C5 Saxophone Fingering
How to play C5 on the saxophone: Left hand 2. This fingering is the same on soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone — only the sounding pitch differs.
Filled keys in the diagram are the ones you press. The small key marked "Oct" is the octave key, worked by the left thumb; the three keys at the top right are the palm keys; the three small keys down the right side are the side keys; and the clusters at the bottom are the pinky keys.
Hear C5 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 C5 fingering, step by step
- Left hand: press key 2.
In short: left hand 2.
Alternate fingering for C5
Left hand 1 · side C key.
The side C is a chromatic fingering: use it when moving between B4 and C♯5, where the middle-finger C would force a slow swap. In sustained passages the main fingering gives the better-tuned note.
About C5 on the saxophone
The low register is the saxophone’s warm, full voice, played without the octave key. The six main fingers work down the stack in a ladder, and the lowest notes are finished off by the pinky keys — the left pinky choosing between the bell keys, the right pinky holding the low C key for the bottom four notes and the low E♭ key for E♭ itself.
C5 — the saxophone’s "middle C" — is fingered with the left middle finger alone and no octave key, which surprises players arriving from the flute or clarinet. Its alternate, the side C, exists for chromatic passages where the middle-finger C would be too slow.
C5 is note 15 of the 32 in the full saxophone fingering chart, sitting between B4 below it and C♯5 above it. The same fingering serves the whole family — see it with each instrument’s own concert pitches on the alto sax, tenor sax, soprano sax and baritone sax chart pages. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against Yamaha’s official chart and the Woodwind Fingering Guide before publishing.
Practising C5
Low notes speak best with slow, warm air and a relaxed jaw. If this note gurgles or jumps the octave, check the pinky keys first — a half-pressed bell key is the usual cause — then check that every main finger is sealing its key completely.
Questions about C5
What is the fingering for C5 on saxophone?
Left hand 2. C5 is a low register note, fingered identically on soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
What does C5 sound like on each saxophone?
Written C5 sounds as concert E♭4 on alto saxophone, concert B♭3 on tenor, concert B♭4 on soprano and concert E♭3 on baritone. The alto and baritone are E♭ instruments; the tenor and soprano are B♭ instruments — the fingering is the same on all four, only the sounding pitch changes.
Is there an alternate fingering for C5?
Yes — Left hand 1 · side C key. The side C is a chromatic fingering: use it when moving between B4 and C♯5, where the middle-finger C would force a slow swap. In sustained passages the main fingering gives the better-tuned note.
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