Fingering Chartly

Bassoon Trill Fingering Chart

Bassoon trills in the low register are finger trills — one finger lifts and falls while the thumb cluster stays put — and they are the trills this page can prove.

How to read this chart

Each of the fourteen trills below was tested mechanically against this site's checked bassoon fingerings: hold one note, toggle exactly the element the published trill notation marks, and the result must be the partner note's verified fingering. All fourteen sit in the bassoon's first two octaves, which is where school and community band trills actually live.

Each row gives a pair of neighbouring notes. Finger the first note exactly as the diagram shows — that fingering does not change. Then move only the element named in the third column, fast and evenly. That single moving element is the whole trill.

TrillHold this fingeringWhat moves
B♭1–B1Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Left thumb low B♭ + B + C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
Trill the low B♭ key with your left thumb.
B1–C2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Left thumb low B + C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
Trill the low B key with your left thumb.
C2–D2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Left thumb low C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
Trill the low C key with your left thumb.
C♯2–D2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Left thumb low C + D keys · left hand 1-2-3 · left pinky C♯ key · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
Trill the low C key with your left thumb and the C♯ key with your left pinky.
D2–E♭2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Left thumb low D key · left hand 1-2-3 · left pinky E♭ key · right thumb E key · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
Trill the E♭ key with your left pinky.
F2–G2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky F key.
Trill the F key with your right pinky.
G2–G♯2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky G♯ key.
Trill the G♯ key with your right pinky.
G2–A2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3.
Trill your right-hand ring finger.
A2–B♭2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2-3 · right thumb B♭ key · right hand 1-2.
Trill the B♭ key with your right thumb.
A2–B2Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2.
Trill your right-hand middle finger.
B2–C3Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1.
Trill your right-hand index finger.
C3–D3Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2-3.
Trill your left-hand ring finger.
D3–E3Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1-2.
Trill your left-hand middle finger.
E3–F3Dashed key = flick it as the note starts, then let goWhispC♯D flB flA flFlick keysB♭BCDLeft thumbE♭C♯Left pinkyB♭ TE TF♯ TG♯ TRight thumbFF♯G♯Right pinkyPart-filled hole 1 = the hole partly coveredNine keys under the left thumb alone
Whisper key · left hand 1.
Trill your left-hand index finger.

Why this chart is shorter than most

The upper-register bassoon trills in published tables depend on flick-key timing and special ventings — the same flick keys this site marks carefully on the bassoon chart — and a toggle test on basic fingerings cannot prove them. They are withheld, not because they are wrong, but because this page only prints what it can stand behind twice over. A bassoonist ready for third-octave trills is ready for a teacher's ear on them anyway; the chart's job is to make the fourteen everyday trills unmissable.

Every fingering these trills stand on is on the bassoon fingering chart, checked against two published sources. If a trill you need is missing, the honest answer today is: it has not passed verification yet — ask a teacher, and tell us which trill you were looking for.

Hear the notes in the Fingering Finder

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.

Open the full note page →

What is a trill fingering?

The fingering that stays still while one finger or key shakes. On the bassoon the low-register trills are worked by single fingers; the left thumb cluster — whisper key included — stays exactly where the held note put it.

Why are all the trills here in the low register?

Because those are the ones the verification test can prove against the checked chart. Higher trills use flick keys and special fingerings that a basic-fingering test cannot confirm, so they are withheld rather than printed on trust.

Does this chart use the same fingerings as the bassoon chart page?

Yes — every trill is tested against the fingerings on the bassoon fingering chart, which rest on Yamaha's bassoon chart, the Woodwind Fingering Guide and the First 5 Notes chart.