Flute Fingering Chart
An interactive flute fingering chart for every note from B3 to C7: tap a note to see which keys to press, hear it, and print the whole chart.
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 flute fingering chart
A flute fingering chart shows which keys to press for each note, and this one covers the concert flute from B3 to C7: tap a note to see the keys filled in, hear it, flip through the alternates and print the whole chart, with every fingering taken from The Woodwind Fingering Guide. Tap a note on the staff or a key on the piano strip, or walk up the range with the left and right arrow keys. The diagram fills in each key you press; outlined keys stay up. Play (or Space) sounds the note with a soft flute-like tone. When the source gives several fingerings, such as the three for Bb, chips appear under the diagram and the up and down arrows flip through them.
Switch to Full chart for all the flute fingerings on one screen, and press Print chart for a paper copy to keep on your music stand. Quiz me turns it around: you see the keys and name the note, with the buttons or the letter keys C to B (Shift adds a sharp). The page remembers whether you last used flute or piccolo.
Every flute note in one chart
The staff above doubles as a flute notes chart: it holds all the flute notes from B3 (B footjoint only) and middle C up to C7, in three registers. The first octave, C4 to C#5, has the plainest fingerings; the second, D5 to C#6, mostly repeats them with faster air; the third, D6 to C7, has fingerings of its own. Tap any note for its keys, or open Full chart to see the three registers side by side as one fingering chart for flutes, and print it as a flute finger chart for your folder.
How to read the flute diagram
The diagram shows the flute from the player's point of view with the headjoint on the left. The three big holes on the left are the left hand keys for the first, second and third fingers (the notes C, A and G in the source's key names), and the three on the right are the right hand keys (F, E and D). Under the left hand sit the two thumb levers: B, the main one, and Bb, the thumb Bb lever. The small G# key under the dashed line belongs to the left little finger.
Above the right hand are the trill keys: the Bb trill key over the first finger, and the D and D# trill keys between the fingers. On the far right is the footjoint: the Eb key for the right little finger, then the low C#, C and B keys, and the gizmo key found on some B footjoints. The source notes that the Eb key serves as a vent in most flute fingerings and helps balance the flute, which is why it is down for almost every note in the chart.
Where the source writes T for the thumb, either lever works, and the chart draws the B lever. The Bb lever is shown only for the fingering that needs it.
Range, footjoints and the piccolo
A flute with a C footjoint reaches down to middle C (C4); a B footjoint adds B3, and the chart marks that note. Some B footjoints have a gizmo key, which the source says improves the tone and response of the top C. For C7 the chart shows the C footjoint fingering first and the B footjoint version with the gizmo key as the alternate.
The flute is not a transposing instrument: a written C4 sounds C4. Choose Piccolo above the diagram and the page becomes a piccolo fingering chart, with the piccolo range from D4 to C7. The source uses the same fingerings on all sizes of flute and piccolo unless it says otherwise, and the piccolo sounds an octave higher than written, which the sound button follows.
Octaves on the flute: overblowing
Flutes overblow at the octave, so most notes in the second octave use the fingering of the note an octave below with more air speed. Step through the chart and you will see it: E4 and E5, F4 and F5, G4 and G5 up to C#5 and C#6 look the same. The exceptions are D5 and Eb5, where the left first finger lifts to help the upper note speak.
The third octave, from D6 up, has its own fingerings, and several use the trill keys: Bb6 uses the D trill key and B6 the D# trill key. Take the third octave slowly, one note at a time, and check each note against a tuner.
Tips for learning the fingerings
Start with the left hand: B4, A4 and G4 add one finger at a time, then the right hand fingers take you down to D4. Then add the Bb options, since the chart lists three: the standard one with the right first finger, the thumb Bb lever (the source advises it for passages without B natural), and a trill fingering. Name the notes on the staff as you finger them; if the ledger lines above the staff slow you down, practice them with the treble clef notes chart or the note reading trainer, and keep an even pulse with the metronome.
More charts that work the same way: clarinet, saxophone, recorder, oboe and bassoon.
More for flute: Flute Tuner
Questions
What is the lowest note on the flute?
C4 (middle C) on a flute with a C footjoint, and B3 on a flute with a B footjoint.
Why do E4 and E5 have the same fingering?
The flute overblows at the octave: the same fingering gives the upper note when you blow faster and aim the air slightly higher. D5 and Eb5 are exceptions, with the left first finger lifted.
Which Bb fingering should I use?
The chart lists three from the source: the standard fingering with the right first finger, the thumb Bb lever for passages without B natural, and a trill fingering with the Bb trill key.
Does the piccolo use the same fingerings?
Mostly yes. The source's basic chart applies to all sizes of flute and piccolo unless it says otherwise, and the piccolo sounds an octave higher than written. It has no low C footjoint, so it starts at D4.
Can I print the flute fingering chart?
Yes. Open Full chart and press Print chart to print every fingering on its own page, without the rest of the website.