Ask a room of saxophonists how to play B♭ and you will start an argument, because B♭ is the one note in the first octave with three standard fingerings — and all three are correct. They exist because B♭ sits at a crossroads: it neighbours A below and B natural and C above, it appears constantly in the flat keys bands live in, and no single fingering moves to and from all of those neighbours gracefully. So the instrument gives you three, and choosing between them — by what comes before and after the B♭ — is one of the first genuinely musical decisions a player learns to make. This guide explains each fingering, when it wins, and the one rule that settles most arguments.
The three fingerings (saxophone)
1. Side B♭ — the chart's standard. Finger A (left 1 and 2), and press the side B♭ key — the lowest of the three side keys, worked by the side of your right index finger. This is the fingering our saxophone chart lists as the primary B♭, and it is the best default: the tone is full, the key is already under your finger's edge, and it moves cleanly to and from B natural and C, which neither of the others can do without a slide or a swap.
2. Bis B♭ — the scale fingering. Finger B♭ with your left index finger alone, letting it roll down onto the little bis key — the small key nestled between the first and second finger keys, which the index finger presses along with its own key. This is the chart's published alternate, and it is the fingering of flat-key scales: in a B♭ major scale, A to B♭ to A is a tiny roll of one finger, with no hand reorganisation at all. Nothing is faster for B♭s that live between A and C in running passages.
3. One-and-one B♭ — the chromatic fingering. Left index down (the B fingering) plus right index down: "one and one." It is the oldest of the three and the one many beginner books teach first, because it is easy to remember. Its tone is a touch stiffer on some instruments, but it has one superpower: it alternates with B natural by lifting a single finger (the right index), which makes it the traditional choice for chromatic passages and B♭–B trills and turns.
The rule that chooses for you
Never slide one finger between two notes, and never use bis next to B natural.
- B♭ between A and other flat-key notes (scales in B♭, E♭, A♭; melodies that keep returning to B♭ from A): bis. The roll is free; everything else is labour. - B♭ next to B natural (chromatic lines, B♭–B–B♭ figures, much jazz and contemporary writing): side or one-and-one. Bis is forbidden here — your index finger cannot roll off the bis key and produce a clean B natural without a smear, and the smear is audible from the back row. - A single, isolated B♭, especially a long note or one you tune: side. It has the most centred tone of the three on most instruments and asks nothing of the left hand's position. - Trills B♭–B: one-and-one (lift the right index) or side; never bis.
If you only ever learn two, learn side and bis — they cover nearly everything, and they are the two the chart publishes. Learn one-and-one third, for chromatic work.
A practice drill that installs the choosing, not just the fingerings: play A–B♭–A ten times with bis until the roll is silent; then B–B♭–B ten times with side; then a chromatic crawl A–B♭–B–C with one-and-one into side. Your fingers should start reaching for the right B♭ before your brain finishes deciding — that is the actual goal.
And on clarinet?
The clarinet has the same problem in a different shape. Its low-register B♭ (written B♭3) is a single standard fingering — thumb, 123 | 1–– — which you will notice is the one-and-one shape: one finger of the right hand added to a full left hand. The choice arrives at the break, where written B♭4 and B♭5 each have options: our clarinet chart publishes a standard fingering for each, plus an alternate that uses a trill key — the clarinet's equivalent of a special-purpose B♭, made for exactly the fast B♭–B movements where a fingering change would clunk. B♭5's standard fingering adds the E♭ lever to the A shape, a pinky-key solution in the same spirit as the saxophone's side key: an extra key, pressed by a spare finger, so the main fingers never have to slide. The underlying rule is identical on both instruments — pick the B♭ that lets the neighbouring notes move cleanly — and the note pages for B♭ on both charts show each fingering as a diagram so you can see the trade-offs rather than take this guide's word for them.
The second octave, and the mistakes that give you away
Everything above applies again an octave up, with the octave key added: side stays the chart's standard for B♭5, bis stays its alternate, and the choosing rule does not change. What does change is the cost of sloppiness — in the second octave a bis B♭ leaned on too hard, or a side key half-pressed, speaks noticeably worse than it did below, which is why teachers who tolerated any-old-B♭ in year one start marking it in year two.
Three mistakes identify a player who learned B♭ as "a fingering" instead of "a choice." The permanent bis: every B♭ rolled, including next to B naturals, with the smear to prove it. The forgotten side key: one-and-one used for a long, exposed B♭ that then sounds pinched next to everyone else's. The panic swap: changing fingering mid-note in a held B♭ because the player second-guesses — the audience hears the wobble even if they can't name it. The fix for all three is the drill above, played daily for a fortnight: A–B♭–A with bis, B–B♭–B with side, the chromatic crawl with one-and-one into side. B♭ is a small note with an outsized reputation, and it is entirely earned — no other note in the first two octaves asks you to make a musical decision before you play it. That is exactly why it is worth a guide of its own.