What is the front F key on a saxophone?

Left Hand Main Keys The Front F key is the topmost left hand key and is pressed by the first finger. It was designed to provide an altissimo fingering for F6 as an alternate to using the palm keys. The key is used for various other altissimo fingerings as well.

Where is the high F# key on a tenor saxophone?

The first and most obvious use of the high F# key is to extend the range of the regular palm key fingerings. So, for the “palm key high F#” you would press the D, Eb, and F palm keys with the left hand, the high E key with the knuckle of the right hand, and with the middle finger of the right hand, the high F# key.

What is front F for?

Auxiliary F key (aka aux F or front F) The top F auxiliary key (ie the key just above the B key) is an alternative way to finger top F. As you can see in the fingering chart, this involves fingering a top C (2nd LH finger) and adding the front F key. This allows a very quick way to leap from C to F.

What are the keys on a tenor saxophone?

Tenor and soprano saxophones are in the key of B♭, just like clarinets. All three of these instruments produce a B♭ when playing a C on the score. That is why in order to produce the same C pitch as keyed instruments or the flute (concert or “written” C), they must actually play a D.

Do you need the high F# key?

After playing horns with and without the key, you have decided that for you, the high F# key is unnecessary, and may even negatively affect a horn’s tone quality. Some experienced jazz players seem to feel this way.

How high is F sharp?

F♯ (F-sharp; also known as fa dièse or fi) is the seventh semitone of the solfège. It lies a chromatic semitone above F and a diatonic semitone below G, thus being enharmonic to sol bémol or G♭ (G-flat). However, in some temperaments, it is not the same as G♭.

How do you play a low F on a saxophone?

Description: 1 To play a low F, add all three main fingers on your left hand, plus the first finger on your right hand. 2 To play a middle F, keep all main fingers on their main keys just like a Low F, but add the Register key with your LEFT thumb.

What is the BIS key on the saxophone?

To distinguish alternate fingerings, certain keys are referred to as the “bis key” or the “front F key”. Most notes on the saxophone have only one viable fingering. As stated above, the fingerings on the provided saxophone fingering chart are, for the most part, in order of preference.

What keys do you add to bring your tenor saxophone in tune?

The high F# on my tenor saxophone runs a little flat, so I add the Bb spatula key whenever I can to bring it in tune. You may find that certain notes on your particular horn benefit from adding other keys in some situations. Other fingerings provide enough of a timbre difference that it sounds as though a note was reattached.

What are the best fingerings for the saxophone?

I often joke that this is the saxophone’s improvement over the clarinet and flute. On those instruments, you cannot leave this fingering down when playing other notes. High F Fingerings: High F is the other “for the most part” exception. The two high F fingerings are, like the Bb/A# fingerings, used pretty equally, depending on the situation.

What key is the octave key on a saxophone?

T Octave Key. The octave key is the only thumb key found on most saxophones. It is used as a vent for most second and third octave notes and for almost every altissimo fingering.