E♭6 Oboe Fingering
How to play E♭6 on the oboe: Left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 2-3 · B trill 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 E♭6 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 E♭6 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 2 with your right middle finger.
- Cover hole 3 with your right ring finger.
- Press the B trill key — one of the small keys between the left-hand holes, worked here as a held key, not trilled.
In short: left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 2-3 · B trill key.
Alternate fingering for E♭6
Left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 2-3 · right pinky E♭ key.
This version reaches E♭6 without the trill key, using the right E♭ key instead. Some players find it steadier for held notes; the trill-key version speaks faster in quick passages.
About E♭6 on the oboe
The third octave is where the oboe stops repeating itself. The left index finger leaves its hole or half-holes it, trill keys get held down as ordinary keys, and the pinky clusters do work they do nowhere else. These are the standard basic fingerings; individual oboes have preferences up here, and above F6 the fingerings stop being standard at all.
E♭6’s main fingering holds down a key most players only meet as a trill key: the B trill key, pressed as an ordinary key between the left-hand fingers, with the first finger half-holed. The alternate below reaches the same note without it, using the right E♭ key instead. Both are basic fingerings in the Woodwind Fingering Guide; the trill-key version tends to speak faster, the E♭-key version to feel steadier.
E♭6 is note 30 of the 32 in the full oboe fingering chart, sitting between D6 below it and E6 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 E♭6
Third-octave notes need firm, fast air and a still embouchure — biting makes them sharper, not surer. Check each one against a tuner and learn which of the standard fingerings your own oboe prefers.
Questions about E♭6
What is the fingering for E♭6 on oboe?
Left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 2-3 · B trill key. E♭6 is a third octave 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 E♭6 sound like on an oboe?
Exactly E♭6 — the oboe is a non-transposing instrument in C, so written E♭6 sounds as concert E♭6. When your band director asks for a concert E♭6, this is the note you finger.
Is there an alternate fingering for E♭6?
Yes — Left hand 1 (half-hole)-2-3 · right hand 2-3 · right pinky E♭ key. This version reaches E♭6 without the trill key, using the right E♭ key instead. Some players find it steadier for held notes; the trill-key version speaks faster in quick passages.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.