E6 Clarinet Fingering

How to play E6 on the clarinet: Register key · thumb · left hand 2-3 · left pinky G♯ key.

RegAG♯ThumbTrillG♯C♯E♭EFF♯Left pinky keysEFF♯Right pinky keys
Written pitch: E6 Sounds as: concert D6 Register: Altissimo Also written as: F♭6

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 E6 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 E6 fingering, step by step

  1. Press the register key with your left thumb.
  2. Keep the thumb hole covered with your left thumb.
  3. Left hand: cover holes 2, 3.
  4. Press the G♯ key with your left pinky.

In short: register key · thumb · left hand 2-3 · left pinky G♯ key.

About E6 on the clarinet

The altissimo register sits above the clarion. Its fingerings no longer copy the low register; each note has its own combination, often with a pinky key added to tune it, and advanced players choose between variants by instrument and by passage.

E6 is note 37 of the 42 in the full clarinet fingering chart, sitting between E♭6 below it and F6 above it. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against Yamaha’s official chart and the Woodwind Fingering Guide before publishing.

Practising E6

Altissimo notes need fast, focused air and a firm — not biting — embouchure. Learn this note by approaching it from the clarion note below, a few times a day, rather than in one long session.

← Previous note
E♭6

Questions about E6

What is the fingering for E6 on clarinet?

Register key · thumb · left hand 2-3 · left pinky G♯ key. E6 is a altissimo register note. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.

What does E6 sound like on a clarinet?

The clarinet is a transposing instrument in B♭, so written E6 sounds one whole step lower, as concert D6. When your band director asks for a concert D6, this is the note you finger.

Is there an alternate fingering for E6?

For E6, 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.