4 Ways to Play Low A on the Aerophone AE-20

The Sax Fingering and Its Range

Let's start with what the standard fingering can do.

The Aerophone has several fingering modes: Sax, Recorder, E-Wind (electronic wind instrument), Trumpet, Flute, Clarinet, Left Hand, and Right Hand.

Here is the range you can play with the standard Sax fingering.

It runs from B♭ up to F♯/G♭, three octaves higher.

The diagram leaves them out, but every semitone inside that range can be played as well. The Aerophone also has an octave shift function, so you can move the whole range up or down.

Now look at the lowest note.

The lowest note of the Sax fingering is B♭. The A one semitone below it cannot be played with the standard Sax fingering.

This is the note I will call the low A throughout this article.

That one semitone is where the story begins.

The Range of "Moongazing"

So what does the song need?

The range of "Moongazing" runs from the low A up to a C three octaves higher.

I made a diagram to compare it with the Aerophone's range.

There are three rows. Let's look at them one at a time.

Look at row 2 first. I marked the song's lowest note, the A, with a red circle.

Follow the dotted line up to row 1, and there is no note at that height. Only the song's lowest note falls outside the Aerophone's range, and only by one semitone.

To put it another way, that is the only note that does not fit. I was one semitone away.

The Aerophone can change octaves freely, so moving the octave should solve it, right?

That was my first thought too. If I start from the A one octave above the low A, the lowest note is no longer a problem. I will call that note the middle A.

Row 3 shows what happens.

The low end fits now. But this time four notes at the top fall outside the range. That is the part marked "Cannot be played with the Sax fingering" in the diagram.

If I match the low end, the lowest note is a semitone short. If I match the high end, the top notes cannot be played. That is how wide the range of "Moongazing" is.

Just one more semitone… I really wish I could play that low A.

That is where the trial and error began.

Method 1: Change the Octave Key Setting

The first method widens the range itself by changing the Octave Key setting.

The octave keys can be set to four options.

Here is how to change the setting. The steps are the same for every option.

52 presses sounds like a lot, but the screen appears within a few seconds if you hold the button down.

Sax 2: the baritone sax compatible mode

This is the setting I chose in the end.

When the Octave Key is set to Sax 2, you can play the low A, and also the G♯/A♭ one semitone below it.

Shuko

All I can say is that the Aerophone is amazing.

You play it with your left thumb.

Hold the fingering for B♭, the lowest note of the Sax fingering, and press the octave key on the lower side of the thumb rest. The pitch drops a semitone and becomes the low A.

There is one more key below that one. It takes the pitch down to G♯/A♭.

I usually use the upper octave key, so the lower keys took some practice. How easy they are may also depend on the size of your hand and the way you hold the instrument.

In my case the low A appears only three times, always in a "B – A – B" movement, so I moved my thumb each time.

What about the high end? That turned out to be fine.

The highest note in "Moongazing" is a C three octaves up, and the Sax fingering reaches F♯/G♭. So if I start from the low A, I can reach the highest note without changing anything.

Oct2: cover the high notes with the octave key

This method does not play the low A. Instead, it removes the need for it.

When the Octave Key is set to Oct2, you can go up two octaves. Starting from the middle A, you can cover the high notes with the octave key.

These are the high notes that fell outside the range in row 3 of the earlier diagram. You play them with the octave key instead of the side keys.

However, if you are used to playing the high D, E, and F with the side keys in your usual Sax fingering, you may need to practice the new fingering.

Method 2: Bend with the Thumb Lever

If you find the lower octave keys hard to press, there is another way.

You bend the note with the thumb lever, using your right thumb.

On the Aerophone you can set the bend width in semitones, from 0 to 24.

In "Moongazing" the low A appears only three times. Each time the movement is "B – A – B," and the A in the middle is the low A.

So I set the Bend Range to 2, which is a whole tone.

Hold the fingering for B, push the thumb lever down, and return it to its resting position. This "bend up" lets you play "B – A – B".

This method is a bend, though, so it may not be as useful in other situations.

Method 3: Change the Fingering Mode to E-Wind

Changing the fingering mode itself is another option.

As I wrote earlier, the Aerophone offers several fingerings. The E-Wind mode, for electronic wind instruments, can play the low A that the Sax fingering cannot.

You change the fingering mode from the [MENU] button, in the same way as the Octave Key setting.

E-Wind is close to the Sax fingering, but a few notes are different — E♭, for example — so it is worth checking before you play.

If the low A appears often in the songs you play, E-Wind is a good option.

Method 4: Transpose the Sheet Music

The last method changes the key of the song itself.

If you transpose, you no longer need the low A. I wanted to keep the original key this time, so I left this as a last resort.

The original key is E minor, with one sharp. I made a table of the keys above it that fit inside the range of the Sax fingering.

This method needs sheet music in the new key.

Shuko

The mood of the song may change, but G minor and A minor have few sharps or flats, so they look easier to play.

Summary

I looked for ways to play "Moongazing," a song with a wide range, on the Aerophone in its original key.

Here are the four methods again.

There are two points to remember.

I played it with the baritone sax compatible mode. This time I wanted to stay with the original key and the original range, and I went as far as I could to do that.

I hope this helps you with a song of your own.