How to Play Overtones on Saxophone, Part 2

[@iandawson9050]

Hearing the notes before you go for it. That's where I need to be thanks

[@1rocknroy]

Donna, this is my favorite video of yours. Great job.

[@chistofanor]

Thank you, great video! By the way I ment the 2 octave Bb, but I get the answer is the same. This second video about the topic was loaded with tons of invaluable info!

[@DonnaSchwartz]

Great! I hope I didn't butcher your name too badly

[@adrientaylor641]

Thanks a lot Donna! An additional (I hope not too dumb) question, if you ever have time: you mention singing the overtone before playing it. For high notes, does it mean that we'll never be able to play an overtone if we cannot sing it (because it is too high)? So, reaching a certain point, do we have to learn singing the note even before trying to play it? So far, I can play what I can sing, but I was wondering if I should first improve my singing range before being able to improve my playing range? In any case, thanks a lot again!

[@DonnaSchwartz]

It's a good question - for overtones, unless you are Bobby McFerrin (with a monster singing range), you will not be able to sing every note. Just sing the pitch in a comfortable range and try to play it on the piano to hear it in the range it should be

[@adrientaylor641]

@@DonnaSchwartz Thanks a lot for your answer & time!

[@enoffz8021]

Yes, you can play melodies using only overtones. The 4th octave (7th through 15th overtones) give you a major scale with an extra note. Some notes are little out of tune and need to be bent to the right pitch. Playing melodies is one of the ways I practice altissimo. The 5th octave has even more notes and is close to a chromatic scale. Those notes are so close together that they can blend like a glissando or portameno.

[@DonnaSchwartz]

"Playing melodies is one of the ways I practice altissimo. " YES!!! As a trumpeter, this is what we do and is recommended by the best teachers because we perform music, not exercises. Thanks for sharing!

[@Lutemann]

So I was talking to a guy who really never plays much sax. He certainly never practices it. I had him play my sax to see what he thought of it. Anyway, I complemented him on his very strong a full tone. He just blew my compliment off by saying, "That's because I used to be a trumpet player." Like that explained it all. What do you think of that idea? Any trumpet players turn sax player think playing trumpet was a big advantage. This idea certainly fits into my latest thinking of practicing overtones everyday to improve my tone.

[@DonnaSchwartz]

Yes, it's an advantage because I understand overtones and some other tone concepts better than woodwind players. But trumpet players have to make adjustments because the breath support on trumpet is different than on a tenor saxophone because there is a lot less resistance on the sax.

[@Lutemann]

@@DonnaSchwartz Ok, but my point is that your oral cavity has been made more flexible due to you trumpet playing. I started sax (my first and only wind instrument) when I was 60. I feel like working on overtones, even more that long tones, has been helpful in developing good tone. It as taken me a year to get anywhere with these damn things, so i know that I'm lacking something.

[@DonnaSchwartz]

@@Lutemann I don't look at it as my oral cavity is any more flexible from my trumpet playing. I do understand overtones better because that is how we produce higher notes. Everything is based off of hearing the pitches beforehand - which is crucial for trumpeters

[@griffgriffinmusic994]

Want to sell my 1969 Selmer MK 6 Tenor. I'm retiring