Fingering charts you can trust, note by note
Look up any clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, tuba, euphonium, recorder, oboe, bassoon or French horn note and see exactly which keys or valves to press — or where the slide goes — a clear diagram, the answer written out in plain words, and the sound of the note. Every fingering here was cross-checked against two authoritative sources before it was published.
Fingering Finder
Pick an instrument and a note and the diagram updates instantly — filled keys are the ones you press. The same finder sits on every note page, pre-set to that note.
Clarinet fingering chart — by register
The clarinet's range is split into registers, and each one feels different under the fingers. Start with the register you are working on, or open the full clarinet fingering chart to see all 42 notes on one page.
Bass clarinet fingering chart — by register
The bass clarinet uses the same Boehm system as the soprano — plus one extra key at the bottom: the low E♭ extension key, which gives it the lowest standard note in the clarinet family. Open the full bass clarinet fingering chart for all 34 written notes, or start with a register below.
Flute fingering chart — by register
The flute's three octaves share many fingerings — the second octave mostly repeats the first with a faster air stream — before the third octave switches to its own patterns. Open the full flute fingering chart for all 37 notes, or start with a register. Piccolo players use the same fingerings: see the piccolo fingering chart.
Saxophone fingering chart — by register
All four saxophones — soprano, alto, tenor and baritone — share one set of fingerings, so one chart serves the whole family: 32 written notes from low B♭ to high F. Open the full saxophone fingering chart, start with a register below, or go straight to your instrument's own chart: alto, tenor, soprano, baritone.
Trumpet fingering chart — by register
The trumpet family runs on just seven valve combinations: 31 written notes from low F♯ to high C, shared identically by trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn. Open the full trumpet fingering chart, start with a register below, or go to the cornet fingering chart or the flugelhorn fingering chart.
Trombone slide position chart — by register
The trombone trades valves for a slide: seven positions and a ladder of harmonics cover 32 notes from low B♭ to high F, read at concert pitch in bass clef. Open the full trombone slide position chart, or start with a register below.
Tuba fingering chart — by register
The tuba is the band's foundation: three valves and a ladder of harmonics cover 25 notes from low B♭ to B♭3, read at concert pitch in bass clef. Open the full tuba fingering chart, or start with a register below.
Euphonium & baritone horn fingering chart — by register
The euphonium and baritone horn share one fingering system: three valves and a ladder of harmonics cover 25 notes from low B♭ to B♭4, read at concert pitch in bass clef — with the treble-clef name of every note given on its page for brass-band players. Open the full euphonium fingering chart or the baritone horn fingering chart, or start with a register below.
Recorder fingering chart — by octave
The recorder is where most students start: no keys, just eight holes — seven down the front and a thumb hole behind that half-holes (pinches) to reach the second octave. The chart covers 25 notes from low C to high C in Baroque (English) fingering, with the German-system difference explained on the chart page. Open the full recorder fingering chart, or start with an octave below.
Oboe fingering chart — by register
The oboe changes register three different ways: plain fingerings in the first octave, a rolled half-hole for C♯5 to E♭5, then two octave keys — and it never transposes, so every note sounds exactly as written. Open the full oboe fingering chart for all 32 notes, or start with a register below.
Bassoon fingering chart — by register
The bassoon is the most complicated instrument here: nine keys under the left thumb alone, flick keys that are tapped rather than held, a first hole that is covered by fractions — and no register key to hide behind. It reads at concert pitch in bass clef, so every note sounds exactly as written. Open the full bassoon fingering chart for all 37 notes, or start with a register below.
French horn fingering chart — by register
The double horn changes sides halfway up: the low register is all F side, the middle register is where the thumb trigger starts coming down, and the high register is all B♭ side. Every note gives both sides — the standard one as the main fingering, the other as the alternate.
The first five notes most beginners learn
On clarinet, most method books start in the low register, where the fingerings are the foundation for everything above them. These five notes — E, F, F♯, G and G♯ — all use the same basic hand position, with one pinky key changing at a time.
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E key.F3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.F♯3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky F♯ key.G3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3.G♯3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky G♯ key.
On bass clarinet, the first five notes start one note lower than the soprano's, on the extension key itself: low E♭, E, F, F♯ and G — the same hand position throughout, with the pinky keys doing the changing.
