C6 French Horn Fingering
How to play C6 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. If your music spells this note B♯5, it is the same pitch and the same fingering.
Hear C6 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 C6 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 C6
F side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed.
This version plays C6 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 C6 on the French horn
The high register lives entirely on the B♭ side, trigger down throughout. Up here the harmonics sit close together and the lips do more of the choosing between neighbouring notes, which is precisely why the shorter B♭ tubing — whose high harmonics stand further apart — is the standard side. The register tops out at C6, the highest note with a standardised school fingering.
C6 is the top of this chart and the top of the standard school range: open on the B♭ side, trigger down and no valves, the pitch placed entirely by the lips on a high harmonic. Notes above C6 exist, but their fingerings stop being standardised, so the chart honestly ends here.
C6 is note 31 of the 31 in the full french horn fingering chart, sitting between B5 below 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 C6
High notes are placed by the lips on close-together harmonics, so practise them in short, fresh bursts rather than long tired ones: firm corners, fast air, and no extra mouthpiece pressure. Slur up the open harmonics first (C5 to E♭5 to G5 needs no valve changes at all), then add the fingered notes around them.
Questions about C6
What is the fingering for C6 on French horn?
B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. C6 is a high 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 C6 sound like on a French horn?
Concert F5 — the French horn in F sounds a perfect fifth below its written notes, so written C6 sounds as concert F5. When your band director asks for a concert F5, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for C6?
Yes — F side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. This version plays C6 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.