Saxophone Fingering Chart – Learn How to Play All the Notes on Saxophone! Diagrams
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 to Saxophone 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 |
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.
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A# or Bb
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B or Cb
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C or B#
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C# or Db
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D
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D# or Eb
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E or Fb
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F or E#
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F# or Gb
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G
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G# or Ab
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A
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A# or Bb
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B or Cb
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C or B#
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C# or Db
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D
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D# or Eb
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E or Fb
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F or E#
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F# or Gb
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G
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G# or Ab
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A
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A# or Bb
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B or Cb
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C or B#
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C# or Db
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D
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D# or Eb
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E or Fb
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F or E#
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F# or Gb
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(Free Report)
{ 67 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Neal,
Your fingering chart looks great. Do you have any altissimo fingering charts. I discovered some altissimo fingerings on my own up to c4 that I would be willing to share. By the way, What’s the highest note possible on the tenor?
Hey Dolu.,
Thanks. I have various altissimo fingerings from different places in books and things. But I would like to compile a more complete version and post it. That would be great if you had some stuff to share.
Highest note on tenor in the altissimo range? That depends on your level of control…….
-Neal
Hey Neal,
I play the alto sax and I was wondering if you knew the fingering for a low A for the alto? I can’t find the fingering for it and I’m working on 2 octative scales and i need the fingering for the C Concert scale
Thanks
Hey Olivia,
Low A isn’t an option for almost every alto and tenor sax (a few exceptions are very uncommon).
There is sometimes a low A key on baritone saxophones (and bass, etc – the lower saxophones).
But generally Bb is the lowest note on saxophone.
You can still play scales across the range of the saxophone, and I would encourage you to do so. Being able to play the range of the saxophone will give you flexibility. You just will need to go down to the notes that you can actually play. And for alto sax, the lowest note is Bb (almost always).
-Neal
Although it isn’t technically a ‘proper’ fingering, if you play the low Bb and then cover the bell of the horn with your knee/leg, the pitch does drop to a low A. Just a nifty trick I picked up
Hey Sebastian,
Yep, that will get you down there. I’ve done it once or twice for kicks and seen it done. But not especially practical in most cases.
The Saxophone Finger Charts at this web site is the best that I have come across. I can’t wait to get started. Thanks a million, Neal!
Thanks Ali, glad they’re helping you.
neat thank you
You’re welcome
I am almost 82, and I haven’t played for almost 50 years. One of my sons gave me a alto, and said “Dad didn’t you once played a sax? here is one for you to try again.” I am still active and play golf once a week. Any advice?
Hey Andy,
Just try and play it a little each day. Not sure how long you played it for before the fifty years. What would you like to be able to play on your alto?
Thanks, I played some between ’47-’60. School band and a small group. Have to learn to read the notes all over again. Now it will be mostly church music. Any help?? Thanks
Cool, I think reading music will come back fairly quickly. You want to start with simpler things then progress. Is the music written in Eb at your church or will you have to transpose?
At the present we don’t have any sheet music for a sax, so I guess I will have to transpose, if I can remember how. Thanks
Hey Andy, basically an Eb instrument like alto sax is a minor third away from ‘concert pitch’ – piano/guitar/flute, etc. So an Eb on piano is a C on alto sax. Each note written in C is that distance away for an Eb instrument.
Hey, im fifteen and a sophmore in highschool. I haven’t been in band since 8th grade and now I’ve decided to join again. Any advice for me? Thanks.
Hey Jonathan,
You probably want to do some long tones to get your sound strong again. Know your major scales. What kinds of music are you playing?
I’ll be playing in a marching band so im assuming a variety of pep music mostly.
Thanks for the info I will see if I can work on using it.
You’re welcome.
Hey, I just started learning the sax. I have pretty much all the notes learned but G#/Ab is giving me trouble! According to the finger chart, you play a G but then add the left hand pinky. When I do this, it doesn’t change the G at all. Does it need repair?
Hey Katie,
There are four keys that your left pinky can press down, make sure you’re pressing the top most one. When you press it does anything move? If nothing moves when you press it, you probably have a ‘sticky pad’.
That’s actually a key that can tend to stick. Because of the design of the saxophone, condensation and whatever goes into the saxophone gathers there. Regardless of the reasons, it happens.
Sometimes it is just delayed because it’s sticky. But check to see what happens when you press the key. A button should rise up on the saxophone.
To keep it from getting sticky, just drink water while playing sax and don’t eat anything or drink anything with sugar right beforehand. Ideally you want to brush your teeth before you play.
-Neal
Thanks for the quick response! Yes, a button near the one I am pushing down rises. There is also a large button on the “tail” that goes down but a lot of times it does not go down all the way. Is there anything I can do by myself to fix this or will I have to take it into a repair shop?
You’re welcome, figure it’s something that comes up a bit. Was going to write a little more about it in a post.
