axophone Fingering Chart – Learn How to Play All the Notes on Saxophone! Diagramsby NEAL

Why?

Saxophone technique alone does not make a great musician…..

But it does enable a sax player to be great.

Not needing to think about technique allows the you to connect to music and share

what is inside of you.

Most saxophone fingering charts are on one sheet of paper.  This one would take a

lot more paper than that if it was printed out. That allows you to see everything

clearly and for more notes to be included right next to the keys themselves.

The diagrams for the different notes are set up like you’re holding and playing the

saxophone in front of you.

The keys on your right will be on the right side of the diagram.

This seemed more intuitive to me.

Most of the chart you can get to from this page, you can sign up on the side with

your email to get a password for the fingering chart on this page.  Head over

toSaxophone Tribe to learn more about playing the saxophone – with more lessons,

connections, and places to ask questions.

Dark keys mean they are pressed down.

Low:

| Bb/A# |  B/Cb |   C/B# |  C#/Db |  D |

| D#/Eb |  E/Fb |  F/E# |

Middle:

|  F#/Gb |  G | G#/Ab | A | Bb/A# |  B/Cb |

|   C/B# |  C#/Db |  D | D#/Eb |  E/Fb |

High (top of staff and up):

|  F/E# |  F#/Gb | G | G#/Ab | A | Bb/A# |

|  B/Cb |  C/B# |  C#/Db |  D | D#/Eb |  E/Fb |  F/E# |  F#/Gb |

You can download a high resolution saxophone fingering chart that I put together

(with Bret’s program) when you join a saxophone class at Sax Station.  Otherwise,

enter your email to the right and get a password to access it online.Bottom of Form

A# or Bb(Same Fingering

As)

B or Cb(Same Fingering

As)

C or B#(Same Fingering

As)

C# or Db(Same Fingering

As)

D

D# or Eb(Same Fingering

As)

E or Fb(Same Fingering

As)

F or E#(Same Fingering

As)

F# or Gb(Same Fingering

As)

G

G# or Ab(Same Fingering

As)A

A# or Bb(Same Fingering

As)

B or Cb(Same Fingering

As)

C or B#(Same Fingering

As)

C# or Db(Same Fingering

As)

D

D# or Eb(Same Fingering

As)

E or Fb(Same Fingering

As)

F or E#(Same Fingering

As)

F# or Gb(Same Fingering

As)

G

G# or Ab(Same Fingering

As)

A

A# or Bb(Same Fingering

As)

B or Cb(Same Fingering

As)

C or B#(Same Fingering

As)

C# or Db(Same Fingering

As)

D

D# or Eb(Same Fingering

As)

E or Fb(Same Fingering

As)

F or E#(Same Fingering

As)

F# or Gb(Same Fingering

As)

Post to Digg

Post to Facebook

58

58

58

58

58

58

58

58

58

Send via Gmail

This is something that works for me. I play mostly by ear and am only beginning to learn

to read   

Do you remember a song from "The Sound of Music"

Do a deer a female deerRe a drop of golden sunMe a name I call myselfFa a long long way to runSo a needle pulling threadLa a note to follow SoTi (forgot!)

Do (forgot also   )

Just play this in every key starting with D. Then D#, E, F, F# etc.

In no time, you will be familiar with the sound of each key and can start to play more scales to complement what you have read.

I guess I am saying this coz I am not good at reading but I think a good saxophonist should be able to play by ear also and not just play from scores alone.

Cheers!Doremifaman

Fingering Diagrams

The note produced when your fingers are in the following position is known as 'B'. The fingering

chart for this is as follows:

B: 1-- | ---

In this fingering diagram, the vertical line in the middle separates the left hand (on the left) from

the right hand (on the right). The 1 here represents the first finger of your left hand. The dashes

represent the other five fingers, which are not pressed down.

If you try to play along with anybody else, you will find that what you call B is not the same as

what they call B. The saxophone has different names for all the notes from the piano, because it

is a transposing instrument. Don't worry about this for the moment.

Left Hand Notes

Now it's time for some more notes. The first ones to master are the ones which use only the

fingers of the left hand.

C: -2- | ---

The above means that the left-hand second finger is pressed down, but all the others are up.

A: 12- | ---

G: 123 | ---

With these notes, you can play some simple tunes in the key of G. The notes G A B C form a

sequence of the major scale: 'do re mi fa'.

Suggested tune:

'Merrily We Roll Along'/'Mary Had a Little Lamb':  B A G A B B B,  A A A,  B B B,  B A G A B B B,  A A B A G

Right Hand Notes

When you are happy with the notes using only the left hand, you can learn some notes using the

right hand too.

