ok so i have a quick question, please forgive me for being a bit dim... but i know you guys will know the answer

anyways i am giving my chromatic scale a good going over includign the altissimo notes that up untill now i have not played passed Altissimo E but on checking my finger chart i have been tryin Altissimo F G, G# and A.....ok so i can play up to G but A has the same fingerings as E and G# has the same fingerings as D#or am i missing something.., am i supposed to phisically blow the note by altering embouchure or something or is there alternative fingerings not on my chart.

sorry if this is a dim question to all you more experienced players out there but i am a little perplexed

Altissimo G# and A do indeed share fingerings with D#/E (though certainly on my clarinet, for the G#, I use finger 2 on the right hand, finger 1/right hand banana key I find is wildly out of tune. May be different for you though.)

Having said that though, at your grade 3/4 level, I really wouldn't be going near those notes yet. Make sure each altissimo note is absolutely stable before moving on to the next. I wasn't attempting top G#/A 'til I was studying for grade 8.

Thanks BC, i know they are beyond what i need to know at this stage, but i just want to be able to play the full chromatic scale from top to bottom(and back again lol). its my own hang up but i feel ...... Like a big failure Stupid for just plain not knowing the full range of the clari (not to mention everything else i cant play lol. i shall have to try to make myself content with going up to G for now.........its better than i could play 3 months ago anyway

I didn't even know those notes existed when I was your level, so you're beating me!

I can play reliably up to the C above those notes. Anything higher (yep, there's higher!!!!) means looking at a fingering chart...

oh no! dont say there is higher lol how on earth do you read the ledger lines without haveing an epileptic fit or is there a seperate cleff (like the base cleff) that i also know nothing about lol

no, it's all treble clef! It's not easy to sight read : it's a case of getting used to it! But in time, you do. Remember, at your level, I had no idea top G existed!

lol i'm still dragging odd bits of information out of my memory from those donkeys years ago when i first learned. but i have been working with the chart to get the fingerings again. some things i remember and somethings are completely gone......(like my ability to play ) lol


i dont like the sound of that i think perhaps this is a case of ignorance is bliss lol i shall just have to unlearn the exhistance of anything above G to keep my sanity

I had a lot of top Gs and an A in my grade 8 pieces, but since then have never gone above a G. I've forgotten fingerings for G# and A and have never even tried higher than that. Maybe I should give it a go sometime!

Oh yeah kingsley13, you ought to give it a go! If you can play reliable As, then Bb is certainly well within reach, and you could probably give B a go as well.

I still struggle getting the fluency between the top notes. I can play Fs F#s and Gs, even As and occasionally Bs on their own but getting them to flow off the fingers naturally is still a bit of a problem But unless you play solo clarinet in band you don't need them all that often I find.

However, Looking at Emma Johnson's version of Benny Goodman's Caprice on a Paganini Theme and there's an octave leap to the altissimo A. I'm finding it hard. Either my lower A sounds like an F and I get a top A or I can't get the top A to sound. Any advice/alternative fingering?

Then there's a gliss to an E .....


It's gonna need practise!!

Dawn, this sounds plain scary!!!

Use standard fingerings Dawn. The key is supporting the top A, and not over relaxing on the lower A. I'd start by ensuring you get top A reliably, then slur down to a lower A. If you can do that, do it the other way round, remembering how both notes feel embouchure/breathing wise. Then do it in context.

or maybe we could call it "interesting"... It's sooooo cool though : Listen here



Thanks Barry - I'll give that a try

This is fab! Keep at it, Dawn - definitely worth persevering with!

(Just don't ever ask me to try it! )

Sent my teacher an email saying .... "Do you think you could teach me to play this ....? I have the music...." and he hasn't replied ..... (and I saw him at band last night) Has he not got it or does he think it's THAT out of my league

Dare I ask what piece it is?...is it the Paganini/Johnson you've been talking about?...

If it is, I think you can do it

Yep - One and the same .... I Know I can ..... one day. It's just how long till I get it to a standard I'd be willing to let anyone listen to ..... I did manage that octave A jump almost straight away today. Oldnotes' ears came in for a bit of a blasting ...... He doesn't like notes quite that high

What I don't know is if I can play it with that nice jazz sound she manages.

And what exactly do I do for a gliss to an E. It doesn't say where from .... Oh and did I mention I can't do a proper gliss yet - just a fast run ....

Go from about the E below? I'd do a fast run there, myself : glissing in the altissimo register involves a lot of playing around with the embouchure and co-ordinating that with your fingers : it's rather easier to gliss up to and including the two leger line C...

Ok thanks .... My teacher couldn't get the clip to play hence lack of response ...

I've been following this thread with great interest, there's some really good advice in here (as always) and will bear it all in mind when the time comes to attempt these notes