Flute Fingering Chart
Every note on the concert flute, from low C4 to C7 at the top of the third octave — with a fingering diagram, the fingering written out in words, and the sound of each note. The flute does not transpose, so every note sounds exactly as written. Use the Finder to jump straight to a note, or work through the chart octave by octave.
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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.
Low register — the first octave
| Note | On the staff | Fingering | In words | Sounds as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky low C key. | C4 | ||
| C♯4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky low C♯ key. | C♯4 | ||
| D4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3. | D4 | ||
| E♭4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E♭ key. | E♭4 | ||
| E4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key. | E4 | ||
| F4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. | F4 | ||
| F♯4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 3 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 2 · right pinky E♭ key. |
F♯4 | ||
| G4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E♭ key. | G4 | ||
| G♯4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. | G♯4 | ||
| A4 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right hand 1-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. |
A4 | ||
| B♭4 | Thumb key · left hand 1 · right hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb B♭ lever · left hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. |
B♭4 | ||
| B4 | Thumb on the B lever · left hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. | B4 | ||
| C5 | Left hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. | C5 | ||
| C♯5 | Right pinky E♭ key. | C♯5 |
Middle register — the second octave
| Note | On the staff | Fingering | In words | Sounds as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D5 | Thumb key · left hand 2-3 · right hand 1-2-3. | D5 | ||
| E♭5 | Thumb key · left hand 2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E♭ key. | E♭5 | ||
| E5 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key. | E5 | ||
| F5 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. | F5 | ||
| F♯5 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 3 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 2 · right pinky E♭ key. |
F♯5 | ||
| G5 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E♭ key. | G5 | ||
| G♯5 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. | G♯5 | ||
| A5 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right hand 1-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. |
A5 | ||
| B♭5 | Thumb key · left hand 1 · right hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb B♭ lever · left hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. |
B♭5 | ||
| B5 | Thumb on the B lever · left hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. | B5 | ||
| C6 | Left hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. | C6 | ||
| C♯6 | Right pinky E♭ key. | C♯6 |
High register — the third octave
| Note | On the staff | Fingering | In words | Sounds as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D6 | Thumb key · left hand 2-3 · right pinky E♭ key. | D6 | ||
| E♭6 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. | E♭6 | ||
| E6 | Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key. | E6 | ||
| F6 | Thumb key · left hand 1-3 · right hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. | F6 | ||
| F♯6 | Thumb on the B lever · left hand 1-3 · right hand 3 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb on the B lever · left hand 1-3 · right hand 3 · gizmo key. |
F♯6 | ||
| G6 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right pinky E♭ key. | G6 | ||
| G♯6 | Left hand 2-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Left hand 2-3 · right hand 2-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. |
G♯6 | ||
| A6 | Thumb key · left hand 2 · right hand 1 · right pinky E♭ key. Alternate: Thumb key · left hand 2 · right hand 1 · gizmo key. |
A6 | ||
| B♭6 | Thumb key · right hand 1 · D trill key. | B♭6 | ||
| B6 | Thumb on the B lever · left hand 1-3 · D# trill key. | B6 | ||
| C7 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1 · left pinky G♯ key. | C7 |
How the flute's three octaves work
The flute has no register key. Instead, the player overblows: keep the same fingering, speed up the air and aim it slightly higher, and the note jumps to the octave above. That is why most second-octave fingerings are identical to the first octave — E5 is fingered exactly like E4, F♯5 like F♯4, and so on. Two notes break the pattern: the Ds change completely (the left index finger lifts to vent the note), and C5 and C♯5 drop the thumb and most of the fingers.
The third octave (D6 upward) stops copying the low octave. Its fingerings are built note by note — forked shapes like F6's 1-3 fingering, thumb-less notes like G6 and G♯6, and two notes, B♭6 and B6, that are played with a trill key instead of the usual finger keys. The E♭ key also stays off for those two notes and for C7. None of this is guesswork: every fingering in the chart is the standard basic fingering from the sources below.
The E♭ key — your right pinky's home
New flute players are often surprised that the right pinky stays down almost all the time. The E♭ key is a vent: holding it open improves tuning and response across the instrument and keeps the flute balanced. It only lifts for the notes listed in the questions below the chart — the Ds, the foot-joint notes C4 and C♯4 (where the pinky moves down to the foot keys), B♭6, B6 and C7.
A sensible way to practise from this chart
Learn the first octave with the E♭ key habit built in from the start — unlearning a floating pinky later is much harder. Pay special attention to the F/F♯ swap (the right hand uses finger 1 for F and finger 3 for F♯) and to the two B♭ fingerings. In the second octave, only the Ds and Cs are genuinely new. Leave the third octave until the second is secure, and learn those notes in the order your music asks for them.
Sources
Every fingering in this chart was checked against two independent references: Yamaha's official flute fingering chart (Musical Instrument Guide) and the Woodwind Fingering Guide's flute and piccolo charts. The two sources agree on all 37 main fingerings. Where they offer different standard fingerings — the thumb-B♭ lever for B♭ is the classic example — the chart shows one as the main fingering and the other as the alternate, so nothing is hidden.
Flute fingering questions
How many notes are in this flute fingering chart?
Thirty-seven — the complete standard written range of the concert flute, from low C4 to C7 at the top of the third octave. Flutes with a B foot joint can play one note lower, to B3, with the same all-fingers-down fingering plus the low B key.
Why is the E♭ key down for almost every note?
The E♭ key (worked by the right pinky) is a vent as much as a note key: holding it down improves the tuning and response of most notes, and it helps balance the flute in your hands. The exceptions in this chart are the two Ds (D4 and D5), the two lowest notes (where the pinky moves to the foot joint), B♭6, B6 and C7.
Why do D4 and D5 have no E♭ key?
Because the E♭ key IS the key that turns D into E♭ — pressing it would sharpen the D. For both Ds the right pinky lifts off completely, which feels odd for a day and then becomes automatic.
Should I learn the thumb-B♭ lever or the one-and-four B♭?
Learn the one-and-four fingering first (left 1, right 1) — it works in every passage. The thumb-B♭ lever, shown as the alternate on the B♭ note pages, is faster in music with no B naturals nearby, but it must be avoided in passages that also need B natural, because the thumb cannot be in both places at once.
Can I print this fingering chart?
Yes — use the print button above the chart. The printed version keeps the full table with a small diagram for every note, sized to read at arm’s length on a music stand.
Are these the same fingerings for piccolo?
Yes — the piccolo is built to the same Boehm system at half the size, and the standard chart is published for flute and piccolo together. Every fingering on this page works on piccolo exactly as written; the piccolo sounds one octave higher. There is also a dedicated piccolo fingering chart page on this site.