B5 Oboe Fingering
How to play B5 on the oboe: Second octave key · left hand 1.
Filled keys and holes in the diagram are the ones you press or cover, and a half-filled first hole is the half-hole. The two keys at the top are the octave keys — the first worked by the left thumb on the back of the instrument, the second by the side of the left index finger — and the clusters at the bottom are the pinky keys, five for the left pinky and three for the right.
Hear B5 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 B5 fingering, step by step
- Press the second octave key with the side of your left index finger — the small key beside the first-finger hole. The fingertip stays on its hole; the side of the finger leans onto the key.
- Cover hole 1 with your left index finger.
In short: second octave key · left hand 1.
About B5 on the oboe
From A5 the vent moves to the second octave key, worked by the side of the left index finger while the fingertip stays on its hole. The fingerings are the top of the first octave’s, a twelfth of practice later: B♭, B and C in their high forms.
B5 is note 26 of the 32 in the full oboe fingering chart, sitting between B♭5 below it and C6 above it.
Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against the Woodwind Fingering Guide's basic oboe charts and the NoteAtlas oboe chart before publishing.
Practising B5
Practise the G♯5–A5 step until it is silent: the index finger must not lift as its side finds the key. If A5 speaks as a squawk, the finger moved — the key did not fail.
Questions about B5
What is the fingering for B5 on oboe?
Second octave key · left hand 1. B5 is a second octave key note on the oboe. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
What does B5 sound like on an oboe?
Exactly B5 — the oboe is a non-transposing instrument in C, so written B5 sounds as concert B5. When your band director asks for a concert B5, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for B5?
For B5, 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.