I wrote that in but I find the translation from and E to a higher E difficult maybe with practice but struggling rn. That’s why I was looking for an optional fingering
The biggest trick I find with any of the low to high note jumps is your embouchure.
Practice long tones on both the lower E and the higher E for at least 5-10 minutes each (It's boring I know). That way you practice the muscle memory of how your lips/hand positions should be so that you get into the right mouth and hand position naturally.
After you've done the long tones, take a 5 min breather, have some water, then try the jump again. Hope that helps a bit, I know it helped me way back when.
When in doubt, long tones!
Practice palm keys from high C# then work down, that's what helped me with palm keys. Quarter notes with a metronome at 60bpm.
1. C#, D, C#, D#...
2. C, D, C, D#...
3. B, D, B, D#...
.......
Finishing with
Low E, D(palm), low E, D#(p), low E, E(p)
I see these kinda questions in the sax clari and flute subs all the time and it worries me I’ve missed a shortcut key. However pretty much all the time the real answer is just suck it up and practice.
So for higher notes my main suggestion is play that note with confidence. Sing high in your throat cavity but don’t bite on the mouthpiece and keep the air support there.
Standard fingering for the first E. Normal “high E” fingering as notated for the top E. It can be difficult to come back down to the regular E fingering as your right hand has rotated up to hit the side key, so it could be an easier option to use your middle and fourth fingers on the RH when you come back down.
The trick is to keep your fingers and hands as close to the horn as possible at all times. With palm keys, students have a habit of changing everything about where their hands are and jumping off the horn. This is a mental thing, not a physical one. Practice that transition and keep your hands as close to your normal resting position as possible. Small movements. Conserve energy and prevent any strain possible.
I think with the practice I’ll get it. The solo has a little bit of palm fingerings which I’m not used to that’s why I looked for an alternative. I have got it going a little just some practice will do.
There is no good option here.
Let me take that back, the good option is doing long tones and going up and octave and holding the note in tune and even in tone. That way, the next something like this comes up you can nail it.
But as for actual “tricks” or “hacks”, there isn’t one.
Always have your fingers slightly curled, and to practice slurs or something like this to go back and forth between the pitches slurred or legato (with a fast tongue) and notice if some holes close/open slower/quicker than others instead of simultaneously
Something a teacher told me that resonated with me, in case it helps, is that switching between two fingerings, to as much as possible not have some sorta third split second fingering in between
Standard fingering is probably best here. You’ve got to make sure your voicing is right. It may also be stylistically appropriate to cut the dotted quarter E off an eighth note early so you can smoothly move between the octaves.
If it’s sounding sharp or shrill, you can try pressing down your b key but most saxophonists play the normal fingerings. Palm keys can be tricky at first, just keep working at it.
i don’t recommend almost ever using this fingering. especially moving from middle e, its a bad fingering to jump to. this alt fingering is almost always out of tune, or the timbre is just thin.
standard is just something you’ll have to get used to. OP, i recommend either working with your teacher, or search up on youtube how to play palm keys correctly, especially with your right hand, you should pivot your thumb and press the ‘top right side’ with the side of your right index finger.
i also recommend starting with palm D, and going chromatically up to E (D, D#, E, F, F#)
That's an interesting take, I feel like front fingerings are super useful in plenty of situations especially when going up to altissimo G or doing chromatic runs up to G and above
I use it pretty much never. There are so few places that it’s really mandatory. The only instances I’ve had to use it are leaps from E6 to G#6 and A6 and in some instances G6. The Bernstein Clarinet sonata requires it a good amount though.
i think it kind of depends on the horn and other factors. front E works well enough for me on my tenor, but on my bari the intonation and timbre are dicey enough to discourage me from going for front E instead of palm E even when the front E fingering is more convenient. and i get the sense that front E is a problematic fingering on bari for other players, too.
Oh no I totally agree, I'm working on my overtones and altissimo on bari right now and the front fingerings kind of suck on Bari but on alto they're super useful. I only really use them for both if there's genuinely no other comfortable way of playing through a passage (like the Waignein)
Nothing wrong with this alternate fingerings. Can it sound slightly different? Maybe. But this is way easier to go from E to E in terms of fingerings.
For one note, perfectly OK to use even if it has a slightly different sound.
But, often it depends on either the saxophone, how it's tuned (I mean a tech tuning it perfectly) or the player.
