what is the highest note any of you can play on the saxophone, please type the kind also (alto, tenor, soprano, ect..)
i can get an A on alto, around C on tenor but have only reached G on soprano.

I haven`t spent much time working on altissimo, but I can occasionally get out the G on alto.

Im still working on the low Bb to high Bb stuff. Do thicker reeds really help? I use 3. thicker? (on alto)

Thicker reeds are essential. At least a 3 and up. As well as a good mouthpiece, and, well, you`ve already heard it all...

Anyways, the highest note I`ve ever hit is a G. That was a one-timer, though, and I don`t think I could do it again for a while...

how do you get altissimo are there special fingerings?

from what i know there are special fingerings in a book i have called "top tones for sax" be siguard M. Something like that.

I think mostly it`s a emboucher thing. Using your mouth to lip up and whatnot though its hard to explain on a forum. THe fingerigns help, but he (siguard) had a sax made with no fingerings or bottons and played overtones with it (wow!)

the lower the sax, the higher you can go with overtones. I think on average its three or four octoves, but the bari might get 5? That places us above trumpets range wise!! Its just a lot harder for us. (but it`s still real hard for them)

i can get out up to altissimo B and occasionally altissimo C. Yeah, that`s three octaves above low C (for those wondering)

The book that was referred earlier, Top Tones for Saxophone, is by Sigurd Rascher.

The altissimo register is made possible by overtones. It may require a slight change in embouchure, but a lot of it deals with tongue position as well.

Yeah sorry I didn`t want to risk attempting to spell his name cause I know he`s German and that I can`t spell German. Great book though, I can`t hit a dam note yet but other people i`ve talked to really like it ( yeah pro`s) and they still work out of it.

I play the alto and so far i am only to high c. but the best high note that i can play is high a.

Wildband: Altos and sopranos usually can get much higher in the altissimo range than can tenors and baris. When tenors and baris go up past an ALTISSIMO B on tenor or an A on bari, the sound gets frail and thin and eventually disappears. Altos have the largest and fullest sounding altissimo register of all common saxes.
For example: the senior bari player at my school, who`s been playing for almost 8 years, can barely get above a G, whereas i, an alto player at about the same level, can achieve a full sounding and in tune altissimo D (yes its possible, just started being able to the other day).
The rascher book is great, but if you`re a beginner or don`t practice much, it`s absolute murder on the lips.
Altissimo is fun, but practically useless except for a climax to an improv solo, or some old classical music written by drug-ridden old European men.

As for those of you who have only achieved G just above the staff, first leger line A above the staff or 2nd leger line C, those are notes within the fingered range of the saxophone and can be achieved by people with little or no chops. All i can say for you guys is, practice more and develop better embouchures. Long tones really help, even if they`re boring and take forever.

-Bleeding Gums Murphy

Oh, and they`re not called overtones, they`re altissimo notes, overtones are the sound components that make up a note.
-Bleeding Gums Murphy

I find altissimo A easier to get then G... but so far I`m up to A and occasionally A#

BGM: Thanks for pointing out that I made a mistake in a previous post. Sometimes I like to think I know everything, but I know I make mistakes once in a while. Now I know the correct terminology.