C♯4 Bassoon Fingering
How to play C♯4 on the bassoon: Left thumb low D key · left thumb C♯ key · left hand 1-2-3.
Filled keys and holes in the diagram are the ones you press or cover, and a part-filled first hole is partly covered — a quarter, a half or three quarters, exactly as the fingering states. The column down the left is the left thumb’s nine keys: the whisper key at the top, then the C♯ key, the three flick keys and the four low keys; a dashed flick key is touched only as the note starts, then released. Below them sit the left pinky’s E♭ and C♯ keys — drawn as two keys, because on the instrument they are two. The columns on the right are the right thumb’s four keys and the right pinky’s three, and the narrow key between the right hand’s second and third holes is the sliver B♭ key.
Hear C♯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 C♯4 fingering, step by step
- Press the low D key with your left thumb — one of the four big keys in the low row of the thumb cluster, the keys that lengthen the instrument for its lowest notes.
- Press the C♯ key with your left thumb — the separate thumb key that sits apart from the low row and the flick keys.
- Cover hole 1 with your left index finger.
- Cover hole 2 with your left middle finger.
- Cover hole 3 with your left ring finger. The third left-hand hole is closed by a ring key rather than a plain hole — your finger presses the ring and the pad seals the hole.
In short: left thumb low D key · left thumb C♯ key · left hand 1-2-3.
Alternate fingering for C♯4
Left thumb C♯ key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 2-3 · right pinky F key.
This version drops the low D thumb key and instead puts the right hand’s second and third fingers down with the right pinky’s F key, keeping the C♯ thumb key. The references print both; players choose by which hand the passage leaves free.
About C♯4 on the bassoon
The second octave is where the bassoon’s special techniques arrive together. It opens with the three partial-hole notes, where the left index finger covers a quarter, a half and three quarters of its hole; continues through the flick notes, where a thumb key is tapped at the attack and released; and closes with plainer fingerings in which the whisper key quietly retires and the thumb keys take over the work.
C♯4 is a thumb note: the left thumb holds its C♯ key and the low D key together, with both hands otherwise nearly empty. Notice what is missing — the whisper key. By this point in the register the thumb has other work, and the fingering carries the note without the vent. The alternate below swaps the low D key for right-hand fingers and the F pinky key; the references print both.
C♯4 is note 28 of the 37 in the full bassoon fingering chart, sitting between C4 below it and D4 above it.
Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against Yamaha’s Musical Instrument Guide bassoon chart, the Woodwind Fingering Guide’s bassoon charts and the First 5 Notes bassoon chart before publishing.
Practising C♯4
Practise the flick as a separate tap: finger A3 silently, tap the A flick key with the thumb, then play the note and flick at the same instant — the thumb should already be hovering over the cluster. For the partial-hole notes, work against a tuner and learn the fractions by feel; your finger cannot watch itself in a fast passage.
Questions about C♯4
What is the fingering for C♯4 on bassoon?
Left thumb low D key · left thumb C♯ key · left hand 1-2-3. C♯4 is a second octave note on the bassoon. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
What does C♯4 sound like on a bassoon?
Exactly C♯4 — the bassoon is a non-transposing instrument that reads at concert pitch in the bass clef, so written C♯4 sounds as concert C♯4. When your conductor asks for a concert C♯4, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for C♯4?
Yes — Left thumb C♯ key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 2-3 · right pinky F key. This version drops the low D thumb key and instead puts the right hand’s second and third fingers down with the right pinky’s F key, keeping the C♯ thumb key. The references print both; players choose by which hand the passage leaves free.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.