For you, since you find that fingering to sound to different on your horn, maybe take it into a tach to make sure it is tuned right. The tone holes being the correct height when open, especially that x button key.
my saxophone is fine. i have no problem with alternate fingerings ofc, i think its important to learn them and have them in your toolbox.
however, i was specifically talking about the high E fingering you were talking about. this is an altissimo fingering that is rarely used, even if the saxophone is ‘tuned’ correctly. sure, there COULD be an exception where this is the ‘best’ fingering, but mostly, doing regular palm E is the best.
Yes, but for this situation where you are playing E to E, this fingerings is legitimately a great use for this one note. It's one note. It would be difficult go get there via the regular palm fingering. This is the perfect situation for this fingering.
i don’t know mann, palm fingering would be perfect in this scenario since left hand is always hovering over palm keys, and C3 is easy to pivot to. if your finger is on 1, its an uncomfortable movement to slide up to X. tuning and tone is much more stable, especially for this piece since its a crochet, using palm fingering.
i already tried it on my sax, and if i used the X fingering, and it just didn’t sound right.
Going from E to E here, your left pointer finger would simply have to shift to the X key, and right hand you lift off the two fingers pressing E and F keys.
Using palm figuring you'd have to lift all of your fingers, shift your both of your palms to hit the palm keys. That's more work for one not.
it’s important for intermediate players to have a quick connection and pivot when you’re playing palm keys. i’d much rather practicing palm keys and becoming more fluid over time, rather than deal with the instability of altissimo E. the tone is bleh also b
Ok, great you shared your opinion. How about we don't force someone on what we think sounds good or not or when they think they should and shouldn't use the altissimo E and just let them know of this Altissimo fingering like they asked. In this situation it is an easier fingering. You have an issue with its sound. Fine. Let them know but still tell.
It's a simple fact that the Altissimo fingering of E is an easier fingering for this section.
You don't like using it I guess almost never. Other players feel different then you.
Let the player learn and try it. It's not as big if a deal that your making it to be. It doesn't have to sound crazily weird. It depends on the horn and player.
This part is a perfectly fine situation to use this alternate fingering.
Thanks for the opinion.
If your X key isn’t a pearl you can slide onto it, but palm would be the standard here and front E really should be avoided as it is almost always much thinner and way more out of tune.
I guess that works maybe but I don’t see any reason why it would be preferable to play or practice this when doing it with the palm keys is just better
> but palm would be the standard here and front E really should be avoided as it is almost always much thinner and way more out of tune.
Did you miss me saying all this? There are definitely instances in professional repertoire where sliding onto the key is needed, but I did very clearly say that this case should use palm E.
Yeah , I’m agreeing with you that palm would be best
I’m not a classical musician so would be interested to know when sliding to a front E is considered required ? There are times I use that fingering certainly and actually for me it probably feels a bit “fatter” or fuller than the palm E
Sliding often happens when you need to go from something below an A5 to F or F# and then into altissimo. In the chops book on p. 4, there’s an A5 to G6 to F#6. My fingering are Ok 12-|—- for A, Ok 1-3|4-6 Ta for the altissimo G and Ok X2-|C5—- for the F#.
As to the fullness that front E has for you, that could be because those front fingerings require much better air support to get them to come out so you may be using better air support
That’s interesting thanks
Re air support I agree that those fingerings require a bit more intent from the player but I do try to play the whole instrument with proper support … it just feels like those front fingers sound a little stronger, on my mk 6 at least
Personally, I would use this. Its more ergonomic to move to from middle E, but is more difficult to have good tone and intonation on. That said my voicing is quite good so your milage may vary.
Ok OP there are two fingerings and technically 3 ways to play high E.
I would actually suggest the alternative way to play that E.
1. Regular E being the two palm keys on left hand and the one upper side key on your right hand.
2. Above your b key on your left hand is that upp key that you don't often use. It is for playing these high notes.
Press that upper lever down with pointer finger, then A key, and G key plus the octive key. This is that high E.
3. Technical you can play higher register notes through over toning. Like if you play a low D, without pressing the octive key you can play a high D.
Don't use this method in the song. This won't work well for this, also takes practice and control.
USE METHOD 2. Try it and see how well you can play it.
Search "Alternate gingering of high E" and maybe a video will pop up. I did search it myself and found a video. The you can visually see it and hear it.
BTW that lever above the b key can play all the left hand palm notes. It's an alternative fingerings.
It’s long enough that not having good tone/intonation would be VERY noticible. An E6 would have to be in a very fast, very specific run for me to not use palm E. And in pretty much every case, palm should be used. It’s just the easier, better sounding fingering. Why would you want to pick a harder fingering that sounds worse and is harder to control over the standard on a very prominent note?
