B4 French Horn Fingering
How to play B4 on the French horn: B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 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. If your music spells this note C♭5, it is the same pitch and the same fingering.
Hear B4 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 B4 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.
- Press valve 2 with your left middle finger — press it straight down, all the way, with the pad of the finger. The horn's valves are worked by the left hand; the right hand stays in the bell.
- Keep the fingers you are not using curved and resting lightly on their valve caps, ready for the next note.
In short: B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed.
Alternate fingering for B4
F side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed.
This version plays B4 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.
About B4 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.
B4 is note 18 of the 31 in the full french horn fingering chart, sitting between B♭4 below it and C5 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 B4
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 B4
What is the fingering for B4 on French horn?
B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. B4 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 B4 sound like on a French horn?
Concert E4 — the French horn in F sounds a perfect fifth below its written notes, so written B4 sounds as concert E4. When your band director asks for a concert E4, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for B4?
Yes — F side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. This version plays B4 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.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.