Altissimo

Altissimo (Italian for very high) refers to the uppermost register

Register (music)

In music, a register is the relative "height" or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments...

 on woodwind instrument

Woodwind instrument

A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator...

s. For clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...

s, which overblow

Overblowing

Overblowing is a technique used in playing a wind instrument to produce a different pitch by changing the direction and/or force of the air stream to disturb the fundamental of a note and let one of the overtones of the note to dominate...

 on odd harmonic

Harmonic

In acoustics and telecommunication, a harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. For example, if the fundamental frequency is...

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. The altissimo register is also known as the high register.

Flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon

On the Boehm system

Boehm System

The Boehm system is a system of keywork for the flute, created by inventor and flautist Theobald Boehm between 1831 and 1847.Prior to this time, flutes were most commonly made of wood, with an inverse conical bore, eight keys, and tone holes which were small in size, and thus easily covered by...

 flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

, the first altissimo note, d, is played using the third harmonic of G. Fourth harmonics are used for e♭ through a♭, and notes from a through c' are played with fifth or sixth harmonics.

On the oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

, third harmonics are mainly used.

On clarinets, fifth harmonics are used for the first half dozen notes above (written) c; seventh and ninth harmonics are used beyond that.

For bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 1800s, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band, and chamber music literature...

s, the altissimo notes bear complicated harmonic relationships to the fundamental register.

Saxophone

See also: Altissimo section in Saxophone article

See also Altissimo section in Sigurd Raschèr article

Saxophone altissimo is generally considered to be any note that is higher than written high F which is considered to be the highest note in the saxophones regular range. Altissimo is produced by the player using various voicing techniques such as air stream, tongue, throat and embouchure

Embouchure

The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of a wind or brass instrument.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....

 variations to disturb the fundamental

Fundamental frequency

The fundamental tone, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f₀ or F₀, is the lowest frequency in a harmonic series....

 of a note which results in one of the higher overtones

Overtone

An overtone is a natural resonance of a system. Systems described by overtones are often sound systems, for example, blown pipes or plucked strings.If such a system is excited, a number of tones may be produced along with the fundamental tone...

 dominating.

In classical music, altissimo playing is considered a necessary skill for saxophonists, and much of the modern concert saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...

 repertoire utilizes the altissimo range. A notable proponent of the altissimo range was Sigurd Raschèr

Sigurd Raschèr

Sigurd Manfred Raschèr was an American saxophonist of German birth. He became one of the most important figures in the development of the 20th century repertoire for the concert saxophone.-Career in Europe:He was born in Elberfeld, Germany...

, who preferred the term top tones. Raschèr is also the author of "Top Tones For the Saxophone", which is the most widely used and known method book for training saxophonists how to perform in the upper and altissimo register of the saxophone. Pete Thomas

Pete Thomas

Pete Thomas is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello.-Career:Following early work with Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers and John Stewart, Thomas was recruited as a member of Costello's backing band The Attractions in 1977...

 has published an online altissimo fingering chart for alto and tenor saxophones.

In jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....

 music, use of altissimo is common, especially among avant-garde

Avant-garde

Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....

 players, though one of its earliest practitioners was the swing player, Earl Bostic

Earl Bostic

Earl Bostic was an American jazz and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist, a pioneer of the post-war American Rhythm and Blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep" and "Where or When", which showed off his characteristic growl on the horn...

. Altissimo technique and the use of multiphonics are prominent in the influential work of Eric Dolphy

Eric Dolphy

Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flautist, and bass clarinetist. Dolphy was one of several groundbreaking jazz alto players to rise to prominence in the 1960s. He was also the first important bass clarinet soloist in jazz, and among the earliest significant flute soloists...

 and John Coltrane

John Coltrane

John William "Trane" Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...

 during the 1960s, as well as in the work of Lenny Pickett, Ron Holloway

Ron Holloway

Ronald Edward "Ron" Holloway, born August 24, 1953 in Washington, D.C., is an American tenor saxophonist known for his love of a sweeping breadth and knowledge of jazz, his genial manner sitting in with various bands, his eclectic tastes in music and his ability to adapt his playing to a variety of...

 and Scott Page

Scott Page

Scott Page is a session musician, and is frequently hired to perform with bands on tour. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, saxophone, flute and other instruments.- Career :...

.

Low note overtones are similar to altissimo but mostly result in a lower pitch then written high F.
For example, it is possible to use a low B♭ fingering to produce a series of higher overtones by using air stream, tongue, throat and embouchure variations.