How to Play Open C-Sharp on the Saxophone
Saxophone players often have difficulty playing the open C-sharp because the note will be out of tune. This is a shortcoming of the instrument itself. Getting the C-sharp to be in tune requires that the musician try several alternate fingerings.
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Instructions
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Begin by adjusting your embouchure. You can often force the note to be in tune this way, although it won't work well at faster tempos because you can't adjust for the C-sharp and then back again for the next note quickly enough.
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Open the side B-flat key while playing C-sharp. Opening another tone hole changes the acoustics inside the saxophone slightly and may be enough to bring the note into tune.
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Try opening the side C key just above the B-flat key instead. This is the alternate C fingering and also opens an additional tone hole.
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Try opening both keys while playing C-sharp.
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Tips & Warnings
If nothing works to bring the open C-sharp into tune, you can ask a professional instrument technician to add a crescent to the tone hole. This is a piece of cork cut to fit inside the tone hole and change its size and shape slightly.
If your key height is not calibrated correctly, your saxophone will be out of tune no matter what you try. Take your saxophone to an instrument technician to have the key heights checked and corrected. Don't try to adjust them yourself by bending them.
