Tenor Saxophone

C5 on the Tenor Saxophone

Written C5 — sounds concert B♭3. Tap the diagram to hear it.

C5
Concert B♭3Beginner note
Written C5 on the treble staff

Left middle finger alone, index up — the finger swap that catches every beginner. C5 can feel airy on tenor; keep the throat open and the air fast rather than pinching to find the centre. Sounds concert B♭3, the band's tuning note an octave down.

About this note

Left middle finger alone, index up — the finger swap that catches every beginner. C5 can feel airy on tenor; keep the throat open and the air fast rather than pinching to find the centre. Sounds concert B♭3, the band's tuning note an octave down.

  • Primary fingering: Left middle key
  • Written pitch: C5 · Concert pitch: B♭3
  • Sounding frequency: 233.08 Hz

Alternate fingerings for C5

  • Side C (left index + side C key): Left index key + Side C key. In chromatic passages and B–C trills, where it avoids swapping the left index for the middle finger.

Tenor 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.