A4 French Horn Fingering
How to play A4 on the French horn: B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed.
Filled valves in the diagram are the ones you press — with your left hand: on the horn, the three valve levers and the thumb trigger are all worked by the left hand, while the right hand rests in the bell and looks after tuning and tone. The small lever marked T at the left of the diagram is the thumb trigger: filled means it is held down, which switches the horn to its B♭ side, and the pill under the valves names the side this fingering uses in words.
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
- Press the thumb trigger with your left thumb and hold it down for the whole note. The trigger switches the double horn to its shorter B♭ side, so the valves you press next work on B♭-side tubing — the side the standard fingerings use from A♭4 up.
- Leave all three valves up — this is an open note. The pitch comes from your lips and air on the harmonic the open horn offers, so hear the note in your head before you play it.
In short: B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed.
Alternate fingering for A4
F side · thumb trigger off · valves 1 + 2 pressed.
This version plays A4 on the F side of the double horn, thumb trigger untouched. It is the version you need on a single F horn. On a double horn the B♭ side above is the school standard from A♭4 up, but the F side's warmer, rounder sound wins some players over, and the fingering is worth having either way. This is also one of the four notes where the two reference charts print different B♭-side fingerings: the main fingering above follows the NoteAtlas chart, and the First 5 Notes chart's B♭-side version (B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 2 pressed.) is recorded in the Sources section of the French horn fingering chart.
About A4 on the French horn
The middle register is where the double horn changes sides. It opens on the F side — F♯4 and G4 are still F-side fingerings — and at A♭4 the thumb trigger comes down and the B♭ side carries every standard fingering from there to F5. Expect the response to feel a touch quicker and the sound a touch brighter after the switch; that difference is the shorter tubing, and it is meant to be there.
A4 is note 16 of the 31 in the full french horn fingering chart, sitting between A♭4 below it and B♭4 above it.
Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against the NoteAtlas French horn fingering chart and the First 5 Notes French horn fingering chart before publishing.
Practising A4
Practise the switch itself, not just the notes around it: play G4, then A♭4, back and forth slowly, moving the thumb exactly with the fingers so the side changes inside the note change. Then run the register’s ladder on each side separately — the alternate fingerings on each note page — so both sides feel familiar rather than one feeling like a spare.
Questions about A4
What is the fingering for A4 on French horn?
B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. A4 is a middle register note on the French horn, played on the B♭ side of the double horn. 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 French horn?
Concert D4 — the French horn in F sounds a perfect fifth below its written notes, so written A4 sounds as concert D4. When your band director asks for a concert D4, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for A4?
Yes — F side · thumb trigger off · valves 1 + 2 pressed. This version plays A4 on the F side of the double horn, thumb trigger untouched. It is the version you need on a single F horn. On a double horn the B♭ side above is the school standard from A♭4 up, but the F side's warmer, rounder sound wins some players over, and the fingering is worth having either way. This is also one of the four notes where the two reference charts print different B♭-side fingerings: the main fingering above follows the NoteAtlas chart, and the First 5 Notes chart's B♭-side version (B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 2 pressed.) is recorded in the Sources section of the French horn fingering chart.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.