Clarinet Fingering Chart

How to read this clarinet fingering chart

The diagram is a front view of the clarinet with the mouthpiece at the top.

• Circles are tone holes (left hand on top, right hand below). Filled means covered.
• The thumb hole (T) and register key (R) are on the back of the clarinet, so they are drawn on the left.
• Small keys: the A and G♯ keys sit above the left hand. The four side keys are on the right. The pinky keys are in two clusters, left hand above and right hand below.
• The text under each diagram spells out the fingering. “T R · 123 | 12” means thumb and register key, left fingers 1-2-3, right fingers 1-2.

Notes are written as your music shows them. A B♭ clarinet sounds a whole step lower than written, so the “concert” label shows the piano note.

Fingerings marked Being checked are waiting for review by a clarinetist. See how we verify fingerings.

Clarinet fingerings for beginners

Most beginners start in the middle of the low register and work outward:

Note	Fingering	Tip
G (open G)	Nothing pressed	Fingers hover just above the holes
F	Thumb only
E	Thumb + left 1
D	Thumb + left 1-2
C (middle C)	Thumb + left 1-2-3	Cover every hole fully
A (throat A)	A key	Roll the first finger, don’t lift the hand

Once those are steady, add the right hand going down (B♭, A, G, F, E) and the throat tones going up.

The break and the register key

The clarinet overblows a twelfth, not an octave. Add the register key to a low note and you get a note a twelfth higher: low E plus the register key is middle-line B, low F becomes C, and so on. That is why the upper (clarion) register uses the same fingers as the low register.

Crossing the break means moving from throat B♭ (almost nothing down) to B♮ (everything down plus the register key). To make it easier:

• Keep your right-hand fingers down or close to the holes while you play throat tones.
• Practice slurring low E to B with the register key only, keeping the air fast and steady.
• Don’t bite. Firm corners and fast air do the work.

Clarinet high notes and altissimo

The clarion register runs up to high C (C6), which is just the thumb and register key. Above that is the altissimo register. Most altissimo fingerings vent the left first finger and add the right pinky A♭/E♭ key.

Altissimo fingerings vary more than any other part of the clarinet. A note that works on one instrument, mouthpiece and reed can be sharp or flat on another. Treat the altissimo notes in this chart as a starting point and check them with your teacher. Some of them are still marked “Being checked.”

Pinky keys: left or right?

The little-finger keys follow a few rules:

• A♭/E♭ (low G♯ and E♭ above the staff) is right pinky only.
• C♯/G♯ (low C♯ and G♯ above the staff) is left pinky only.
• E/B, F/C and F♯/C♯ can be played with either pinky.

When two pinky notes come one after the other, switch hands so you never slide one finger from key to key. For example, play B with the left pinky, C with the right and C♯ with the left. Turn on Alternates in the tool to see both versions of each note.