Saxophone Trill Fingering Chart
Saxophone trills run on the same one-element rule as the other woodwinds: hold the first note, move only the named finger or key, and the shake lands on the neighbour.
How to read this chart
Twenty-four saxophone trills pass this site's verification — the held fingering and the landing fingering are both on the checked saxophone chart, and moving exactly the named element connects them. The chart below covers the trills school and community band players actually meet, from the low-register shakes to the palm-key trills at the top of the range.
Each row gives a pair of neighbouring notes. Finger the first note exactly as the diagram shows — that fingering does not change. Then move only the element named in the third column, fast and evenly. That single moving element is the whole trill.
| Trill | Hold this fingering | What moves |
|---|---|---|
| C4–D4 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3. | Trill the low C key with your right pinky. |
| D4–E♭4 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3. | Trill the E♭ key with your right pinky. |
| D4–E4 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3. | Trill your right-hand ring finger. |
| E4–F4 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2. | Trill your right-hand middle finger. |
| E4–F♯4 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2. | Trill your right-hand index finger. |
| F4–G4 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1. | Trill your right-hand index finger. |
| F♯4–G4 | Left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 2. | Trill your right-hand middle finger. |
| G4–G♯4 | Left hand 1-2-3. | Trill the G♯ key with your left pinky. |
| G4–A4 | Left hand 1-2-3. | Trill your left-hand ring finger. |
| A4–B♭4 | Left hand 1-2. | Trill the side B♭ key. |
| A4–B4 | Left hand 1-2. | Trill your left-hand middle finger. |
| B4–C5 | Left hand 1. | Trill the side C key. |
| B4–C♯5 | Left hand 1. | Trill your left-hand index finger. |
| C5–C♯5 | Left hand 2. | Trill your left-hand middle finger. |
| D5–E♭5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3. | Trill the E♭ key with your right pinky. |
| D5–E5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2-3. | Trill your right-hand ring finger. |
| E5–F5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2. | Trill your right-hand middle finger. |
| E5–F♯5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1-2. | Trill your right-hand index finger. |
| F5–G5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 1. | Trill your right-hand index finger. |
| F♯5–G5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3 · right hand 2. | Trill your right-hand middle finger. |
| G5–G♯5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3. | Trill the G♯ key with your left pinky. |
| G5–A5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2-3. | Trill your left-hand ring finger. |
| A5–B♭5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2. | Trill the side B♭ key. |
| A5–B5 | Octave key · left hand 1-2. | Trill your left-hand middle finger. |
Why this chart is shorter than most
Published saxophone trill tables list around forty further trills for these pairs. They are withheld here for the same stated reason as on the other trill pages: they land on special fingerings of the partner note, or they appear in a single source only, and this site does not print what it cannot verify twice. The bis-key and side-key shakes that band directors teach are the ones that verify — which is reassuring, because it means the standard teaching matches the checked data.
Every fingering these trills stand on is on the saxophone fingering chart, checked against two published sources. If a trill you need is missing, the honest answer today is: it has not passed verification yet — ask a teacher, and tell us which trill you were looking for.
Hear the notes 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.
What is a trill fingering?
The fingering that stays still while one finger or key shakes. On the saxophone that is often a main finger in the low register, a side key in the middle, and a palm key at the top — the chart names the element for every trill.
Why does this chart show fewer trills than other charts?
Every trill here starts from a checked fingering on this site's saxophone chart and lands exactly on the partner note's checked fingering when only the named element moves. Trills needing a special partner fingering, or found in one source only, are withheld rather than guessed.
Do these trills work on alto, tenor, soprano and baritone?
Yes — all four saxophones share one fingering system, so a trill fingering is a trill fingering on any of them. Only the sounding pitch changes.