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · low E♭ extension key (right pinky).E3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E key.F3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.F♯3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky F♯ key.G3
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3.
On flute, everything starts from the bottom of the instrument: low C is the one note where every finger is down and the right pinky sits on the foot joint itself.
Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky low C key.C♯4
Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky low C♯ key.D4
Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3.E♭4
Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E♭ key.E4
Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key.
On saxophone, beginners start at the bottom of the stack: the five lowest notes all keep both hands fully down, and only the pinky keys change from note to note.
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky B♭ key · right pinky C key.B3
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky B key · right pinky C key.C4
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky C key.C♯4
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky C♯ key · right pinky C key.D4
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3.
On trumpet, the first notes live in the staff: B♭, B, C, C♯ and D teach the basic valve combinations — one valve, two valves, and the open horn — in the register where they speak most easily.
Valves 2 + 3 pressed.A3
Valves 1 + 2 pressed.B♭3
Valve 1 pressed.B3
Valve 2 pressed.C4
Open — no valves pressed at all.
On trombone, the first five notes teach the instrument's backwards low register in one lesson: B♭ in 1st, then B, C, D♭ and D stepping back in through 7th, 6th, 5th and 4th — all standing on the F harmonic above them.
On tuba, the first five notes run from the tuning note itself: open B♭, then B, C, D♭ and D stepping down the F harmonic's ladder — the pattern the whole low register is built from.
Open — no valves pressed at all.B1
Valves 1 + 2 + 3 pressed.C2
Valves 1 + 3 pressed.D♭2
Valves 2 + 3 pressed.D2
Valves 1 + 2 pressed.
On euphonium and baritone horn, the first five notes are the tuba's first five, one octave up: open B♭, then B, C, D♭ and D stepping down the F harmonic's ladder — the pattern the whole low register is built from.
Open — no valves pressed at all.B2
Valves 1 + 2 + 3 pressed.C3
Valves 1 + 3 pressed.D♭3
Valves 2 + 3 pressed.D3
Valves 1 + 2 pressed.
On recorder, every method starts with the left hand alone: B, A and G (the "Hot Cross Buns" notes), then E and D bring in the right hand one finger at a time.
Thumb covered · holes 1 covered.A5
Thumb covered · holes 1-2 covered.G5
Thumb covered · holes 1-2-3 covered.E5
Thumb covered · holes 1-2-3-4-5 covered.D5
Thumb covered · holes 1-2-3-4-5-6 covered.
On oboe, beginners start in the middle of the first octave: C, D, E, G and B♭ — all plain fingerings with no octave key and no half-hole yet, the hand position the whole instrument is built on.
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky C key.D4
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3.E4
Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2.G4
Left hand 1-2-3.B♭4
Left hand 1-2 · right hand 1.
On bassoon, the first five notes are the very bottom of the instrument — B♭, B, C, C♯ and D — and they teach the left thumb's low row in a single lesson: all four low keys down for B♭, then one key letting go at a time while both hands stay down.
Left thumb low B♭ + B + C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.B1
Left thumb low B + C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.C2
Left thumb low C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.C♯2
Left thumb low C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · left pinky C♯ key · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.D2
Left thumb low D key · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
On French horn, beginners start in the middle of the low register — C, D, E♭, F and G — every one of them on the F side with the thumb trigger untouched: the open note and the first valve steps the whole instrument is built on.
