E4 Flute Fingering
How to play E4 on the flute: Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right 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 E4 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 E4 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, 3.
- Right 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 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key.
About E4 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.
E4 is note 5 of the 37 in the full flute fingering chart, sitting between E♭4 below it and F4 above it. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against Yamaha’s official chart and the Woodwind Fingering Guide before publishing.
Practising E4
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 E4
What is the fingering for E4 on flute?
Thumb key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2 · right pinky E♭ key. E4 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 E4 sound like on a flute?
Exactly as written: E4. 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 E5.
Is there an alternate fingering for E4?
For E4, 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.