Clarinet Fingering Chart
An interactive clarinet fingering chart for the Bb clarinet, low E to altissimo G: tap a note to see the fingering and hear the pitch it really sounds.
Written pitch for the . Tap a note on the staff or a piano key. ← → step through the notes, ↑ ↓ switch fingering, Space plays. Fingerings: The Woodwind Fingering Guide.
Name the written note. Keys C to B answer, add Shift for the sharp.
How to use the clarinet fingering chart
A clarinet fingering chart tells you which holes and keys to close for each written note, and this one covers the Boehm-system Bb clarinet from low E3 to altissimo G6, with the A clarinet and bass clarinet a tap away, every fingering from The Woodwind Fingering Guide and the concert pitch played aloud. Choose a note from the staff or the piano strip, or use the arrow keys: left and right move by a semitone, up and down change between the listed fingerings. Filled holes and keys are the ones you close; a line under the diagram spells them out and says when the source recommends each option. Play or Space sounds the concert pitch, so a written C comes out as Bb.
Full chart lays every clarinet fingering out as a grid you can scroll, tap or print with Print chart. Quiz me shows a fingering and asks for the written note name (answer with the buttons or the keys C to B, Shift for sharps). Your choice of Bb, A or bass clarinet stays selected on this device.
Clarinet notes from low E up
Read as a clarinet notes chart, the staff runs from written E3, where every hole and the low E key are closed, to G6 in the altissimo, for the Bb and A clarinet; the bass clarinet option stops at C6. The clarinet notes fall into four registers with their own names: the chalumeau from E3, the throat tones from G4 to Bb4, the clarion from B4 to C6 and the altissimo above. Each one fingers differently, as the sections below explain, so keep this clarinet finger chart open while you learn one register at a time. Print chart puts the full Bb clarinet fingering chart on paper.
How to read the clarinet diagram
The clarinet is drawn on its side with the mouthpiece on the left. The three big holes on the left are for the left hand first, second and third fingers; the three on the right for the right hand. Under the left hand are the thumb hole (T) and the register key (R), both for the left thumb. Above the left hand are the A key and the side G# key, which the first finger reaches by rolling up. The thin bar between left 2 and 3 is the Eb/Bb sliver key.
Above the right hand are the four side keys, numbered from the top; side key 4 is the Eb/Bb key. The thin bar between right 2 and 3 is the B/F# sliver key. The little finger keys are drawn as two clusters: the left one (C#/G#, E/B, F/C, F#/C# and, on some models, G#/D#) and the right one (E/B, F/C, F#/C# and G#/D#). The source explains that E/B, F/C and F#/C# are doubled on both sides, so the chart often lists the same note twice: pick the version that keeps your little fingers from sliding from one key to the next.
Registers, the break and the register key
The clarinet overblows at the twelfth, not the octave: the register key raises the pitch by an octave and a fifth, as the source describes. That is why low E3 and clarion B4 use the same holes, with R added for B4. The low (chalumeau) register needs enough keys to cover a twelfth before it overblows, which is why the clarinet has more keywork than instruments that overblow at the octave.
The top of the low register holds the throat tones, played with few fingers: G4 is fully open, G#4 and A4 use the side G# and A keys, and Bb4 adds the register key to the A key. Going from Bb4 to B4 is crossing the break: you change from almost nothing covered to almost everything covered. Practice it slowly, keep the right hand close to the holes on the throat tones, and check that the holes seal. Above C6 the altissimo starts; the chart gives the source's basic fingerings up to G6, where the left first finger lifts as a vent.
G#6 to C7 are not charted. The source lists many fingerings for them with no single standard one, and they change from clarinet to clarinet, so the chart leaves them out rather than guess.
Bb, A and bass clarinet: transposition
The Bb clarinet is a transposing instrument: a written C sounds as a concert Bb, a major 2nd lower. The chart shows both names, and Play gives the sounding pitch, which is what a tuner will read. Choose A clarinet for the instrument that sounds a minor 3rd lower than written, with the same fingerings.
Choose Bass clarinet to use the page as a bass clarinet fingering chart for the Bb bass clarinet read in treble clef, which sounds a major 9th lower than written and uses the soprano fingerings for the chalumeau, throat and clarion registers (E3 to C6 here). Its altissimo fingerings differ, and the extra low keys of some models are not drawn, so the chart stops at C6 for the bass. To turn a whole concert part or key into clarinet notes, use the transposition chart.
Tips
Learn the left hand notes first (G4 down to E4 and the open G), then the right hand down to low E. Say the written note name as you play; if reading is slow, drill it with the note reading trainer. Hold long tones with a metronome at a slow tempo across the break. More interactive charts: flute, saxophone, recorder, oboe and bassoon.
More for band instruments: Saxophone Fingering Chart · Trumpet Fingering Chart · French Horn Fingering Chart · Euphonium Fingering Chart · Mellophone Fingering Chart · Transposition Chart · Tuner
Questions
What is the break on the clarinet?
The change from the throat tones (up to Bb4) to the clarion register (B4 and up), where you go from almost all holes open to almost all closed plus the register key.
Why is the clarinet chart in written pitch?
Clarinet music is written for the player's fingers, so the chart uses written notes. The line under each name gives the concert pitch: a major 2nd lower on the Bb clarinet.
Which low E fingering should I use?
The source lists low E with the left or the right little finger. Pick the one that avoids sliding the same little finger to the next note.
Does the bass clarinet use the same fingerings?
For the chalumeau, throat and clarion registers, yes: the source uses the same basic fingerings for all Boehm clarinets there. The altissimo differs, so the bass clarinet option stops at C6.
Why are the highest notes missing?
For G#6 to C7 the source gives many fingerings but no single standard one, and the best choice depends on the instrument, so the chart leaves them out.