SAX LESSONS ALTISSIMO #4:Growling and Bending

[eucarloslm]

Fabrizio, I can easily use the growling just when I'm playing the first octave (sax tenor), but when I play in the second octave or in the altissimo register, If I use growling my note don't get in tune. Can you give me some advice on that please?

[fabriziodalisera]

@eucarloslm probably you move your jaw , don't do it!Practice long tones and add growling in a second time , the pitch must be the same

[Vapor419]

@pokefanlee64 lol you have no idea how difficult it is to imitate what he's doing. Come bak and watch this video when your musically educated and less cocky.

[pokefanlee64]

Dude I just began playing tenor and I can growl better than you btw i learnt my first note 3days ago :3 so practically you suck

[tzwlegends]

i want to make love to your voice

[matrix86]

A lot people make fun of me for using a harness instead of a neck strap, but I just don't like the feel of neck straps. If i'm playing alto, it's no problem (as long as it's one of the padded ones). But with tenor, I just prefer the harness. My college sax professor said harness are bad for breath support (can't remember his explanation) but neck straps make me want to bob my head forward, which cuts off some of the air flow. Needless to say, after I left college, went back to the harness, lol.

[d1vineinfekt]

Cool strap mate.

[xAllThingsMustPassx]

Awesome video!

What fingering do you use to play an altisimo a? I've been trying to find fingerings for altisimo notes but have had no luck. Thanks!

[Jsaxophone]

I guess there's really no written way. Like you mentioned, I've been told to hum while playing in order to growl, but I wound up discovering that it works just as well when I let a little air out from the corner of my mouth and use that air to buzz my lips.

Any disadvantage in that? Particularly in the altissimo range?

[fabriziodalisera]

@Jsaxophone

oh oh ...sounds a little weird to me!

I don't think you can get a good control on the reed if you 're buzzing your lips...

it's the strangest techinque I've ever heard man !!!

[Jsaxophone]

@fabriziodalisera

Haha, I probably can be a bit weird. Doesn't affect my reed control in the normal horn range, but since I'm still working on getting into the altissimo range, it may affect my airstream during those notes. I have no idea how I discovered it. Probably because when I play really low volume, I'll sometimes let a little air out around the mouthpiece.

[ddecto]

I like to bend by biting a little harder, while still holding the mmmm shape of the mouth, getting an upward bend, never tried a downward bend.

[fdharrison]

sweet altissimo but whats with the strap!!??!!

[ZhiZhiDong]

how do you hit altisimmo? the highest I can play is F#

[saxophones1397]

I was just taught how to growl on my Tenor Sax... And when you growl.. instead of humming, try gargling a LITTLE bit of spit or else you choke.

(Sound's Gross... but it works!)

[selmerpwns]

What does the size of the mouthpiece have to say?..

I was stuck in the options between the '110, '120 and the '130...

[ZhiZhiDong]

how do you growl? and hit altissimo?

[ZhiZhiDong]

how do you growl?

[fabriziodalisera]

@ZhiZhiDong

Try to hum while you're blowin'.

Begin with the neck and mouthpiece only and once you 'll figure out how to do it assemble the horn.

[fabriziodalisera]

I do not use this neckstrap anymore , now I use an ordinary one, but ...

why do you think it's so important? it's only a neckstrap !!!

[queenao]

WTF Kind of neckstrap is that lol

[TheUberWise]

That's awesome, i'm trying to learn that on the alto saxophone! it's sooo cool!

[Zmiffygal]

Well you made that look easy I was glued to the screen seeing and listening to how to do those things. I think I will need a lot of practise but I love playing the sax so I'll slowly practise on. thanks for sharing your techniques with us!

[fabriziodalisera]

Ok , hope this helps , bye Fabrizio

[UltraMN]

Don't forget about Ben Webster! he's growl for the entire tune!

[girlsplaysax2]

Cool

[littleshortkid]

i noticed someone down there asked about the bend. Think about whistling. You move your tongue to move from lower to higher pitch. This is the same with bending a note. Move your tongue back (not enough to play the note under the altissimo note) and open your throat a little more to support it and the note will bend down, move it forward a little (not enough to do an overtone, but just enough to be in tune for that note) and it will bend back upward. I find the bend upward to be

[tflover1221]

do i need a metal mouthpiece to play altissimo ?????

[fabriziodalisera]

@tflover1221

Absolutely not.

Now I switched to a hard rubber vintage soloist refaced to '120 and altissimo is always the same!

The material of the mouthpiece has absolutely no effect on altissimo.

The aspect that can change the altissimo response is the shape of the baffle and the design of the chamber.

