Tubax altissimo fingerings

The following fingerings have proven most practical, but are by no means the only ones possible. Additionally, it's perfectly possible to play even higher, but here control becomes increasingly difficult since the harmonics are spaced more densely.

The sample Harlem Nocturne (2,7 MB) shows the entire range of the Tubax, from low bb⁰ upto ab⁴.

For mechanical reasons, keys 2 and 3 as well as 5 and 6 are linked, so the heavily used altissimo fork fingerings 1-3 etc. are not available on the Tubax. In compensation, there is the altissimo key A which provides totally new fingering options.

The rightmost column Harmonic tries to explain the fingering acoustically. Because of the conical bore of the saxophone, the harmonics are spaced wider than theoretically expected, namely the shorter the air column is, the wider are the harmonics spaced. For example, the third harmonic of c#² is not g#³, but a³, a half tone higher. The third harmonic of eb² is between bb³ and b³, thus not usable at all. For this reason, b³ is played as fourth harmonic of bb¹. Not until the d⁴ can be fingered as a third harmonic, this time of f², which is a whole tone higher than theory predicts.

The fingerings are written similar to The Woodwind Fingering Guide. Additionally, the note graphics have been taken from there.

Note	Written	Fingering	Intonation	Remarks	Harmonic
e3		T EbD---|E---	OK	standard side	2nd of e
		T f-23|---	much too sharp	standard front, not usable	3rd of g
f3		T EbD-F--|E---	OK	standard side	2nd of f
		T f-2-|---	OK	standard front	3rd of a
f#3/gb3		T EbD-F--|Ef#---	a bit sharp	standard side	2nd of f#
		T f-2-|f#---	OK	standard front	3rd of bb
g3		A 1--|---	a bit flat		3rd of b
g#3/ab3		A -2-|---	OK		3rd of c
		A 1--|C---
a3		A ---|---	OK	the easiest!	3rd of c#
a#3/bb3		A D---|---	a bit sharp		3rd of d
		A 12-|---	OK		4th of a
b3		A Eb---|---	too sharp		3rd of eb
		A 1Bb--|---	OK		4th of bb
		A 1--|4--
		A 1--|-5-
		A 12-|Bb---
c4		A Eb---|E---	much too sharp	not usable	3rd of e
		A 1--|(A)---	a little sharp	second altissimo key optional	4th of b
		A Eb123|---	OK	somewhat impractical	5th of g
c#4/db4		A 123G#|E---	OK		5th of g#
d4		A f---|C---	OK		3rd of f
d#4/eb4		A f---|Cf#---	a little sharp		3rd of f#
		T ---|A---	OK		4th of c#
e4		T D---|A---	OK	second altissimo required	4th of d
f4		T EbD---|A---	OK	second altissimo required	4th of eb
f#4/gb4		(T)EbD---|AE---	OK	octave key optional	4th of e
g4		---|AE---	OK		5th of c#
g#4/ab4		---|AEf#---	a little sharp		4th of f#

Left hand	Right hand
Left thumb	Right thumb
Please note that key A is not a low A key (like on a baritone sax) but Eppelsheim's new altissimo key.	This second (upper) altissimo key is a special construction not standard on a Tubax, but available on request.