A4 Flute Fingering
How to play A4 on the flute: Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key.
Filled keys in the diagram are the ones you press. The two levers at the top left are the thumb keys; the three keys along the bottom are the foot-joint keys, worked by the right pinky — the same pinky that holds the E♭ key on most notes. Piccolo players: this fingering is identical on piccolo and sounds an octave higher.
Hear A4 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 A4 fingering, step by step
- Put your left thumb on the thumb key (the B lever is its home position).
- Left hand: press keys 1, 2.
- Rest your right pinky on the E♭ key and keep it down — it stays down for most flute notes, for tuning and balance.
In short: thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key.
Alternate fingering for A4
Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right hand 1-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key.
Yamaha’s official chart gives this alternate, which keeps the G♯ key down — made for passages moving between G♯ and A, where the main fingering forces the left pinky to jump on and off its key.
About A4 on the flute
The low register is the flute’s warm, quiet voice. Almost every fingering here keeps the E♭ key down and the hands in a simple ladder — the exceptions are the two foot-joint notes at the very bottom, where the right pinky works the foot keys instead.
A4 is where the right hand first opens completely. Yamaha’s chart gives the alternate above, which keeps the G♯ key down and adds right-hand fingers 1 and 3 — useful in passages moving between G♯ and A, where the pinky would otherwise have to jump on and off its key.
A4 is note 10 of the 37 in the full flute fingering chart, sitting between G♯4 below it and B♭4 above it. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against Yamaha’s official chart and the Woodwind Fingering Guide before publishing.
Practising A4
Low notes need slow, warm air and a relaxed embouchure — blowing harder just makes them jump an octave. If this note will not speak, check that every finger is sealing its key completely and that the right pinky is where this fingering puts it.
Questions about A4
What is the fingering for A4 on flute?
Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key. A4 is a low register note. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
What does A4 sound like on a flute?
Exactly as written: A4. The flute is not a transposing instrument, so the note you finger is the note that sounds. On piccolo, the same fingering sounds one octave higher, as A5.
Is there an alternate fingering for A4?
Yes — Thumb key · left hand 1-2 · right hand 1-3 · left pinky G♯ key · right pinky E♭ key. Yamaha’s official chart gives this alternate, which keeps the G♯ key down — made for passages moving between G♯ and A, where the main fingering forces the left pinky to jump on and off its key.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.