Ensemble Publications Beginning Studies in Altissimo Register - Lang/Levinsky - Saxophone - Book

Author: Rosemary Lang
Editor: Gail Levinsky
Format: Book
Instrumentation: Saxophone

This classic volume by Rosemary Lang, long out of print, has been revised and updated by Gail Levinsky, associate professor of music at Susquehanna University and published in a new 2010 edition. The complete title is "Beginning Studies in the Altissimo Register for Saxophone." In it, players learn how first to produce and then to master the unique altissimo register of the alto and tenor saxophone. Each unit in the book is clear and to the point, focusing on a specific altissimo note with a series of exercises followed by simple melodies that incorporate the new note. The book progresses in this way chromatically from high F# (F#) up to F (F7).

The book's purpose is to teach the altissimo register quickly and efficiently, and as such, each unit is clearly focused on the altissimo aspect alone, without the clutter of other technical issues such as changing meter, tricky rhythms or non-standard tonalities. The book concludes with a set of major scales, major and minor interval studies, and a set of chromatic studies covering all 12 tones.