F♯4 Bass Clarinet Fingering
How to play F♯4 on the bass clarinet: Left hand 1.
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 F♯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 F♯4 fingering, step by step
- Left hand: cover hole 1.
In short: left hand 1.
Alternate fingering for F♯4
Thumb · trill keys 3 & 4.
This is the chromatic F♯ — use it next to F4, where the thumb is already down and can simply stay where it is.
About F♯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.
F♯4 breaks the pattern of its neighbours: the thumb comes off completely and a single finger plays the note. It is the last note before the throat tones.
F♯4 is note 16 of the 34 in the full bass clarinet fingering chart, sitting between F4 below it and G4 above it.
Doubling from soprano clarinet? This is the same fingering as F♯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 F♯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 F♯4
What is the fingering for F♯4 on bass clarinet?
Left hand 1. F♯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 F♯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 F♯4 sounds as concert E3. When your band director asks for a concert E3, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for F♯4?
Yes — Thumb · trill keys 3 & 4. This is the chromatic F♯ — use it next to F4, where the thumb is already down and can simply stay where it is.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.