 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Rex
Date: 2004-10-11 00:42
Hi guys! iVe loved this site forever cuz im completly obsessed with woodwinds. But especially the sax! Ive got a probably stupid question tho. Ive got countless fingering charts and they say theyre for all alto tenor and baritone. But how can they be the same when they are pitched differently? Can i use this chart for just tenor? Or is it dgoing to be different? do u understand what im askinG? wen i finger this note on the chart, is it going to be the same on tenor even tho it says its for all three? Basically, can i use this "all purpose" chart for tenor, and alto, and the note i finger will be the note that comes out? And yes i know that alto and baritone are e flat, and tenor is b flat, i already know about tht, so u dont have to go into how the note names are different! Thanks! Correct me on any of this, and just tell me what you know!
Thanks! Rex
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2004-10-11 02:37
The fingerings are the same for all saxophones in terms of what written note corresponds to what fingering. Therefore whether you're playing an alto, tenor, baritone, or whatever saxophone you happen to be blowing into, the fingering:
-2-|---
will always correspond to the written note C in the third space on the treble clef on the music.
However, although the written notes always correspond to the same fingerings, the actual pitches being sounded will differ depending on which saxophone you're playing. For instance, because the alto is an Eb instrument, when you finger the written note third space C (-2-|---), the pitch that is actually being sounded is the Eb a major sixth below that (first line on the treble clef). So a piano player, in order to match that same note, would have to play the Eb just above middle C, or again the Eb on the first line of the treble clef.
Similarly, the fingering for the third space C when played on the tenor sax actually produces the pitch Bb a ninth below (under the first ledger line below the treble clef, just below middle C) because the tenor sax is a Bb instrument. The bari sax when playing the same fingering produces the Eb a 13th below (third spaec in the bass clef) and so on.
So you're half right. The fingerings for all saxophones are the same in terms of what fingering you should use for each written note. However the actual pitches differ because the instruments are tuned to different keys.
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