C♯5 Oboe Fingering
How to play C♯5 on the oboe: Left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky C♯ key.
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 C♯5 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 C♯5 fingering, step by step
- Half-hole the first hole: keep your left index finger on its plate and roll it downwards just far enough to uncover the small vent in the middle of the plate. Roll the finger — never lift it off the plate.
- Cover hole 2 with your left middle finger.
- Cover hole 3 with your left ring finger.
- Cover hole 1 with your right index finger.
- Cover hole 2 with your right middle finger.
- Cover hole 3 with your right ring finger.
- Press the low C♯ key with your right pinky.
In short: left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky C♯ key.
About C♯5 on the oboe
These three notes are the oboe’s bridge into the second octave. Instead of an octave key, the left index finger rolls to open the small vent in its key plate — the half-hole — while the rest of the fingering stays the low note’s. The technique is a roll, never a lift, and it is the first genuinely oboe-specific skill a new player meets.
C♯5 is the first of the three half-hole notes, where the second octave begins not with an octave key but with a rolled finger. Finger low C♯, then roll your left index finger down until the small vent in its key plate opens. The finger never leaves the plate — lifting it is the classic beginner’s mistake on this note.
C♯5 is note 16 of the 32 in the full oboe fingering chart, sitting between C5 below it and D5 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 C♯5
Practise the roll on its own: finger D5 and rock the left index finger until the note settles, without the fingertip ever leaving the plate. Slur C♯5–D5–E♭5 slowly until the movement is one gesture, not three.
Questions about C♯5
What is the fingering for C♯5 on oboe?
Left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3 · right pinky C♯ key. C♯5 is a half-hole notes 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 C♯5 sound like on an oboe?
Exactly C♯5 — the oboe is a non-transposing instrument in C, so written C♯5 sounds as concert C♯5. When your band director asks for a concert C♯5, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for C♯5?
For C♯5, 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.