Trumpet Fingering Chart (B♭)

How to read this chart

The three valves are numbered 1 for the one closest to you, then 2 in the middle, then 3 nearest the bell — the order your index, middle and ring fingers sit in. A filled, dropped cap means press that valve; a pale, raised cap means leave it up. No caps down at all is an open note.

You will notice the same fingering listed at several different pitches, and that is not a mistake. Valves alone never determine the note — they only choose how long the tube is. Which note of that tube speaks is set by the harmonic partial your air speed and lip aperture find, so every note on this chart is tagged with its partial as well as its valves.

Some players call this a trumpet finger chart, valve chart or note chart — it’s the same thing: one diagram per note across the trumpet’s standard written range.

Written vs concert pitch on a B♭ trumpet

The trumpet is a transposing instrument in B♭: every note you read sounds one whole step lower than written. Written C sounds concert B♭. That’s why your band director calls for a “concert B♭ scale” and you play a written C scale. The chart above always shows both pitches, and the play button sounds the concert pitch — what a listener actually hears.

Full trumpet fingering chart — all notes

The complete written range, low F♯3 up to high C6, chromatically. Reading down the valve column you can see the pattern that generates the whole chart: from any open note, valve 2 lowers it a semitone, valve 1 a whole step, 1-2 (or 3 on its own) a minor third, 2-3 four semitones, 1-3 five, and 1-2-3 six.

Why the same valves play different notes

A three-valve trumpet has exactly seven valve combinations — open, 2, 1, 1-2, 2-3, 1-3 and 1-2-3 — and each one is a complete harmonic series rather than a single note. That is why all 31 notes on this chart fit on seven fingerings.

Take the open horn, no valves at all: it plays C4 on the 2nd partial, G4 on the 3rd, C5 on the 4th, then E5, G5 and high C6 — six usable notes, one fingering, nothing different happening in the fingers. What changes is the air: faster, more compressed air behind a slightly smaller aperture moves you up to the next slot. The seventh partial (a written B♭5 on the open horn) sits about a third of a semitone flat, so players take valve 1 there instead.

Every other combination behaves the same way one, two or more semitones lower. So when you cannot get a note, ask which of the two questions is failing: are your fingers on the right combination, or is your lip in the wrong slot? Nine times out of ten it is the slot, and the fix is hearing the pitch before you play it — not pressing harder.

Alternate B♭ trumpet fingerings

Alternates aren’t “better” fingerings — each one earns its place in a specific musical situation. Select any of these notes in the chart above and switch variants to compare them.

• A3 (A3) — 3: Valves 3. Valve 3 alone lowers the same minor third as 1-2 and often sits truer in tune this low; many players use it as their standard low-A fingering.
• E4 (E4) — 3: Valves 3. Valve 3 alone is the standard substitute for 1-2 and is often smoother in a slurred line; both fingerings sit in the same 3rd-partial slot.
• F♯4 (F♯4) — 1-2-3: Valves 1 + 2 + 3. Reaches the same pitch from the 4th partial instead; much sharper, so it is kept for trills and awkward slurs rather than ordinary playing.
• G4 (G4) — 1-3: Valves 1 + 3. A 4th-partial fingering for the same pitch, used for trills and lip-flexibility work; it inherits the sharpness of 1-3, so pull the third slide.
• A4 (A4) — 3: Valves 3. The usual alternate — same minor third, same 4th-partial slot; some players find it truer in tune and it saves a finger move in a chromatic run.
• B♭4 (B♭4) — 1-2-3: Valves 1 + 2 + 3. Reaches the same pitch from the 5th partial; sharp and unwieldy, so it is a trill fingering only.
• B4 (B4) — 1-3: Valves 1 + 3. The same pitch off the 5th partial, used for trills; it runs sharp like every 1-3 fingering.
• C5 (C5) — 2-3: Valves 2 + 3. A 5th-partial fingering for the same pitch; used for trills and where an open C would break a slur.
• C♯5 (C♯5) — 3: Valves 3. The common substitute for 1-2 in this register; it is often easier to slur into and out of.
• D5 (D5) — 1-3: Valves 1 + 3. Reaches D5 from the 6th partial instead of the 5th; useful for trills and for avoiding a flat 5th-partial slot.
• E♭5 (E♭5) — 2-3: Valves 2 + 3. A 6th-partial fingering for the same note; a standard substitute where Eb5 is approached from above.
• E5 (E5) — 1-2: Valves 1 + 2. Places E5 on the 6th partial rather than the 5th — used for trills and lip-flexibility drills, and occasionally to dodge the flat open slot.
• G5 (G5) — 1-3: Valves 1 + 3. The same pitch off the 8th partial; a trill and flexibility fingering, sharp like all 1-3 combinations.
• A5 (A5) — 3: Valves 3. The standard 1-2 substitute; many players prefer its feel and security this high in the register.
• B♭5 (B♭5) — Open (7th partial): Open (no valves). The open 7th partial sounds a written Bb5 but roughly a third of a semitone flat; listed for reference and special effects only — it is not a usable orchestral fingering.

Common trumpet fingering mistakes

• Trusting the valves to find the note. A fingering cannot put you in the right partial. Hear (or sing) the pitch first, then finger it — otherwise the same 1-2 that should give A4 comes out as E4 or C♯5.
• Ignoring how sharp 1-3 and 1-2-3 are. Low D, low G, low C♯ and F♯3 all sit noticeably high because two or three valve tubes are being used at once. Push the third valve slide out on those notes, and the first if your horn has a movable ring — the slides exist for exactly this.
• Pressing valves halfway. A valve caught between up and down leaks air, and the note gargles or refuses to start. Press straight down with the pad of the finger, all the way to the bottom, and keep the fingers curved and in contact with the caps.
• Jamming the mouthpiece in for high notes. Pressure clamps the lip and costs you both range and endurance. Notes above the staff come from faster air through a firmer, smaller aperture — the valves have nothing left to contribute up there.

Frequently asked questions