Baritone Altissimo – Fingering Chart

It’s funny that my most view post was about playing altissimo on the baritone. I wouldn’t have guessed that it was so important so so many people. So much so that the post in question is rank #2 after a Youtube video when searching for  “bari sax altissimo “. With that in mind I set out to find another finger chart that was specific to the baritone.

I recommend practicing these slowly with a tuner. Let me repeat this: WITH A TUNER. The tuner will show you just how far you are from the desired note without being amazed that you even hit them. It’s either in tune or it’s not. There is very little which stands out like out of tune altissimo.

I also recommend that before playing any of these notes you need to have a firm sense in your mind on what the note should sound like. Take a moment, to visualize your embouchure, fingerings, and finally hear the note before you take the breath. The act of pre-hearing and pre-playing the note in your mind will help to solidify and instill confidence in that note. You will be more likely to be in tune and more likely to hit the intended note when you want it.

This brings up the question of which fingering do I pick? I recommend picking a fingering based on 2 criteria: how well does it play in tune, how easily does this fingering transition in the next one.

Once you are able to hit these individual notes the next step is to take it from being a parlor trick to a valuable tool in your musical toolbox. How do we do this? With slow and deliberate scale practice. Place the metronome on 60bpm and play whole notes up and down the scale. Eventually as you master the new octave you move to halves, quarters, and finally eights.

Altissimor Fingering chart for Baritone Saxophone
http://www.ericdannewitz.com/