Alto Saxophone
B♭4 on the Alto Saxophone
Written B♭4 — sounds concert D♭4. Tap the diagram to hear it.
The standard modern B♭ is left index and middle fingers with the side B♭ key pressed by the knuckle of the right index finger; it moves cleanly to both A and B natural. Two other B♭s are in constant use — the one-finger bis and the "one-and-one" — and choosing between them by context is what makes flat keys and chromatic runs feel easy.
About this note
The standard modern B♭ is left index and middle fingers with the side B♭ key pressed by the knuckle of the right index finger; it moves cleanly to both A and B natural. Two other B♭s are in constant use — the one-finger bis and the "one-and-one" — and choosing between them by context is what makes flat keys and chromatic runs feel easy.
- Primary fingering: Left index key + Left middle key + Side B♭ key
- Written pitch: B♭4 · Concert pitch: D♭4
- Sounding frequency: 277.18 Hz
Alternate fingerings for B♭4
- Bis B♭ (left index on the B and bis keys): Left index key + Bis key. In flat keys — B♭, E♭ and A♭ major — where the passage has no B natural next to the B♭.
- One-and-one B♭ (left index + right index): Left index key + Right index key. When the B♭ is next to F, so the right index finger is already down and only the middle and ring fingers move.
Alto Saxophone fingering data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.