E♭4 Bass Clarinet Fingering
How to play E♭4 on the bass clarinet: Thumb · left hand 1-2 · left pinky E♭/B♭ 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 E♭4 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 E♭4 fingering, step by step
- Cover the thumb hole with your left thumb.
- Left hand: cover holes 1, 2.
- Press the E♭/B♭ key with your left pinky.
In short: thumb · left hand 1-2 · left pinky E♭/B♭ key.
Alternate fingering for E♭4
Thumb · left hand 1-2 · trill key 4.
The trill-key version is the Woodwind Fingering Guide’s basic fingering for this note. It comes into its own in fast passages and trills, where the lever would be slower to reach.
About E♭4 on the bass clarinet
These notes bridge the low register and the throat tones. Most of them keep the left hand fully down while the right hand opens up, which makes them a good test of whether your left-hand position is staying put on the larger keywork.
E♭4 is one of the few notes where the two standard references present different basic fingerings: Yamaha’s chart uses the E♭/B♭ lever (the main fingering above), while the Woodwind Fingering Guide’s basic chart uses trill key 4 (the alternate above). Both are correct — players choose the one that fits the passage.
E♭4 is note 13 of the 34 in the full bass clarinet fingering chart, sitting between D4 below it and E4 above it.
Doubling from soprano clarinet? This is the same fingering as E♭4 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 E♭4
Keep the left hand down and lift only the fingers this fingering asks for. Extra lifted fingers make the pitch wander and the tone thin out — more noticeable on the bass than on the soprano.
Questions about E♭4
What is the fingering for E♭4 on bass clarinet?
Thumb · left hand 1-2 · left pinky E♭/B♭ key. E♭4 is a middle 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 E♭4 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 E♭4 sounds as concert D♭3. When your band director asks for a concert D♭3, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for E♭4?
Yes — Thumb · left hand 1-2 · trill key 4. The trill-key version is the Woodwind Fingering Guide’s basic fingering for this note. It comes into its own in fast passages and trills, where the lever would be slower to reach.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.