Printable French Horn Fingering Chart
A printable french horn fingering chart that does the one thing most free horn charts refuse to do: it marks the side on every row. All 31 notes from F♯3 to C6 are charted for the double horn — the F side as the main fingering up to G4, the B♭ side from A♭4 up, following the switch both published source charts teach — with the thumb trigger drawn on every diagram and the side named on the pill beneath the valves.
Download the PDFs
Both PDFs are free for classroom and personal use. Print them, copy them for your class, pin them on the wall — please just do not resell them or post them as your own product.
What is in the chart
Each row shows the main fingering with its side; the other side's fingering is the published alternate on the note pages, so a player whose teacher switches sides earlier or later can find their version online from the same data. A note for younger players runs with the chart: on a single F horn, use the F-side fingerings throughout — the low and middle rows of this chart — and expect the top notes to feel stuffy; that is the instrument, not you. The blank worksheet prints the diagrams with the side pill left for the student to name.
The full chart, online
Prefer to check a note on screen, hear it, or look up one fingering at a time? The french horn fingering chart has all of it — and every note below links to its own page with the diagram, the sound and the fingering in words.
| Note | Fingering | Side |
|---|---|---|
| F♯3 | F side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 2 + 3 pressed. | F side |
| G3 | F side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 3 pressed. | F side |
| A♭3 | F side · thumb trigger off · valves 2 + 3 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 2 + 3 pressed. | F side |
| A3 | F side · thumb trigger off · valves 1 + 2 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 2 pressed. | F side |
| B♭3 | F side · thumb trigger off · valve 1 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 1 pressed. | F side |
| B3 | F side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. | F side |
| C4 | F side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. | F side |
| D♭4 | F side · thumb trigger off · valves 1 + 2 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 2 + 3 pressed. | F side |
| D4 | F side · thumb trigger off · valve 1 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 2 pressed. | F side |
| E♭4 | F side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 1 pressed. | F side |
| E4 | F side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. | F side |
| F4 | F side · thumb trigger off · valve 1 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. | F side |
| F♯4 | F side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 2 pressed. | F side |
| G4 | F side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. Also usedB♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 1 pressed. | F side |
| A♭4 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valves 2 + 3 pressed. | B♭ side |
| A4 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valves 1 + 2 pressed. | B♭ side |
| B♭4 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 1 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 1 pressed. | B♭ side |
| B4 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. | B♭ side |
| C5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. | B♭ side |
| D♭5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 2 + 3 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. | B♭ side |
| D5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valves 1 + 2 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. | B♭ side |
| E♭5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 1 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. | B♭ side |
| E5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. | B♭ side |
| F5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 1 pressed. | B♭ side |
| F♯5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. | B♭ side |
| G5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. | B♭ side |
| A♭5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valves 2 + 3 pressed. | B♭ side |
| A5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valves 1 + 2 pressed. | B♭ side |
| B♭5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 1 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 1 pressed. | B♭ side |
| B5 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · valve 2 pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · valve 2 pressed. | B♭ side |
| C6 | B♭ side · thumb trigger pressed · open — no valves pressed. Also usedF side · thumb trigger off · open — no valves pressed. | B♭ side |
Printing tips
Print the filled chart for the horn stand at the switch point of the year — when a class moves from single to double horns, the A♭4 row is where the questions start. Set the blank worksheet by register: F-side rows first, then the B♭-side rows with the trigger drawn in by hand. Black-and-white printing keeps the side pill readable, since the side is named in words, not only filled.
Try a note in the Fingering Finder
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.
Notes students check most
See also the french horn fingering chart and the printable fingering charts index for the other instruments.
Is the printable french horn fingering chart really free?
Yes — the filled chart and the blank worksheet are free PDFs for classroom and personal use, with no sign-up.
Why does the chart switch from the F side to the B♭ side at A♭4?
Because that is the switch both published source charts teach: the F side speaks best in the low and middle registers, and the shorter B♭ side is more secure and better in tune above it. Every note also has the other side as its alternate on its note page.
Does the PDF match the online french horn chart?
Exactly — generated from the same data file, checked against the NoteAtlas and First 5 Notes french horn charts. Yamaha's horn manual corroborates the side system in words; its per-note diagrams could not be checked note by note, so no horn fingering here rests on Yamaha.