and would
>like to know some good fingerings for altissimo G."
>
>I recognize that elaborate overtone exercises can be beneficial for
>general tone production and control. Reliance on such training should
>be distinguished, however, from the view that mastery of an octave's
>worth (or more) of altissimo notes for performance purposes is an
>essential part of every saxophonist's bag of tricks. How did it
>happen that the relatively easily accessible "standard" range of the
>sax (low Bb to high F or F#) came to be regarded as so inadequate that
>it required supplementation with an extreme upper register born of
>iron chops, throat yoga, and tortured, trial-and-error fingerings?
>Perhaps only the historians among you can answer this question
>satisfactorily. My own guess is that there were two principal
>factors:
I think there's a lot of voodoo and misinformation around about the altissimo
register. Young saxophone students are generally told "the range of the
saxophone is low Bb to high F.. sometimes high F#" and they take that as
gospel. You would never say such a thing to a flute or clarinet player, it's
just accepted that the students will learn to play the full range of
their instrument. As such, when students discover altissimo they often do it
by random experimintation and have no real application for it in the music
they play. Additionally, some of the lessers student model saxophones can
barely produce an acceptable 2 octave scale, never mind 3.
I start students on the overtone series from almost day one, and when asked
what the range of the saxophone is I always talk about and demonstrate the
altimissimo register. Thus the progression towards the altissimo register is
just expected, and not considered something unnatural, or something
unnecessary. They know it will take time, but they know it will happen.
I suspect in time the assumption of control of the saxophone altissimo
register will become common place, just as clarinet and flute players in high
school are expected to play up to their high As and high Cs, respectively.
This will take a long time, though. The flute and clarinet in high school
music were forced up that high often to replace violin parts in band
transcriptions. Altissimo of a saxophone doesnt particuraly fill a tonal gap
in the band, leaving another reason why so few saxophone players ever see
altissimo. You can't be a classical saxophone soloist and totally ignore
altissimo, but you can be still be section player and never have to worry
about it.
As far as why we as players feel the need to use altiissimo, I think the
simplest answer is "because we can". It would be tough to find a instrument
where people aren't right now trying to achieve higher notes... at least as
far as wind instruments.
-Adam
--
Adam Michlin amic...@best.com
Musician Saxophonists, Clarinetists, Flutists:
Programmer Visit the Victor Morosco Web Site
Computer Consultant http://www.morsax.com
Malcolm Stainkey
I think there are 2 types of altissimo.
1.Trumpet competition on sax :)
Begining trumpeters love to play higher notes then anyone else (I was
a trumpeter once ): and this is the basis, I feel ,for those altissimo
fingering requests, they feel that the special fingering will give a
higher note than the other students so that they win! :)
2. Altissimo is fun. Being able to play a solo into altissimo is fun
to listen to and I guess its fun to do (I don't know I can't play
altissimo) It's like any other sax ability (vibrato, growling, ect) it
all adds to the performance if used at the right time.
I like the Rascher book for the overtones, I feel they improve my
sound and I like to practice a few squeeks up high and perhaps one day
I will use them in a solo if I ever get good enough and feel the need.
But I like the lower register, which is why I have a bari, no if only
there was some sort of subssimo register on the sax :)
Mal
Joe Ramirez
amic...@best.com (Adam Michlin) wrote:
>I think there's a lot of voodoo and misinformation around about the altissimo
>register. Young saxophone students are generally told "the range of the
>saxophone is low Bb to high F.. sometimes high F#" and they take that as
>gospel. You would never say such a thing to a flute or clarinet player, it's
>just accepted that the students will learn to play the full range of
>their instrument.
I suppose not, but one never says to a clarinet player, "By the way,
the fingerings for the high notes may be completely different for your
horn or your mouthpiece ... and if you're using a student horn, you
may not be able to get anything above high F!" In high school, I had
to play up to "altissimo" A (clarinetists never really used that term;
we didn't distinguish between the high register and the higher
register) on a substandard plastic Bundy clarinet, with a substandard
Bundy mouthpiece, in a parade (Sousa, of course). And it worked! I
guess my point is that altissimo has not been established as part of
the "full range" of the saxophone in the same way as the uppermost
register of the clarinet (or the flute, perhaps, but I don't play that
instrument).
[deleted]
>As far as why we as players feel the need to use altiissimo, I think the
>simplest answer is "because we can". It would be tough to find a instrument
>where people aren't right now trying to achieve higher notes... at least as
>far as wind instruments.
I don't disagree with that assertion, but I bet you'd agree that such
antics, by themselves, aren't particularly musical. Altissimo
sometimes gets sold as the Shangri La of the saxophone, when it's
really just the K2.
Joe Ramirez
Joe Ramirez
art...@ozemail.com.au (Malcolm Stainkey) wrote:
>I think there are 2 types of altissimo.
