Altissimo (music)
Altissimo ( Italian for "very high") referred to in the music playing single notes , phrases or melodies in a tone range is above the regular tone range of that instrument is. The term is particularly common for woodwind instruments , there especially for the saxophones . Playing tones in the altissimo area requires special fingering , i.e. hole or key covers, which sometimes differ greatly from the fingerings of the regular tones. Therefore, a fluent play in the altissimo area requires an advanced instrumental technique.
The altissimo area is often incorrectly referred to as the overtone area. The tones produced there are optionally called top tones or high notes , also misleadingly called flageolet tones . With the saxophone, some of the altissimo tones can also be played by generating suitable natural tones (from the overtone series ) by overblowing , some false fingerings are variants of the altissimo fingerings .