F♯3 Bassoon Fingering
How to play F♯3 on the bassoon: Whisper key · left hand 1 (quarter-covered)-2-3 · right thumb F♯ key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
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 F♯3 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♯3 fingering, step by step
- Press the whisper key with your left thumb and keep it down for the whole note. It is the bassoon’s register vent: it helps this register speak cleanly, but unlike a clarinet register key it does not choose the register for you — the fingering does that.
- Cover only a quarter of the first hole with your left index finger: slide the finger up the key so the stated fraction of the hole stays open. This partial hole is the bassoon’s vent for this note — the exact fraction matters, so find it by ear against a tuner.
- 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.
- Press the F♯ key with your right thumb — one of the four keys in the right thumb’s own cluster on the boot joint.
- Cover hole 1 with your right index finger.
- Cover hole 2 with your right middle finger.
- Cover hole 3 with your right ring finger.
- Press the F key with your right pinky.
In short: whisper key · left hand 1 (quarter-covered)-2-3 · right thumb F♯ key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
Alternate fingering for F♯3
Whisper key · left hand 1 (quarter-covered)-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key + F♯ key.
This version takes F♯ with the right pinky’s F♯ key added beside its F key, instead of the right thumb’s F♯ key — the same choice as at F♯2, one octave up, with the quarter-covered first hole unchanged.
About F♯3 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.
F♯3 opens the second octave, and the technique changes: the first hole is only a quarter covered. Slide your left index finger up its key so roughly a quarter of the hole stays open — the fraction comes from the Woodwind Fingering Guide, and Yamaha’s chart confirms a partial hole on exactly this note. The three partial-hole notes (F♯3, G3, G♯3) are tuned by ear and finger position, not by looking; practise them against a tuner.
F♯3 is note 21 of the 37 in the full bassoon fingering chart, sitting between F3 below it and G3 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 F♯3
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 F♯3
What is the fingering for F♯3 on bassoon?
Whisper key · left hand 1 (quarter-covered)-2-3 · right thumb F♯ key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key. F♯3 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 F♯3 sound like on a bassoon?
Exactly F♯3 — the bassoon is a non-transposing instrument that reads at concert pitch in the bass clef, so written F♯3 sounds as concert F♯3. When your conductor asks for a concert F♯3, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for F♯3?
Yes — Whisper key · left hand 1 (quarter-covered)-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key + F♯ key. This version takes F♯ with the right pinky’s F♯ key added beside its F key, instead of the right thumb’s F♯ key — the same choice as at F♯2, one octave up, with the quarter-covered first hole unchanged.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.