# Altissimo

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{{Short description|Uppermost register on woodwind instruments}}
thumb | right | Fragment flushing altissimo
'''Altissimo''' (Italian for ''very high'') is the uppermost [register](/source/register_(music)) on [woodwind instrument](/source/woodwind_instrument)s. For [clarinet](/source/clarinet)s, which [overblow](/source/overblowing) on odd [harmonic](/source/harmonic)s, the altissimo notes are those based on the fifth, seventh, and higher harmonics. For other woodwinds, the altissimo notes are those based on the third, fourth, and higher harmonics.

==Flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon==
On the [Boehm system](/source/Boehm_system) [flute](/source/flute), the first altissimo note, D<sub>6</sub>, is played using the third harmonic of G<sub>4</sub>. Fourth harmonics are used for D{{music|sharp}}<sub>6</sub> through G{{music|sharp}}<sub>6</sub>, and notes from A<sub>6</sub> through C<sub>7</sub> are played with fifth or sixth harmonics.

The flute fingering for the notes D{{music|sharp}}<sub>6</sub> through G{{music|sharp}}<sub>6</sub> are a combination of third and fourth harmonic fingerings. For example, the D{{music|sharp}} fingering is similar to the low D{{music|sharp}}<sub>4</sub> with the addition of the G{{music|#}} key vented, for which D{{music|sharp}}<sub>6</sub> is the third harmonic.  Similarly, in the third octave, the E is a combination of E and A fingerings, the F is a combination of F and B{{music|flat}}, etc.

On the [oboe](/source/oboe), third harmonics are mainly used.

On clarinets, fifth harmonics are used for the first six notes above the written C<sub>6</sub>; seventh and ninth harmonics are used beyond that.

For [bassoon](/source/bassoon)s, the altissimo notes bear complicated harmonic relationships to the fundamental register.

==Saxophone==
[Saxophone](/source/Saxophone) altissimo generally consists of the notes above the keyed range. Some instruments are keyed to a written high F, and some to F{{music|#}}. 

Altissimo is usually produced by using a combination of special fingerings and voicing techniques. These can include air stream, tongue, throat and [embouchure](/source/embouchure) variations to disturb the [fundamental](/source/fundamental_frequency) of a note, which results in one of the higher [overtone](/source/overtone)s dominating.

In classical music, altissimo playing is considered a necessary skill for saxophonists, and much of the modern concert saxophone repertoire utilizes the altissimo range. A notable proponent of the altissimo range was [Sigurd Raschèr](/source/Sigurd_Rasch%C3%A8r), who preferred the term ''top tones''.  Raschèr is the author of ''Top Tones For the Saxophone'', a method book for learning the altissimo register.

In [jazz](/source/jazz) music, use of altissimo is common, especially among [avant-garde](/source/avant-garde) players, though one of its earliest practitioners was the swing player [Earl Bostic](/source/Earl_Bostic). Altissimo technique and the use of [multiphonics](/source/multiphonics) are prominent in the influential work of [Eric Dolphy](/source/Eric_Dolphy) and [John Coltrane](/source/John_Coltrane) during the 1960s, as well as in the work of [Paul Desmond](/source/Paul_Desmond), [Lenny Pickett](/source/Lenny_Pickett), [Ron Holloway](/source/Ron_Holloway), [Scott Page](/source/Scott_Page), [Michael Brecker](/source/Michael_Brecker) and [Chris Potter](/source/Chris_Potter_(jazz_saxophonist)).

==References==
*{{cite book
| last = Baines
| first = Anthony
| title = Woodwind Instruments and Their History
| url = https://archive.org/details/woodwindinstrume00bain
| url-access = registration
| publisher = Dover
| place = New York
| year = 1991
| page = [https://archive.org/details/woodwindinstrume00bain/page/38 38]}} (republication of third edition, 1967, as reprinted with corrections, 1977)

Category:Musical techniques

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Altissimo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altissimo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altissimo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.