Alto Saxophone

High F on the Alto Saxophone

Written F6 — sounds concert A♭5. Tap the diagram to hear it.

F6
Concert A♭5
Written F6 on the treble staff

All three palm keys plus the side E key and the octave key: the top of the standard range on a saxophone without a high F♯ key. The front-F alternate is the one to learn next — it is far easier in F arpeggios and it is the doorway into the altissimo register.

About this note

All three palm keys plus the side E key and the octave key: the top of the standard range on a saxophone without a high F♯ key. The front-F alternate is the one to learn next — it is far easier in F arpeggios and it is the doorway into the altissimo register.

  • Primary fingering: Octave key + Palm D key + Palm E♭ key + Palm F key + Side E key
  • Written pitch: F6 · Concert pitch: A♭5
  • Sounding frequency: 830.61 Hz

Alternate fingerings for High F

  • Front (fork) F: Octave key + Front F key + Left middle key. In F arpeggios, when coming from C6, and as the standard launch fingering for altissimo. Slightly less stable in tone than the palm-key F.

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.