E3 Bass Clarinet Fingering
How to play E3 on the bass clarinet: 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 E3 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 E3 fingering, step by step
- Cover the thumb hole 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: thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E key.
Alternate fingering for E3
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 E3 on the bass clarinet
The chalumeau is the bass clarinet’s glory — the dark, woody low register the instrument exists for. These fingerings are the foundation of everything above them: add the register key to most of them and the same fingers produce the clarion register a twelfth higher. The register starts one note lower than the soprano’s, on the low E♭ extension key.
E3 is where the bass and soprano clarinets part company by exactly one note: it is the soprano’s lowest note, but on the bass it is simply the second note of the instrument. The fingering is the full-length one — every hole covered and the E key down — and on the bigger instrument the challenge is air: this note needs a full, slow column of it.
E3 is note 2 of the 34 in the full bass clarinet fingering chart, sitting between E♭3 below it and F3 above it.
Doubling from soprano clarinet? This is the same fingering as E3 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 E3
Low bass notes speak best with a great deal of slow, warm air. If this note cracks, gurgles or will not start, check first that the pinky keys are sealing their pads completely — the levers are long, and a half-pressed pinky key is the usual culprit down here.
Questions about E3
What is the fingering for E3 on bass clarinet?
Thumb · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E key. E3 is a chalumeau 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 E3 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 E3 sounds as concert D2. When your band director asks for a concert D2, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for E3?
Yes — 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.