Altissimo can be easier on some mpcs, but you can play it on anyone of them.

Try to find the good match reed/mpc: brand and reed strenght.

[tflover1221]

thankk you Mr. Fabrizio

[gray2K10]

@tflover1221 No, not at all. I have a Meyer 5 Rubber Mouthpiece for both my alto and tenor and I can play in the altissimo register. However, it helps to have a hard mouthpiece, like a 3 or higher.

[theinvisiblelight]

is that an otto link mpc?

[fabriziodalisera]

@theinvisiblelight

No, it's a ponzol M1 110 with rico orange box 3,5.

Now I switched to '120 HR (see above).

Bye

[penutboy76]

nice neck strap frenchie!

[ddubzee]

now what buttons are you hitting to get that altissimo e out there?

[fabriziodalisera]

L 1

R 1 2

Bye

[thegodofwarfare]

rasping is pretty easy.the way i do it ,it hurts my throut a little.

[Camelo71]

i didnt get how do you bend?

[thegodofwarfare]

@Camelo71 well you have to loosen your ombisher(i think thats how you spell it),in other words loosen your mouth while tighting it.hope this helps.

[veezbokumar]

you're hilarious when you play

[nuclear944]

Using a harness with anything other than a soprano is perfectly reasonable especially if you have a sensitive spine.  Besides, when you're playing standing up, you don't want to have to support the sax with your right hand!

[funkytommyman]

where can you buy a neckstrap like that?

[disfan14]

at the i have no muscle to hold up a sax store!

[sacredgeometry]

@disfan14 in the "less weight on your hands means you can play faster and more accurately" store :P

[Psp1000Fanboy]

@funkytommyman just go to you local music store its just a bari sax harness. Bari players use it so all the weight wont go on their neck. Idk why this guy is using it

[BrawlR55]

look up saxophone harnesses

[iamhalofan881]

LOL i thought u were a loser because of your harness

[thepeople1325]

dude is that a silver mark VI?

[fabriziodalisera]

Yes it's an 80,XXX silver VI

[ComicSaxProductions]

nice

[SeraphinFalls]

Nice =D

[captainchaos74]

Great Sound fabriziodalisera

Tell me, do you get on well with your neighbours????? :)

[fabriziodalisera]

Thank you.

I practice in a studio , my neighbours probably want to kill me!

[Muzikman127]

You really have a relationship with your instrument

[ninjanub7]

what kind of guy uses a bari bra on a tenor?? WIMP!!!

[Hyperidontgetit]

people with neck problem

[HobosAnimation]

leave him alone. id like to see you play as as good as this guy.

[iamhalofan881]

ok i will

[Jazzsaxman1]

George Garzone

[CRoseG100]

I also use a harness on tenor because I have back issues! Idiot!!!

[gmfmusic85]

Thanks to you, I can now growl on my sax. I found it pretty easy to get the nack of. I've tried the bending, and I've got it - sort of - I think it's gonna take a bit of practice though.

[fabriziodalisera]

You can go from subtle and elegant kind of growling to a really honking rock'n roll kind of sound.

Once you've learned to growl without the sax try to do it only with your mouthpiece and neck.

Then assemble the horn and do the same thing.

Bye Fabrizio

[fabriziodalisera]

first try to hum while blowing without the saxophone, then remember that you DON'T have to hum the same pitch of the saxophone.

It's the difference in pitch frequencies between you and the horn that "clashes" and produce the growling effect, and so you can achieve different results related to the pitch you're humming...

[SaxySweed]

Wow, all i can say is wow :D

i'm 17 and im rele struggling with my growling and my altissimo, im fine on my bends tho,

what fingerings do you use for your altissimo note???

im have a rele hard time with growling, i cant figure out how to, hum while im playing

any pointers???

[carlosthecat]

Check out Joey Berkley's sax instruction DVD.

[saxxykev09]

Love your sound. Do you have any suggestions for someone to the altissimo range beyond F?

[harplaya]

Can these growls and bends be done on alto too. I looked around on utube trying to find some players playing more than one note at once (Heard it can be done but it might be growling that they are referring to), and throught all those 'teachers', many don't have the chops you have. The bad thing is that they say some stuff can't be done, but its only because they can't do it. Anyhow you rock dude, very nice playing.

[fabriziodalisera]

Thank you harplaya!

Of course you can play growls and bends on alto too, and also on baritone...

Playing more notes at the same time is a technique called multiphonic ,and it's different from growling.

it involves usage of different fingerings ,but of course the throat control and the study of the overtone series is the way to go both with multiphonics and growling.

Bye Fabrizio

[worditsdz]

holyfucking shit that is high.