>
>1.Trumpet competition on sax :)
>Begining trumpeters love to play higher notes then anyone else (I was
>a trumpeter once ): and this is the basis, I feel ,for those altissimo
>fingering requests, they feel that the special fingering will give a
>higher note than the other students so that they win! :)
>
You're right, but it's not just beginners. My younger brother plays
the trumpet; I remember when he and I used to listen to those Maynard
Ferguson albums of the late 1970s/early 80s .... I think there's more
than a little of Maynard in many saxists who dote on altissimo.
Joe Ramirez
Dom
In article <355a3fbe...@news.ozemail.com.au>,
art...@ozemail.com.au (Malcolm Stainkey) wrote:
>2. Altissimo is fun. Being able to play a solo into altissimo is fun
>to listen to and I guess its fun to do (I don't know I can't play
>altissimo) It's like any other sax ability (vibrato, growling, ect) it
>all adds to the performance if used at the right time.
That's a big "if". Many (most?) players play way way too much altissimo.
As for "fun to listen to"... not for this player. There's precious few
players can get a nice tone out of that register.
Malcolm Tattersall
Joe Ramirez wrote:
>
> amic...@best.com (Adam Michlin) wrote:
>
> >I think there's a lot of voodoo and misinformation around about the altissimo
> >saxophone is low Bb to high F.. sometimes high F#" and they take that as
> >gospel. You would never say such a thing to a flute or clarinet player, it's
> >just accepted that the students will learn to play the full range of
> >their instrument.
>
> I suppose not, but one never says to a clarinet player, "By the way,
> the fingerings for the high notes may be completely different for your
> horn or your mouthpiece ... and if you're using a student horn, you
> may not be able to get anything above high F!" In high school, I had
> guess my point is that altissimo has not been established as part of
> the "full range" of the saxophone in the same way as the uppermost
> register of the clarinet (or the flute, perhaps, but I don't play that
> instrument).
I fully agree with your point. And flute _is_ the same - even average student flutes
will play up to top C, and the fingerings are all standard.
>
> [deleted]
>
> >As far as why we as players feel the need to use altiissimo, I think the
> >simplest answer is "because we can". It would be tough to find a instrument
> >where people aren't right now trying to achieve higher notes... at least as
> >far as wind instruments.
>
> I don't disagree with that assertion, but I bet you'd agree that such
> antics, by themselves, aren't particularly musical.
Right!
There's nothing wrong with altissimo as such. The problem is, as the originator of the
thread said, that players are unhealthily obsessed with what is, musically, a pretty
minor part of technique. (Yes, even if it's hard, it can be musically trivial).
Malcolm Tattersall
christian mulherin
So it follows, does it not, that without a proper inclusion of so-called
"altissimo" fingerings as an integral part of musical education on the
saxophone, the myth of technical prowess through devotion to "extending"
the range of the instrument will no doubt persist. My choir/voice
instructor many years ago impressed upon me that the term "falsetto" was
in fact a misnomer, that these are the "head-tones" which are the natural
extension of the vocal instrument.
The horizons of technical mastery on an instrument are never near enough.
While serious study and exploration of the capabilities of such a "young"
instrument are certainly welcome, I suspect that there could be less of an
overemphasis upon this particular technique in musical performance if only
it were considered as a part of the expected terrain from the get-go. As
things stand, it is far too easy for this "obsession" to latch onto the
younger, talented musicians, since it too easily appears to give them a
competitive edge.
Tamyka Bell
A great book for altissimo is TOP TONES FOR THE SAXOPHONE which goes
through heaps of lead up exercises.
_____________________________________________
Don't bite the bari, the bari bites back. FLC
_____________________________________________
rockl...@gmail.com
I suppose just like trupet players (who will spend all their time in the Green room before a gig busting the ears of everyone else with attempts at excruciating high notes, yet when asked to produce them in a chart on the gig will complain)higher and faster is a competitive sport.
I aagree developing altissimo means controlling your chops in a way that regular playing doesn't benefits regular playing.
Also, there are countless examples (in Jazz, Brecker being just one) of Altissimo being used to really exciting effect. Altissimo DOESN'T sound like a smaller horn's regular range, it IS different and in the hands of a good player can be really effective.
Most classical saxophone writing is IMO terrible. The Ibert is a good example. Whether he and Rascher collaborated or not, neither of them had the benefit of hearing Bird. Any single bar from Parker's Mood is worth more than the entire Ibert. Most classical saxophone writing is pre bebop and compared to its contemporaries very conservative. Why? Because the classical writers are writing notes, not meaningful expression and when classical players play sax they just play the notes, no expression, classical altissimo unlike when used in Jazz, is devoid of any exciting sound. Classical players think exagerrated dynamics and prissy gyrating around is expression, the classical players move around much more than the jazzers and frankly it looks terrible. There are good contemporary classical players but they are rare. And that is not to say that classical technique is not good to have. I may not have heard everything but I have yet to hear much convincing classical sax.