B5 Clarinet Fingering
How to play B5 on the clarinet: Register key · thumb · 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 clarinet, so it is drawn to the left; the small cluster at the bottom is the pinky keys.
Hear B5 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 B5 fingering, step by step
- Press the register key with your left thumb.
- Keep the thumb hole covered with your left thumb.
- Left hand: cover hole 1.
In short: register key · thumb · left hand 1.
About B5 on the clarinet
The clarion is the clarinet’s bright, singing register. Almost every clarion fingering is a low-register fingering plus the register key — which is why the low register is worth learning properly first.
B5 is note 32 of the 42 in the full clarinet fingering chart, sitting between B♭5 below it and C6 above it. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against Yamaha’s official chart and the Woodwind Fingering Guide before publishing.
Practising B5
If this note squeaks or drops to its low partner, check your left thumb: it must keep the thumb hole covered while its tip presses the register key. Half-covering the hole is the usual culprit.
Questions about B5
What is the fingering for B5 on clarinet?
Register key · thumb · left hand 1. B5 is a clarion register note. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
What does B5 sound like on a clarinet?
The clarinet is a transposing instrument in B♭, so written B5 sounds one whole step lower, as concert A5. When your band director asks for a concert A5, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for B5?
For B5, the fingering above is the one to learn. It is the basic fingering both reference charts give for this note, and the one teachers expect to see.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.