Free online tool
Saxophone Fingering Chart for Alto, Tenor, Soprano and Bari
Saxophone fingering chart with a diagram for every note from low B♭ to high F. Pick alto, tenor, soprano or baritone, hear each note and print the chart.
Pick a written note. Use the arrow keys to move to the next note.
Written note
Fingering options
Keys and holes
Where these fingerings come from
About the Saxophone Fingering Chart
This saxophone fingering chart is a free, interactive tool that shows which keys to press for each note on alto, tenor, soprano and baritone saxophones. It runs in your web browser with no sign-up, and nothing you enter is uploaded. Pick a written note and the page draws a fingering diagram with the pressed keys filled in, lists those keys in plain words, and shows the sounding pitch for the instrument you selected. The chart covers written notes from B♭3 to F6, plus F♯6 on saxophones with a high F♯ key. If you are looking for an alto saxophone chart, a tenor sax fingering chart, or a list of sax notes, the same diagrams work for each size. Only the sounding pitch changes between sizes.
How to use the saxophone fingering chart
- In the Saxophone menu, pick your instrument: Alto saxophone (E♭), Tenor saxophone (B♭), Soprano saxophone (B♭) or Baritone saxophone (E♭).
- Find your note in the note buttons, which are grouped under Octave 3, Octave 4 and so on. The number is the octave of the written note. A black-key note shows its usual spelling on top and the other spelling underneath.
- Read the Written note panel. It shows the big note name, the enharmonic spelling for black keys, and a small treble staff.
- Check the “Sounds” line to see the concert pitch on your chosen instrument.
- Look at the diagram. Pressed keys are filled, and open keys and holes are empty. The “Keys and holes” list names the same keys in words.
- If “Fingering options” appears, press an alternate button to switch the diagram and the key list.
- Click “Play the sounding pitch” to hear the concert pitch, or tick “Play the note when I pick it” to hear each note as you choose it.
To move quickly, use the arrow keys: Right or Up goes higher, Left or Down goes lower, and Home and End jump to the ends of the range. The “Lower note” and “Higher note” buttons do the same job. “Print the full chart” opens your browser’s print dialog with the whole range as small diagrams on one page. The address bar updates as you click, so you can bookmark a note or share it.
Is alto sax fingering different from tenor sax fingering?#
No. On this chart, the fingering for a written note is the same on alto, tenor, soprano and baritone. What changes is the sounding pitch. The alto sounds a major sixth (9 semitones) lower than written, and the tenor sounds a major ninth (14 semitones) lower. For example, written C5 uses left hand 2 on both instruments. On alto it sounds E♭4, and on tenor it sounds B♭3. The soprano sounds a major second lower than written, and the baritone sounds an octave plus a major sixth lower.
How do you read a saxophone fingering chart?#
Each diagram shows the keys and holes for one written note, which is the pitch printed on the sheet music. Pressed keys are filled in, and open keys are empty. When you are comparing two notes, look at which filled keys change. Black-key notes have two names, such as C♯5 and D♭5, because the same pitch can be spelled either way. The note name tells you which pitch is written, and the “Sounds” line tells you what you will hear from your instrument.
How do the keys build the higher notes?#
Most higher notes follow one rule. From D5 up to C♯6, every note uses the fingering of the note one octave lower, plus the octave key pressed by the left thumb. D5 is the six finger keys for D4 plus the octave key. C♯5 has no keys pressed, while C♯6 has only the octave key.
The third octave adds palm keys one at a time. D6 is the octave key plus palm D. E♭6 adds palm E♭, and F6 adds palm F, so F6 uses all three palm keys. E6 adds the side E key, and F♯6 adds the high F♯ key. This is why the top of the range looks different from the middle: the keys are stacked, not replaced.
The lowest notes use the little fingers. B♭3 uses the six main fingers plus the left little finger B♭ key and the right little finger low C key. For low B♭, B and C♯ the chart also draws the right little finger low C key as pressed, as The Woodwind Fingering Guide shows it.
Why do some notes have alternates?#
Some notes have more than one common fingering. B♭4 is usually left 1, left 2 and the side B♭ key. The chart also lists the bis key and a “1 and 1” fingering, which uses left 1 and right 1 and is useful next to F. C5 has a side C key alternate, and F♯4 has a chromatic F♯ alternate. F6 has a front F key (fork F) alternate.
The chart cannot check your pitch. Intonation, reed and mouthpiece setup, and the make of your instrument can change which alternate works best. Use your ear and try the options.
What does this chart not cover?#
The chart shows only the notes in its table, from B♭3 to F6 plus F♯6. It does not include altissimo notes above F♯6, trills, multiphonics or quarter-tone fingerings. It also leaves out the low A on baritone and the bass saxophone. The sound you hear is a synthesised tone at the sounding pitch, not a recording of an instrument.