High F♯ on the Alto Saxophone
To play High F♯ (F♯6) on alto sax: Left hand: octave key + palm D key, palm E♭ key, palm F key, side E key, high F♯ key.
Play along: hear the note for 2 beats, then you play it for 2.
- Octave key
- Palm D key
- Palm E♭ key
- Palm F key
- Side E key
- High F♯ key
The top key of most saxes: octave key, all three palm keys, the side E key and the high F♯ key. Not every sax has this key; if yours stops at F, ask your teacher for another way. Use fast, steady air and don't bite.
The top key of most saxes: octave key, all three palm keys, the side E key and the high F♯ key. Not every sax has this key; if yours stops at F, ask your teacher for another way. Use fast, steady air and don't bite.
Sound and display
Next moves
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Alternate fingerings for High F♯
Each alternate has its own link. Send it to a student and the page opens with that fingering on the big diagram.
More for advanced players
Written and sounding pitch, and how the note works
About this note
High F♯ is written F♯6 and sounds concert A5.
High F♯ is the high F fingering plus the high F♯ key, which is pressed by the right middle finger — get in the habit of using that finger and nothing else for it. Not every saxophone has the key: student and older horns stop at F, and on those instruments F♯6 has to be played as an altissimo note. Even with the key it runs sharp and stuffy, so drop the jaw, keep the air fast, and treat it as the last note of the standard range rather than the first note of the altissimo one.
- Primary fingering: Octave key + Palm D key + Palm E♭ key + Palm F key + Side E key + High F♯ key
- Written pitch: F♯6 · Concert pitch: A5
- Sounding frequency: 880.00 Hz
What to press, key by key
- Octave key
- Palm D key
- Palm E♭ key
- Palm F key
- Side E key
- High F♯ key
Alternate fingerings for High F♯
- Fork (front) F♯: Octave key + Front F key + Left middle key + High F♯ key. When the line already uses front F, and when moving on into altissimo G and above.
Questions
How do you play High F♯ on alto sax?
To play High F♯ (F♯6) on alto sax: Left hand: octave key + palm D key, palm E♭ key, palm F key, side E key, high F♯ key. High F♯ is written F♯6 and sounds concert A5. Press: Octave key, Palm D key, Palm E♭ key, Palm F key, Side E key, High F♯ key.
Is High F♯ written or concert pitch?
The name on this page is the written note you read. On E♭ alto sax it sounds concert A5.
Is there another fingering for High F♯?
Fork (front) F♯: When the line already uses front F, and when moving on into altissimo G and above.
Alto Saxophone fingering data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.