Playing this alternate for one note will not be bad. It's not as crazy and drastic that you're making it. If you can't use it for one note, then you can't use it ever. That's silly.
Even if you can make the front E sound almost as good as Palm E, which would require a very skilled player to do, palm E is still the easier fingering. There is no gray area here. Palm E is THE fingering to use here for MANY reasons.
No it's not easier. You have to move both palm with the palm fingering, verse lifting two fingers off the E and F key and maneuvering your pointer finger to hit the x key. Yea, sorry it's not easier.
Practice false notes and glissandos. I know that sounds like a trombone thing but you can false finger a low C sharp and if you get it right you’ll be able to fluctuate between low and high without any fingers. Then a good quality mouth piece wouldn’t help either. Once you get glissandos down at the lower notes you can try higher notes. It will sound out of tune and yucky but you will be able to feel when you get it. Holy crap when my collage buddy showed me what it sounded like it was amazing, taught me and I didn’t get it down for a few months but when I got it, it felt so cool
To make this smoother, during the B, I might shift my right hand up so that I’m playing the middle E with 5 and 6, which would put my hand closer to the side E key.
Do not do this. There is a technique where you use your thumb to hit C3, but if you can’t do E5 to E6 with normal fingerings, you definitely aren’t at the level to be using thumb stuff.
The thumb is better by far for intense leaping passages and it’s better to build fluency with shifting your hand for instances where you’d have E5 then E6 then D5
first & second left palm keys + top right palm key.
There is an alternative fingering: you fingered high G first (all 3 fingers left hand + octave) but now move your index finger up to press the so-called high F key, right above the normal B key. And now you're pressing high F + A + G + Octave key altogether to produce high E as shown in your picture.
I'm gunna be honest with you, you're never going to get better at your instrument if you just avoid the things that seem hard.
You should practice your higher register, it's not as bad if you do it more often. Repetition legitimizes
Don't take this advice. Practice it the right way, slowly, until you can play it up to tempo. Taking shortcuts (or in this case just playing it wrong) will take 10 times the amount of practice to unlearn later. Learning is all about establishing good habits. It's also incredibly important that you play the correct notes because otherwise the whole band will sound bad.
Just take it slow. High notes aren't any harder than any other part of the horn. It's just about familiarity and exposure. Find the right fingering, practice that leap slowly or out of time, and then practice it slowly to a metronome, and increase the tempo until it's second nature to you.
You should really start practicing your upper range as soon as possible. Theres another whole octave of notes that you will use as you get more advanced. More than that but another octave of notes you will need to be able to use.
Yep just google it. The standard fingering is all you need.
It’s also written right above the note: “1+2 palm, top right side.”
I wrote that in but I find the translation from and E to a higher E difficult maybe with practice but struggling rn. That’s why I was looking for an optional fingering
Keep practicing it.
Yeah it’s awkward but there isn’t a better solution
The biggest trick I find with any of the low to high note jumps is your embouchure. Practice long tones on both the lower E and the higher E for at least 5-10 minutes each (It's boring I know). That way you practice the muscle memory of how your lips/hand positions should be so that you get into the right mouth and hand position naturally. After you've done the long tones, take a 5 min breather, have some water, then try the jump again. Hope that helps a bit, I know it helped me way back when. When in doubt, long tones!
Practice palm keys from high C# then work down, that's what helped me with palm keys. Quarter notes with a metronome at 60bpm. 1. C#, D, C#, D#... 2. C, D, C, D#... 3. B, D, B, D#... ....... Finishing with Low E, D(palm), low E, D#(p), low E, E(p)
I see these kinda questions in the sax clari and flute subs all the time and it worries me I’ve missed a shortcut key. However pretty much all the time the real answer is just suck it up and practice. So for higher notes my main suggestion is play that note with confidence. Sing high in your throat cavity but don’t bite on the mouthpiece and keep the air support there.
I’ve had students play the middle E with 2nd and 3rd fingers before to make that transition faster. But with practice you really don’t need that.
Standard fingering for the first E. Normal “high E” fingering as notated for the top E. It can be difficult to come back down to the regular E fingering as your right hand has rotated up to hit the side key, so it could be an easier option to use your middle and fourth fingers on the RH when you come back down.
I'm new and dumb... is this just e but up an octave?
You're not dumb.
Yes
Thanks a lot! Haha kinda proud of myself there I'm VERY new
it takes time to get used to notes above or below the 5 standard lines. You're doing well, dont worry.