[ToastedSub94]

i use an otto link 7*, pretty good mouthpiece

[musicbsk]

... lol this guy is good...

[nanaki2007]

yes-it can refer to a specific ocateve. it would be the a 3 octaves above the a below middle c on a piano-which is c4

[Saxodude95]

i dont no what i am doing wrong but i just cant growl on my tenor no matter what i do, please help me?!!!!!!!

[stovetop19]

hey man, what you need to do is just say "ah" or think of "humming" when you play....its weird at first cause your singin a pitch and still pushing enough air through your horn to produce a note, it worked better in the upper octave for me when i first learned

[synyster52]

hey don't worry i was like the same way not too long ago, try doing it on your mouthpiece first, its easier cuz i was having difficulty keeping an airstream to support a note while growling, practice doing it on a mouth piece then transfer it to the horn i have it down like nothing now

[zernestro]

i'm just starting to "learn" sax, but i can growl. not to brag at all, cause i can't play anything at all:)

my point is, if you can growl without a sax - vocal cords only, you can do it with one.

[gnihctawsirehtorbgib]

you have much to learn young padwon

[zernestro]

i know, looking forward to.

[burtonlegand]

can you still do it on an alto?

[InstrumentManiac]

haha you are hilarious!

[sax24seven]

THANKYOU SO MUCH!!!

[robbore100]

thank you

[thatoneguygabe]

is that strap any better then a around the neck kind? cause ive seen it on a bari but i thought that was because of the size and wieght. also what kind of mouthpiece do you use?

[cmshuf]

It's really up to personal preference.

[facemash]

The harness just depends on the person. I use one for tenor and bari but my friend uses regular neck straps for everything.

The mouthpiece is an Otto Link of some sort. Maybe a Super Tone Master, but I can't say for sure.

[fabriziodalisera]

I remember the mouthpiece on all these videos on altissimo was a ponzol M1 110 with rico orange box #3,5.Then I switched to a hard rubber and a bigger opening mouthpiece...

[andwii]

lol I had a cold sore when I played at honors band... I played a altissimo F# but the cold sore caused me to growl.. It actually enhanced the note because it fit.

[fabriziodalisera]

A7 is obviously a chord:A dominant7th :A,C#,E,G ,as ghostofdolphy noticed

[TenaciousxT]

do you play alto too? i can bend a whole bunch but nothing like you did at 2:59

[ChipMaplewood]

VERY GOOD!

[atari729]

wow you are good. great vid.

my altissimo tone is about the same as your's but on alto. i never knew how to growl though thanks, i'll definitely learn it. and bending is very tricky for me so i'll work on that second.

[grudgemaker5]

i dont when you say a note then a number what are you talking about? like when you say A7?what is that

[TenaciousxT]

i'm pretty sure it's an a scale with some weird 7th maybe. imma feel stupid if im wrong.

[ghostofdolphy]

A7 is a chord. A C# E G. G

[grudgemaker5]

i didnt mean a7 specifically just like a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7  what are they different octaves of a???

[aznsarub0y]

ahahah this is so awesome thanks to ur vid i can finally growl.. all in a day's work :] seriously. ahaha its so cool!!! im still having trouble with flutter tongueing though any tips on that?

[headshotmeistro]

hey this is a great vid, but can you show one on how to do a chromatic rolling type lick? Kind of like the one in the sax solo on The Logical Song by Supertramp. its a great solo with some really good tricks in it that im trying to learn, and you probably already know them, so if you could make a tutorial video on that i would much appreciate it. Thanks!!!

[fabriziodalisera]

thank you for the nice comments!Bye

[SotR59]

I picked up the growl thing petty easily. But you make getting into Altissimo look easy. I just can't get my tenor to do that. Have not been playing long, but still. I am a schooled musician with brass experience.

Great vids, thanks. Helps a lot.

[robbore100]

thanks this is so helpfull!

[PureRandomnezz]

U R A BEAST

[liamjazz]

Thanks for your great videos! I was wondering if you know how to produce the growl effect that players like Coltrane, Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer achieve?? It sounds different to the growl effect that you demonstrate - you growl sounds more like brecker and rock and roll saxophone players. Do you know how to do the other style??? Thanks for your help!

[headshotmeistro]

put your tongue on top of the mouthpiece and try to use air to filck it between the roof of your mouth and the top of the mouthpiece. its easiest to try it out on and F because it pops out easily. there are also several false fingerings to acheive this sound, but the pitch is unalterable

[Sopransaxman23]

THANKS FOR THE LESSONS MAN!! i love the tone also

[Mackers2317]

keep up the public speech lessons. you're getting better...