Baritone Horn Fingering Chart
Every note on the school B♭ baritone horn, from low B♭2 to B♭4 — with a valve diagram, the fingering written out in words, and the harmonic each note sits on. This is a three-valve chart, and it is also the euphonium chart: the two instruments share every fingering, so each row links to the shared note page for that note. The table is in bass clef at concert pitch; if your part is in treble clef, the section below the table shows you exactly how to read it.
Same fingerings, two instruments: Euphonium fingering chart · Baritone horn fingering chart
Find a note fast
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.
Low register — the tuning-note octave
| Note | On the staff (bass clef) | Fingering | In words | Sounds as (concert) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B♭2 | Open — no valves pressed at all. | B♭2 | ||
| B2 | Valves 1 + 2 + 3 pressed. | B2 | ||
| C3 | Valves 1 + 3 pressed. | C3 | ||
| D♭3 | Valves 2 + 3 pressed. | D♭3 | ||
| D3 | Valves 1 + 2 pressed. Alternate: Valve 3 pressed. |
D3 | ||
| E♭3 | Valve 1 pressed. | E♭3 | ||
| E3 | Valve 2 pressed. | E3 | ||
| F3 | Open — no valves pressed at all. Alternate: Valves 1 + 3 pressed. |
F3 |
Middle register — the heart of the staff
| Note | On the staff (bass clef) | Fingering | In words | Sounds as (concert) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G♭3 | Valves 2 + 3 pressed. | G♭3 | ||
| G3 | Valves 1 + 2 pressed. Alternate: Valve 3 pressed. |
G3 | ||
| A♭3 | Valve 1 pressed. | A♭3 | ||
| A3 | Valve 2 pressed. | A3 | ||
| B♭3 | Open — no valves pressed at all. | B♭3 | ||
| B3 | Valves 1 + 2 pressed. | B3 | ||
| C4 | Valve 1 pressed. Alternate: Valves 1 + 3 pressed. |
C4 | ||
| D♭4 | Valve 2 pressed. | D♭4 | ||
| D4 | Open — no valves pressed at all. Alternate: Valves 1 + 2 pressed. |
D4 |
High register — up to B♭4
| Note | On the staff (bass clef) | Fingering | In words | Sounds as (concert) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E♭4 | Valve 1 pressed. | E♭4 | ||
| E4 | Valve 2 pressed. | E4 | ||
| F4 | Open — no valves pressed at all. | F4 | ||
| G♭4 | Valves 2 + 3 pressed. | G♭4 | ||
| G4 | Valves 1 + 2 pressed. | G4 | ||
| A♭4 | Valve 1 pressed. | A♭4 | ||
| A4 | Valve 2 pressed. | A4 | ||
| B♭4 | Open — no valves pressed at all. | B♭4 |
Reading this chart in treble clef (the brass-band way)
Baritone horn music comes in two notations, and mixing them up is the most common baritone mistake of all. In bass clef — American school and concert bands — the part is written at concert pitch: written B♭2 sounds as B♭2, exactly as in the table above. In treble clef — the British brass-band tradition, where the baritone has its own parts alongside the tenor horns and euphoniums — the instrument is treated as a transposing B♭ instrument, and the part is written a major ninth higher than it sounds. The concert B♭2 that opens the table is written C4; concert C3 is written D4; concert F3 is written G4; concert B♭3 is written C5. The valves do not care which clef you read: the fingering for the sounding note is the same. Every note page on this site gives both names — look up the note you need by its concert (bass-clef) name, and the page tells you what it is written as in treble clef. If you are holding a treble-clef part, take each written note down a major ninth (written C is concert B♭, written D is concert C) and use the table.
Baritone horn or euphonium — which one are you holding?
For fingerings it does not matter, but the instruments are genuinely different. The baritone horn has a smaller, narrower bore, a smaller bell, and a brighter, lighter sound — in a brass band it blends with the tenor horns and takes agile, middle-voice parts. The euphonium has a wider, more conical bore and sounds darker and mellower, taking the singing solo lines. American schools often label both instruments "baritone" and hand them out interchangeably, and many school "baritones" are actually compact euphoniums; marching baritones (the forward-bell field version) are true baritones. Whichever is in your hands: it is in B♭, it has three valves (a fourth on some euphoniums), and this chart is its chart. The full comparison, and the euphonium's own chart page, are on the euphonium fingering chart.
How the fingerings are organised
The baritone runs on the same seven valve combinations as every valved brass instrument — open, 2, 1, 1+2, 2+3, 1+3, 1+2+3 — and each combination is a full harmonic series that your lips and air select from. The open horn plays B♭2, F3, B♭3, D4, F4 and B♭4 in this range. The low staff is built downwards from F3 through all six remaining combinations to B2, and its last two notes — C3 (1+3) and B2 (1+2+3) — play sharp the way all long combinations do: lip them down, or use the fourth-valve swaps (4 for 1+3, 2+4 for 1+2+3) if your instrument has a fourth valve. Most school baritones do not — three valves, honestly charted, is what this page is for.
Sources
Every fingering in this chart was checked against two independent references: the University of Mississippi's chromatic fingering chart for euphonium and baritone horn by Micah Everett — a chart published for the two instruments together, exactly as they are presented here — and the NoteAtlas euphonium fingering chart, whose publisher states the same sharing rule: bass-clef baritone players use the euphonium chart exactly as written. The two sources agree on all 25 main fingerings, cross-checked against Yamaha's official BB♭ tuba chart (the same fingerings, one octave lower).
Baritone horn fingering questions
How many notes are in this baritone horn fingering chart?
Twenty-five — the standard school range of the B♭ baritone horn, from low B♭2 up to B♭4, every chromatic note in between. The table below is in bass clef at concert pitch; the treble-clef section on this page explains what the same notes are called in a treble-clef (brass band) part. A three-valve baritone plays a few notes lower than B♭2 as false tones, and advanced players play higher than B♭4, but B♭2 to B♭4 is the range school and band parts actually use.
Are baritone horn and euphonium fingerings really identical?
Yes — every note, across the whole range. Both instruments are pitched in B♭ and use the same three-valve system, so a fingering learned on one transfers to the other without a single change. That is why the note pages linked from this chart are the shared euphonium note pages. The instruments differ in bore and tone — the baritone is smaller-bored and brighter — never in fingerings.
My baritone part is in treble clef — how do I use this bass-clef chart?
Read your written note a major ninth lower to find it in this chart: the note written C4 in a treble-clef part sounds as concert B♭2, which is the B♭2 row of the table. Written D4 is concert C3, written G4 is concert F3, and so on — every written note sounds an octave plus a whole step lower than it looks. Every note page on this site also states the treble-clef name of the note ("written in treble clef as…"), so you can check both directions. The fingerings themselves are the same in either clef.
What is the fingering for B flat on the baritone horn?
B♭ is an open note in all three of its octaves in this chart — B♭2, B♭3 and B♭4 are all played with no valves down, on the 2nd, 4th and 8th partials respectively. Your lips and air choose which B♭ sounds. It is the baritone’s tuning note, and the note the whole band tunes to.
Is this a 3 valve baritone finger chart?
Yes — every fingering in the table uses valves 1, 2 and 3 only, which is what school baritone horns have. If your baritone or euphonium has a fourth valve, play valve 4 wherever the chart shows 1+3 and valves 2+4 wherever it shows 1+2+3; those two swaps are the only differences in this range, and they exist to fix the sharpness of the long combinations.
Can I print this baritone fingering chart?
Yes — use the print button above the chart. The printed version keeps the full table with a valve diagram for every note, sized to read at arm’s length on a music stand.