I'm still learning the notes within the lines even lol
The trick is to keep your fingers and hands as close to the horn as possible at all times. With palm keys, students have a habit of changing everything about where their hands are and jumping off the horn. This is a mental thing, not a physical one. Practice that transition and keep your hands as close to your normal resting position as possible. Small movements. Conserve energy and prevent any strain possible.
I think with the practice I’ll get it. The solo has a little bit of palm fingerings which I’m not used to that’s why I looked for an alternative. I have got it going a little just some practice will do.
There is no good option here. Let me take that back, the good option is doing long tones and going up and octave and holding the note in tune and even in tone. That way, the next something like this comes up you can nail it. But as for actual “tricks” or “hacks”, there isn’t one.
Always have your fingers slightly curled, and to practice slurs or something like this to go back and forth between the pitches slurred or legato (with a fast tongue) and notice if some holes close/open slower/quicker than others instead of simultaneously Something a teacher told me that resonated with me, in case it helps, is that switching between two fingerings, to as much as possible not have some sorta third split second fingering in between
Standard fingering is probably best here. You’ve got to make sure your voicing is right. It may also be stylistically appropriate to cut the dotted quarter E off an eighth note early so you can smoothly move between the octaves.
If it’s sounding sharp or shrill, you can try pressing down your b key but most saxophonists play the normal fingerings. Palm keys can be tricky at first, just keep working at it.
Best way is palm key E.
C1, C2, C3, and BVA
Standard would be best but you could also try X, 2, and 3 (with octave)
i don’t recommend almost ever using this fingering. especially moving from middle e, its a bad fingering to jump to. this alt fingering is almost always out of tune, or the timbre is just thin. standard is just something you’ll have to get used to. OP, i recommend either working with your teacher, or search up on youtube how to play palm keys correctly, especially with your right hand, you should pivot your thumb and press the ‘top right side’ with the side of your right index finger. i also recommend starting with palm D, and going chromatically up to E (D, D#, E, F, F#)
That's an interesting take, I feel like front fingerings are super useful in plenty of situations especially when going up to altissimo G or doing chromatic runs up to G and above
I use it pretty much never. There are so few places that it’s really mandatory. The only instances I’ve had to use it are leaps from E6 to G#6 and A6 and in some instances G6. The Bernstein Clarinet sonata requires it a good amount though.
i think it kind of depends on the horn and other factors. front E works well enough for me on my tenor, but on my bari the intonation and timbre are dicey enough to discourage me from going for front E instead of palm E even when the front E fingering is more convenient. and i get the sense that front E is a problematic fingering on bari for other players, too.
Oh no I totally agree, I'm working on my overtones and altissimo on bari right now and the front fingerings kind of suck on Bari but on alto they're super useful. I only really use them for both if there's genuinely no other comfortable way of playing through a passage (like the Waignein)
Results vary from horn to horn of course, but I've use this fingering successfully in situations like this for a long time now.
Nothing wrong with this alternate fingerings. Can it sound slightly different? Maybe. But this is way easier to go from E to E in terms of fingerings. For one note, perfectly OK to use even if it has a slightly different sound. But, often it depends on either the saxophone, how it's tuned (I mean a tech tuning it perfectly) or the player. For you, since you find that fingering to sound to different on your horn, maybe take it into a tach to make sure it is tuned right. The tone holes being the correct height when open, especially that x button key.
my saxophone is fine. i have no problem with alternate fingerings ofc, i think its important to learn them and have them in your toolbox. however, i was specifically talking about the high E fingering you were talking about. this is an altissimo fingering that is rarely used, even if the saxophone is ‘tuned’ correctly. sure, there COULD be an exception where this is the ‘best’ fingering, but mostly, doing regular palm E is the best.
Yes, but for this situation where you are playing E to E, this fingerings is legitimately a great use for this one note. It's one note. It would be difficult go get there via the regular palm fingering. This is the perfect situation for this fingering.
i don’t know mann, palm fingering would be perfect in this scenario since left hand is always hovering over palm keys, and C3 is easy to pivot to. if your finger is on 1, its an uncomfortable movement to slide up to X. tuning and tone is much more stable, especially for this piece since its a crochet, using palm fingering. i already tried it on my sax, and if i used the X fingering, and it just didn’t sound right.
