C3 Euphonium Fingering
How to play C3 on the euphonium: Valves 1 + 3 pressed. — on the 3rd partial, in bass clef, sounding exactly as written. The baritone horn plays this note with exactly the same fingering.
Filled valves in the diagram are the ones you press. Valve 1 is nearest you and is worked by your right index finger, valve 2 by the middle finger, and valve 3 — nearest the bell — by the ring finger. These are three-valve fingerings for the B♭ euphonium; the staff is in bass clef, and in bass clef the euphonium sounds exactly as written. The same fingering serves the baritone horn, and a treble-clef player will find this note written as D4.
Hear C3 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 C3 fingering, step by step
- Press valve 1 with your right index finger — press it straight down, all the way, with the pad of the finger. The three valves sit under the right hand on both euphonium and baritone horn.
- Press valve 3 with your right ring finger — press it straight down, all the way, with the pad of the finger. The three valves sit under the right hand on both euphonium and baritone horn.
- Keep the fingers you are not using curved and resting lightly on their valve caps, ready for the next note.
- This combination (valves 1 and 3 together) runs sharp, because two shorter valve slides added together always come up short. Lip the note down a little — and if your instrument has a fourth valve, this is exactly the fingering the fourth valve replaces: play valve 4 alone instead. On a compensating euphonium the extra tubing corrects this note automatically when the fourth valve is used.
In short: valves 1 + 3 pressed.
About C3 on the euphonium
The low register runs from the 2nd partial (B♭2, open) through the 3rd partial’s ladder (B2 up to F3). These notes want slow, warm air and a relaxed, open embouchure — the euphonium’s low register is where its dark tone is built, and it is coaxed, not forced. The two longest combinations, C3 and B2, play sharp and need the lip — or a fourth valve — to bring them home.
C3 is the other half of the sharp pair: valves 1+3, the combination the fourth valve exists to replace. Four-valve players simply play valve 4 here — the Mississippi chart lists it first for this note. Three-valve players lip it down and build that into the fingering from the start.
C3 is note 3 of the 25 in the full euphonium fingering chart, sitting between B2 below it and D♭3 above it. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against the NoteAtlas euphonium chart and the University of Mississippi's euphonium and baritone chart before publishing — and the same fingering serves the baritone horn.
Practising C3
Low notes speak with slow air and a dropped jaw. If this note cracks upward, your lips found the partial above: loosen the embouchure, slow the air down, and let the note settle rather than pushing it.
Questions about C3
What is the fingering for C3 on euphonium?
Valves 1 + 3 pressed. C3 is played on the 3rd partial (harmonic) of the B♭ euphonium in the low register, with the three-valve fingerings this site charts. The baritone horn uses exactly the same fingering for this note. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
Does C3 sound as written on euphonium?
In bass clef, yes: euphonium and baritone parts are written at concert pitch, so written C3 sounds as concert C3 — the same pitch a piano plays. In a treble-clef (brass band) part the same sounding note is written a major ninth higher, as D4. The fingering is identical either way.
Is there an alternate fingering for C3?
For C3, 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.