B4 Bass Clarinet Fingering
How to play B4 on the bass clarinet: Register key · thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E key.
Filled keys and holes in the diagram are the ones you press or cover. The thumb hole is on the back of the instrument, so it is drawn to the left; the clusters at the bottom are the pinky keys, and the wide key marked "Low E♭" is the bass clarinet's extension key, below the right-hand pinky keys.
Hear B4 and try the fingering
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.
The B4 fingering, step by step
- Press the register key with your left thumb.
- Keep the thumb hole covered with your left thumb.
- Left hand: cover holes 1, 2, 3.
- Right hand: cover holes 1, 2, 3.
- Press the E key with your left pinky.
In short: register key · thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E key.
Alternate fingering for B4
Register key · thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E key.
Use whichever little finger the notes around it leave free — the alternate exists so you never have to slide a pinky between two keys in a fast passage.
About B4 on the bass clarinet
The clarion is the bass clarinet’s singing register. Almost every clarion fingering is a low-register fingering plus the register key — which is why the low register, extension key and all, is worth learning properly first.
B4 is the first note of the clarion register, on the other side of the break. Its fingering is low E’s fingering plus the register key: the same fingers, sounding a twelfth higher — the clarinet family’s defining trick, unchanged by the instrument’s size.
B4 is note 21 of the 34 in the full bass clarinet fingering chart, sitting between B♭4 below it and C5 above it.
Doubling from soprano clarinet? This is the same fingering as B4 on the clarinet — the Boehm fingerings are shared across the clarinet family, which is why the bass is the standard first double. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against the Woodwind Fingering Guide's bass clarinet charts and Yamaha's official chart before publishing.
Practising B4
If this note squeaks or drops to its low partner, check your left thumb: it must keep the thumb hole covered while its tip presses the register key. Half-covering the hole is the usual culprit, on bass exactly as on soprano.
Questions about B4
What is the fingering for B4 on bass clarinet?
Register key · thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E key. B4 is a clarion register note on the bass clarinet. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
What does B4 sound like on a bass clarinet?
The bass clarinet is a transposing instrument in B♭ that sounds a major ninth below its written notes, so written B4 sounds as concert A3. When your band director asks for a concert A3, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for B4?
Yes — Register key · thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E key. Use whichever little finger the notes around it leave free — the alternate exists so you never have to slide a pinky between two keys in a fast passage.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.