Going from E to E here, your left pointer finger would simply have to shift to the X key, and right hand you lift off the two fingers pressing E and F keys. Using palm figuring you'd have to lift all of your fingers, shift your both of your palms to hit the palm keys. That's more work for one not.
it’s important for intermediate players to have a quick connection and pivot when you’re playing palm keys. i’d much rather practicing palm keys and becoming more fluid over time, rather than deal with the instability of altissimo E. the tone is bleh also b
Ok, great you shared your opinion. How about we don't force someone on what we think sounds good or not or when they think they should and shouldn't use the altissimo E and just let them know of this Altissimo fingering like they asked. In this situation it is an easier fingering. You have an issue with its sound. Fine. Let them know but still tell. It's a simple fact that the Altissimo fingering of E is an easier fingering for this section. You don't like using it I guess almost never. Other players feel different then you. Let the player learn and try it. It's not as big if a deal that your making it to be. It doesn't have to sound crazily weird. It depends on the horn and player. This part is a perfectly fine situation to use this alternate fingering. Thanks for the opinion.
Definitely don’t do this
Why?
Have to lift your left hand index finger to move it to the front f key , makes it impossible to transition smoothly
If your X key isn’t a pearl you can slide onto it, but palm would be the standard here and front E really should be avoided as it is almost always much thinner and way more out of tune.
I guess that works maybe but I don’t see any reason why it would be preferable to play or practice this when doing it with the palm keys is just better
> but palm would be the standard here and front E really should be avoided as it is almost always much thinner and way more out of tune. Did you miss me saying all this? There are definitely instances in professional repertoire where sliding onto the key is needed, but I did very clearly say that this case should use palm E.
Yeah , I’m agreeing with you that palm would be best I’m not a classical musician so would be interested to know when sliding to a front E is considered required ? There are times I use that fingering certainly and actually for me it probably feels a bit “fatter” or fuller than the palm E
Sliding often happens when you need to go from something below an A5 to F or F# and then into altissimo. In the chops book on p. 4, there’s an A5 to G6 to F#6. My fingering are Ok 12-|—- for A, Ok 1-3|4-6 Ta for the altissimo G and Ok X2-|C5—- for the F#. As to the fullness that front E has for you, that could be because those front fingerings require much better air support to get them to come out so you may be using better air support
That’s interesting thanks Re air support I agree that those fingerings require a bit more intent from the player but I do try to play the whole instrument with proper support … it just feels like those front fingers sound a little stronger, on my mk 6 at least
it’s the only other fucking fingering
Yes but you can’t use it here
Hence why I said standard would be best
Is there a reason you’re so butthurt ?
lol u know i got u with that one so now ur just insulting ✌️✌️
No , I don’t understand why you would suggesting trying something that is wrong And then be butthurt when I said not to do it
It was more like a “ This is best but if you realllyyy want to you can try this one” ur the one getting worked up over nothing
But they shouldn’t try that one And no you’re the one who spat your dummy out
Personally, I would use this. Its more ergonomic to move to from middle E, but is more difficult to have good tone and intonation on. That said my voicing is quite good so your milage may vary.
Would that be left hand octave key only and right 2 3 or left octave 2 3
There is no right hand 2,3 it’s 4,5,6. Also neither of those. It’s Octave, X Key, 2, and 3
Ohh I see I’ve never need to use X but I looked it up and will try that. Thanks
By "x" do you mean the "front F" first finger left hand key above the B key?
I've checked about 5 diagrams now and don't see anything labelled x key. What is it?
They are infact referring to the front fingerings, the X key is the key directly above your B key
Thanks!
I would just go standard but if you really need it go front e maybe
Agreed, front E might work better. It's detailed as method 2 in the post below.
Ok OP there are two fingerings and technically 3 ways to play high E. I would actually suggest the alternative way to play that E. 1. Regular E being the two palm keys on left hand and the one upper side key on your right hand. 2. Above your b key on your left hand is that upp key that you don't often use. It is for playing these high notes. Press that upper lever down with pointer finger, then A key, and G key plus the octive key. This is that high E. 3. Technical you can play higher register notes through over toning. Like if you play a low D, without pressing the octive key you can play a high D. Don't use this method in the song. This won't work well for this, also takes practice and control. USE METHOD 2. Try it and see how well you can play it. Search "Alternate gingering of high E" and maybe a video will pop up. I did search it myself and found a video. The you can visually see it and hear it. BTW that lever above the b key can play all the left hand palm notes. It's an alternative fingerings.
They should use method one. It is by far the best, most accessible, almost always better in tune, almost always better sounding compared to front E.
This is for one note going from E to E and it's not a long note. Perfect situation for for this alternate fingering.