How to read a fingering diagram
Our diagrams show the instrument from the front, simplified to the keys that matter. Filled keys and holes are the ones you press or cover; white ones stay open, and a half-filled hole is half-covered. On the clarinet diagram, the thumb hole sits on the back of the instrument, so it is drawn to the left, and the small key marked "Reg" is the register key. The bass clarinet diagram adds one more key the soprano does not have: the wide "Low E♭" extension key under the right pinky keys. On the flute diagram, the two levers at the top left are the thumb keys (B and B♭), and the three small foot-joint keys at the bottom are worked by the right pinky. On the saxophone diagram, the key marked "Oct" is the octave key under the left thumb, the three keys at the top right are the palm keys, and the clusters at the bottom are the two pinky tables. On the trumpet, tuba and euphonium diagrams there are just three numbered valves — 1 nearest you, 3 nearest the bell — and a filled valve is a pressed valve. The trombone diagram is drawn from the side: the dark bar is the slide brace, and it stops at the numbered marker for the position the note needs. On the recorder diagram the thumb hole (on the back) is drawn to the left, holes are numbered 1 to 7 down the front, and the two bottom holes are double holes — a half-filled one means covering only its lower small hole. On the oboe diagram, the two keys at the top are the octave keys — the first under the left thumb, the second worked by the side of the left index finger — the first hole can be half-filled (the half-hole), and the clusters at the bottom are the pinky keys: five for the left pinky, three for the right. On the bassoon diagram — the largest here — the column down the left is the left thumb's nine keys: the whisper key at the top, then the C♯ key, the three flick keys and the four low keys; a dashed key is a flick key, touched only as the note starts; the first hole can be part-filled, meaning partly covered by a quarter, a half or three quarters; and the columns on the right hold the right thumb's four keys above the right pinky's three. On the French horn diagram there are three valves — all worked by the left hand — a thumb-trigger lever marked T at the left, filled when it is held down, and a pill under the valves naming the side the fingering uses: F side, or B♭ side with the trigger down.
If a note has more than one standard fingering, the note page shows the main one first and the alternate underneath, with a note on when players choose each one — usually because of the notes around it in a fast passage.
Two families, one band
Every instrument here belongs to one of two families, and each family has its own hub. The woodwind fingering guide collects the key-and-hole instruments — clarinet, flute, saxophone, oboe, bassoon and recorder — and explains how their fingerings work. The brass fingering charts collect the valve-and-slide instruments — trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba and euphonium — with the valve combinations and slide positions for every note.
Printable charts, guides and trill charts
Three more ways to use the site. Every chart is also a printable fingering chart — a free PDF for the classroom wall, plus a blank worksheet of the same chart for quizzes and homework. The fingering guides teach what charts cannot: how to read a diagram, your first five notes on five instruments, why an alto sax sounds in E♭, and how to run the printables in a real classroom. And five instruments have trill charts — clarinet, flute, saxophone, oboe and bassoon — listing only the trills that verify against the checked charts. Teachers: the For Teachers page gathers all of it in one place.
Built for students, teachers and band directors
Print the chart for the classroom wall, open a note page on a tablet during practice, or use the Finder mid-lesson when a student asks "how do I play this one?" No accounts, no downloads, nothing between you and the answer. And if you ever spot a fingering you believe is wrong, there is a report link on every page — accuracy is the whole point of this site, and reports are checked against the sources, not ignored.
Common questions
What is a fingering chart?
A fingering chart shows you exactly which keys, holes and levers to press to play each note on an instrument. On this site every note has its own diagram, the fingering written out in words, and a sound you can play — so you can check a note in seconds during practice or a lesson.
Which clarinet notes are covered?
The complete standard range of the B♭ clarinet, from low E3 up to A6 in the altissimo register — 42 notes in all. That covers everything in school band music, method books and most orchestral parts.
Which bass clarinet notes are covered?
The complete standard written range of the B♭ bass clarinet, from low E♭3 — played with the extension key the soprano clarinet does not have — up to C6: 34 notes in all. The bass clarinet sounds a major ninth below its written notes. Professional low-C models play three notes lower still; those are explained on the bass clarinet chart page, because their keywork varies by maker.
Which flute notes are covered?
The complete standard range of the concert flute, from low C4 — the lowest note on a C-foot flute — up to C7 at the top of the third octave: 37 notes in all. The piccolo uses exactly the same fingerings and has its own chart page.
Which saxophone notes are covered?
The complete standard written range shared by all saxophones, from low B♭3 to high F6 — 32 notes. Soprano, alto, tenor and baritone all use the same fingerings, so there is one shared set of note pages, with the concert pitch for each instrument listed on every page. Many baritones also have a low A key for one extra note, covered on the baritone chart page.
Which trumpet notes are covered?
The complete standard written range of the B♭ trumpet, from low F♯3 to high C6 — 31 notes. The cornet and flugelhorn use exactly the same valve combinations, so there is one shared set of note pages for the whole trumpet family, and each instrument has its own chart page.
Which trombone notes are covered?
The standard tenor trombone range from low B♭2 to high F5 — 32 notes, each with its slide position and the harmonic (partial) it sits on. The trombone has no valves or keys in its basic form: one slide, seven positions, and the lips choose the harmonic. In bass clef it reads at concert pitch, so every note sounds exactly as written.