F#: 123 | -2-

The # sign is called 'sharp' so that F# is called 'F sharp'. It means the note is higher in pitch than

F, but since you haven't encountered F yet, don't worry about it for the moment.

E: 123 | 12-

D: 123 | 123

With these new notes, you should be able to play some tunes in the key of D.

Suggested tunes:

'When the Saints Come Marching In':  D F# G A, D F# G A,  D F# G A F# D F# E,  F# F# E D D F# A A G,  F# G A F# D E D

'This Old Man, He Played One':  A F# A, A F# A,  B A G F# E F# G,  F# G A D D D,  D E F# G A, A E E G F# E D

'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star':  D D A A B B D, G G F# F# E E D  A A G G F# F# E, A A G G F# F# E,  D D A A B B D, G G F# F# E E D

'Oh Susannah':  D E F# A A B A F# D E F# F# E D E  D E F# A A B A F# D E F# F# E E D  G G B B, A A F# D E  D E F# A A B A F# D E F# F# E E D  

The Octave Key

You are still somewhat limited in what you can play, because you don't know enough notes yet.

The next stage is to add some higher notes. The D you have been playing up to now is called

'first octave D'. It is played with all six fingers down. You are now going to play second octave D.

Beside your left thumb you will see a curved metal key called the octave key. You should position

your thumb so that the end of it is sticking out slightly beyond the thumb rest and is over the

octave key. You can press the octave key by rocking your thumb slightly. It only needs to be

pressed a small amount. You do not lift your thumb off the thumbrest for this.

Play a D, then press the octave key. The note should jump upwards an octave to 2nd octave D. It

will still be recognisably the same note but higher up. The fingering diagram for this uses 'T' to

show that the thumb has pressed the octave key. There is also a little tick beside the name of the

note to show it is in the second octave:

D': T 123 | 123

'Amazing Grace':  D G B A G B, A G E D,  D G B A G B, A B D',  D' D' B A G B, A G E D,  D G B A G B, A G.

Other Notes in the Second Octave

2nd octave D is identical to 1st octave D except that you press the octave key lightly. The same

principle applies to all the other notes you have learned so far. So with a bit of practice, you

should be able to play all the following notes:

D: 123 | 123  E: 123 | 12-  F#: 123 | -2-  G: 123 | ---  A: 12- | ---  B: 1-- | ---  C: -2- | ---  D': T 123 | 123  E': T 123 | 12-  F#': T 123 | -2-  G': T 123 | ---  A': T 12- | ---  B': T 1-- | ---  C': T -2- | ---

Suggested tune:

'How Much is that Doggy in the Window?':  D' G' D' B G E' D' B E' A  D' F#' E' D' C F#' E' D'  D' G' D' B G E' D' B E' A  D' F#' E' D' C B A G

Completing the Scale

You will hear if you play this that from G to G' is a normal major scale of 'do re mi fa so la ti do'.

You will also hear that from D to D' is almost a normal scale; one note is wrong. The C sounds

wrong. What you need to play a D to D' scale is the note C#.

C#: --- | ---

That is, you raise all your fingers for C#.

Suggested tune:

'Baa Baa Black Sheep':  D D A A B C# D' B A  G G F# F# E E D  A A A G G G F# F# F# E  E A A A G A B  G F# E E D

Some More Notes

At this stage you have learnt most of the notes in the main two octaves of the saxophone's

range. There are a few gaps along the way. These are now presented here:

F: 123 | 1--

Bb: 12-- | Bb---

This note is called B flat. The little b is a flat sign. In standard musical notation, a special b with a

pointed bottom is used. The Bb key which is shown here is one of the three on the side of the

saxophone beside the index finger of your right hand. It is the lowest of these three. You should

be able to press this key without removing the tip of your finger from the pearly pad where it

normally rests.

G#: 123G# | ---

The G# key is in the group of four keys just beside your left little finger. It is the highest of the four

keys.

Eb: 123 | 123Eb

The Eb is one of the two keys beside the right little finger. These two keys have rollers on them.

The Eb is the higher of the two.

High D

The highest note you have played so far is C#'. The next note up is called High D. It uses a

different technique. At the left side of the saxophone near the top are three keys that stick out a

long way. They are called 'palm keys', because they are positioned around the palm of your left

hand. The one closest to the back of the sax is the High D key.

To play High D, play a C# (octave key and nothing else), then add the High D key, using the third

joint of your first finger.

D'': D--- | ---

Where to Go from Here

There's a lot more you can learn about the saxophone. It is capable of playing a few notes lower

than the ones you've learned here and a lot of notes higher. It is also possible to play some notes

such as Bb in a few different ways, known as alternate fingerings. And if you are going to learn

the instrument seriously, it is a good idea to learn how to read music. The best way to do all of

these is to find yourself a good teacher, although you can learn a lot of it from books.