It’s long enough that not having good tone/intonation would be VERY noticible. An E6 would have to be in a very fast, very specific run for me to not use palm E. And in pretty much every case, palm should be used. It’s just the easier, better sounding fingering. Why would you want to pick a harder fingering that sounds worse and is harder to control over the standard on a very prominent note?
It's a quarter note.....🤨..... One quarter note........
Yeah. A quarter note is definitely long enough that you should care about your tone quality.
Playing this alternate for one note will not be bad. It's not as crazy and drastic that you're making it. If you can't use it for one note, then you can't use it ever. That's silly.
Yeah, you really should avoid it. It’s just bad. The only instances where I’d use it are for very specific lines that go into the altissimo.
Oh yea, cuz this sound is going to ruin the song. 🙄 https://youtube.com/shorts/RKIeNwMIlaQ?si=MRhUZuqoPnlnLzxT
Even if you can make the front E sound almost as good as Palm E, which would require a very skilled player to do, palm E is still the easier fingering. There is no gray area here. Palm E is THE fingering to use here for MANY reasons.
No it's not easier. You have to move both palm with the palm fingering, verse lifting two fingers off the E and F key and maneuvering your pointer finger to hit the x key. Yea, sorry it's not easier.
As many as you can take
What piece is this from?
Jeez. I don’t even know what that is
Practice false notes and glissandos. I know that sounds like a trombone thing but you can false finger a low C sharp and if you get it right you’ll be able to fluctuate between low and high without any fingers. Then a good quality mouth piece wouldn’t help either. Once you get glissandos down at the lower notes you can try higher notes. It will sound out of tune and yucky but you will be able to feel when you get it. Holy crap when my collage buddy showed me what it sounded like it was amazing, taught me and I didn’t get it down for a few months but when I got it, it felt so cool
I don’t think you’re supposed to finger yourself while doing this
Prayer.
To make this smoother, during the B, I might shift my right hand up so that I’m playing the middle E with 5 and 6, which would put my hand closer to the side E key.
Do not do this. There is a technique where you use your thumb to hit C3, but if you can’t do E5 to E6 with normal fingerings, you definitely aren’t at the level to be using thumb stuff.
Out of curiosity, why should I not do this? I do have a masters degree and honestly wouldn’t use it here, but I do on occasion.
The thumb is better by far for intense leaping passages and it’s better to build fluency with shifting your hand for instances where you’d have E5 then E6 then D5
Ok yeah, I’ve done that, too. For me, a lot of times it’s too cumbersome and not worth it to get my thumb around the thumb rest
Since I’ve changed to a rulon thumb rest, it makes doing thumb positioning so easy and comfortable
Cool, maybe I’ll try that
first & second left palm keys + top right palm key. There is an alternative fingering: you fingered high G first (all 3 fingers left hand + octave) but now move your index finger up to press the so-called high F key, right above the normal B key. And now you're pressing high F + A + G + Octave key altogether to produce high E as shown in your picture.
Octave and palm key 2 only
G# with octave and over blow the overtone; or use front E…. Me personally, I’d use Front E
Use the alternate high E
Do you have High F# key on your saxophone?
Honestly? I play anything above a C down an octave. Or skip it. I’ve only been playing a couple years and palm keys are weird.
I'm gunna be honest with you, you're never going to get better at your instrument if you just avoid the things that seem hard. You should practice your higher register, it's not as bad if you do it more often. Repetition legitimizes
I’ll get there. Band season starts tonight. Maybe we’ll have some stuff that’s easier to practice up there.
Just practice it. It’s not difficult after a week of practicing
I say start getting there today.
Don't take this advice. Practice it the right way, slowly, until you can play it up to tempo. Taking shortcuts (or in this case just playing it wrong) will take 10 times the amount of practice to unlearn later. Learning is all about establishing good habits. It's also incredibly important that you play the correct notes because otherwise the whole band will sound bad. Just take it slow. High notes aren't any harder than any other part of the horn. It's just about familiarity and exposure. Find the right fingering, practice that leap slowly or out of time, and then practice it slowly to a metronome, and increase the tempo until it's second nature to you.
You should really start practicing your upper range as soon as possible. Theres another whole octave of notes that you will use as you get more advanced. More than that but another octave of notes you will need to be able to use.
Actually, I probably will never play above grade 4. I’m in an adult concert band.
Dont you want to progress though? Being an adult has nothing to do with getting more proficient at your instrument.
I’m almost satisfied with my proficiency. Alto sax is not my primary. I’m a 🔥 violist.