Which euphonium and baritone horn notes are covered?
The standard school range of the B♭ euphonium and baritone horn, from low B♭2 to B♭4 — 25 notes, each with its three-valve fingering and the harmonic (partial) it sits on. The two instruments share every fingering, so there is one shared set of note pages, and each instrument has its own chart page. In bass clef they read at concert pitch; every note page also gives the name the note is written under in a treble-clef part.
Which tuba notes are covered?
The standard school range of the BB♭ tuba, from low B♭1 to B♭3 — 25 notes, each with its three-valve fingering and the harmonic (partial) it sits on. The chart is for the three-valve tuba (and the sousaphone, which takes the same fingerings); the tuba chart page explains exactly how a fourth valve changes two fingerings in this range. In bass clef the tuba reads at concert pitch.
Which recorder notes are covered?
The standard range of the soprano (descant) recorder in C, from low C5 to C7 — 25 notes in Baroque (English) fingering, the system on the school recorders most students play. The recorder has no keys at all: eight holes, a thumb that half-holes (pinches) for the second octave, and double holes at the bottom for the lowest sharps and flats. The recorder chart page also explains the German fingering system and how its F differs.
Which oboe notes are covered?
The complete standard range of the conservatoire-system oboe, from low B♭3 up to F6 — 32 notes: the first octave, the three half-hole notes, both octave-key registers and the third octave. The oboe does not transpose, so every note sounds exactly as written. Above F6 the fingerings are altissimo fingerings that differ between makers, so the chart stops at F6 rather than print one maker’s version as standard.
Which bassoon notes are covered?
The complete standard range of the Heckel-system bassoon, from low B♭1 up to B♭4 — 37 notes: the low first octave, the second octave with its partial holes and flick keys, and the third octave. The bassoon reads at concert pitch in bass clef, so every note sounds exactly as written. Its left thumb alone works nine keys in these fingerings — the most complex keywork on this site — and the diagrams draw every one of them, with flicked keys dashed and the first hole’s partial coverage marked.
Which French horn notes are covered?
The complete standard range of the double horn in F/B♭, from low F♯3 up to C6 — 31 notes. Every note gives both sides of the horn: the school-standard side as the main fingering (the F side up to G4, the B♭ side from A♭4 up) and the other side as the alternate. The horn sounds a perfect fifth below its written notes.
Do trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn really use the same fingerings?
Yes — all three are B♭ instruments with the same three-valve system, so every combination is identical. Only the tone differs: the trumpet is brightest, the cornet rounder, the flugelhorn darkest. The same is true inside the saxophone family, where soprano, alto, tenor and baritone share one fingering system.
How do I know these fingerings are correct?
Every fingering on this site was checked against two independent authoritative sources before publishing: Yamaha’s official fingering charts throughout, with the Woodwind Fingering Guide for the woodwinds (including its dedicated bass clarinet charts and its basic oboe charts, checked against the NoteAtlas oboe chart) and the NoteAtlas charts for the brass family, the trombone, the tuba and the recorder. The bassoon — the most complicated keywork here — was checked against three: Yamaha’s Musical Instrument Guide chart and the Woodwind Fingering Guide’s bassoon charts, cross-checked against the First 5 Notes bassoon chart. The French horn’s fingerings come from the NoteAtlas and First 5 Notes French horn charts, which agree on the F/B♭ side system and on 27 of the 31 notes on each side. Where the sources offered different standard fingerings, one is shown as the main fingering and the other as the alternate.
What does "concert pitch" mean on the note pages?
Transposing instruments sound a different pitch from the one written. The B♭ clarinet and the whole trumpet family sound a whole step below their written notes; the bass clarinet sounds a major ninth below; the alto saxophone sounds a major sixth below; the French horn sounds a perfect fifth below. Each note page lists the written note and the concert pitch it produces on every instrument it applies to. The flute, the oboe, the bassoon (in bass clef), the trombone (in bass clef), the tuba, the euphonium in bass clef and the recorder (as named on this site) do not transpose — what you read is what sounds. (A euphonium or baritone part in treble clef does transpose: it sounds a major ninth below the written note, and every euphonium note page gives both names.)