Clarinet Fingering Chart

About the Clarinet Fingering Chart

The Bb clarinet is the most common member of the clarinet family and a staple of concert bands, orchestras, and jazz ensembles. It uses a single-reed mouthpiece and a system of tone holes and keys to produce different pitches.

The clarinet has three main registers: the chalumeau (low), clarion (middle), and altissimo (high). The register key (also called the speaker key) helps players move from the chalumeau register to the clarion register by overblowing at the interval of a twelfth — unlike most woodwinds that overblow at the octave.

The Boehm system clarinet has approximately 17 keys and 6 tone holes covered directly by the fingers. Left hand fingers cover the upper tone holes and operate several side keys, while the right hand covers the lower holes and operates the pinky keys for the lowest notes.

Beginners typically start in the chalumeau register, learning notes from E3 to Bb4 before progressing to the clarion register. The "break" between these registers (around Bb4 to B4) requires learning to coordinate the register key with finger changes, which is one of the most challenging aspects for new players.

This interactive chart shows fingerings for the full range of the Bb clarinet, from the lowest E3 to the altissimo register.