Hi Paul!

I'm a dedicated alto sax player who doesn't have that much experience. I've got a great sax and I practice it a lot, but I'm certainly not a pro. I have a few questions about playing.

1) Do you have any suggestions for playing the altissimo range? I can get up to the first G with a 3 reed, and the first Bb above that with a 2.5 reed.

2) What do the numbers in reeds mean? I know that higher is better, but is there more than that?

3) What do things like metal mouthpieces and mesh ligatures do to the sound? Do they make it brighter?

4) Are there any playing techniques to make your sound brighter?

You've got a cool site and a smooth sound. Thanks for all the work & for jamming with the Rippingtons last year.

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Mike Chase
mike_intel@hotmail.com

hi mike,
i hope i can answer your questions.
1) i would suggest studying/practicing overtones. they are the many tones that are present above each note. understanding these will help your altissimo range tremendously. Top Tones for Saxophone by Sigurd Rascher (sp) helped me a lot. just have a good reed on that you like playing.

2) the numbers designate the strength or thickness of the reed. 2 is average...3 and 4's are hard strength/thickness, but not necessarily better. whatever works best for you is all that matters.


3) metal mouthpieces/ligatures can brighten or darken your sound. it depends on your concept of the sound you want to have.

4) hard to answer that one.

thanks for writing and for all the support!

paul

Thanks for the quick reply, Paul!

Is Top Tones for Saxophone a book?

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Mike Chase
mike_intel@hotmail.com

yes, mike...sorry i forgot to mention that.

Thanks Paul!

I'll look up that book and see if I can find it. Keep on jamming!

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Mike Chase
mike_intel@hotmail.com