You’re saying when you press the G# key that it causes two keys to be affected? You might be pressing one of the other left pinky keys. The one for G# is the one at the top of the ‘table’.
However, if another key is not going all the way down….. you might be able to fix it yourself, but you could also break something. So I wouldn’t necessarily recommend trying to fix it unless you know what you’re doing. What kind of saxophone do you have? And are you able to play all the low notes without a problem?
Yes. I believe I am pressing the right one. It’s the button closest to where the third finger on the right hand goes, on the table. So only one key should move and it rises? I have E.M.Winston alto sax. G# is the only note giving me problems. I will try bringing it into a shop.
Neal,
Its been 12 – 15 years since I have touched a saxophone, I played the Baritone in High school and a little alto for church and band and I am pretty musically inclined. I was never able to read notes or even tell you the name of a note pointed out, but I was able to see tham and know where my fingers belonged. I have been doing a basic scale all day, but I was wondering if You could lead me in the right direction to get me better than where I left off.
Im looking to go more blues, or do R&B covers or just covers in general. Music that would be flexible enough for me to improve to.
thanks,
Chris
Hi Neal, I’m just coming up on sax. I’ve been able to play all the chromatic scales on all the 12 keys although not perfectly.
I can’t read music sheet but i desire to know how to read them.
What can I do to improve my improvisations while playing?
How can you be of help to me?
Great help Neal thanks
i am trying to find a fingering chart that shows the high A,and G.(alternate fingering) also what is the key above the B and what is the key next to the high F# thanks for the help.
Hi I don’t understand how to get the printable version.
I had made a downloadable version that you could buy, but it was around 50-60 pages long since the diagrams are large. Will work on making a printable version, might sell it for $1 or something.
Neal, you have put a great site together. Thanks.
Thanks Glen!
Hi Neal, great site! I just started playing my tenor again after 15 yrs and I’m having a problem with the F key. I can’t get the right sound out of it. From what I can tell when I have the key pressed down, it’s not leaking any air, but it sounds like it is. Pad replacement perhaps? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!
Hello Holly, if you take it to a repair person they can use something called a ‘leak light’ which might help you figure out the issue. Is another pad maybe sticking?
Where is the best place to hold when you are trying to play C sharp on alto sax like the begining of Careless whisper sexy sax man. I struggle holding the sax in a place where I won’t affect the note.
Hey Vicky,
In general, you want to keep all of your fingers on the keys. Not pressing them down, but in contact.
If that’s difficult to do without pressing keys, you might need to adjust your neckstrap.
hey Neal, bruce here. a couple of months ago you had a video up, basically it was your philosophy on the saxophone. and in the background you had a medley of professional sax players,”. each piece was about 15 seconds long and at the end it had the names of the musicians. I only saw it once and I can’t seem to find the video anymore. it’s still up can you point me in the right direction. thank you so very much for your time. B
Made that video a while back. It’s one of the earliest on that channel
http://youtu.be/aVJ9_oQa4-A
Neal, you’re awesome, thanks man, it’s really help me
Thanks Vava
Hey Neal, I just got my Alto Saxophone today And have no where to start. What are the first things I should learn? I already can make different notes, but i’m now stuck. Feel free to email me or simply just leave a comment. Thank’s.
Hey Peter,
You can check this out http://saxstation.com/saxophone-foundations if you want a guide to getting started and some help from me. Otherwise, you probably still want a book and teacher.
i bought the auto sax for over 6mnt now no body to put me through on the key and i dont wona loss interest on it,dont know if i can get any manual from you,am not working i would have ask for something better this i want to use to earn my living pls help me
If you want to play sax for a living, you probably should pay for some lessons if you’re serious about it. Check out http://saxophonetribe.com if you’re interested in studying with me, it will probably cost a bit less than private lessons.
Hi Neal,
I started playing a Conn tenor which is in a good condition and i was able to play some notes .My problem is that i can’t play the octave notes , whenever i play them it plays growling kind of sound.
I was able to play the pink panther ,from the video you posted and in that piece there was no octave notes so it was easy .
So can you please tell me how to blow these octave notes.
Thank you
Allen
Hey Allen,
Yep, that piece doesn’t use the octave key. That’s a little strange. How long have you been playing for?
You don’t need to actually press the octave key to get the octave, but it helps. If you ‘overblow’ it should raise it by an octave. With that in mind, try it out.
And you’re sure nothing is wrong with the octave key?
Hi I’m having problems with my high G and D I’ve just had it repaired and theres no difference I have also being playing for a year is there a certain way I need to have my mouth to make it sound right
Thanks
Hey Emily, can other sax players get those notes without a problem? (on your horn, using their own mouthpiece)
In terms of embouchure, there are a few ways that will work, I’m not exactly sure how you’re playing now, so I can’t really give you any suggestions.
Neal, do you have the high F# fingering for the Buescher Aristocrat 140 Alto (1951)??
send me a diagram or photo.
Hey Mel, does that model have a front F key? I’m assuming it doesn’t have an F# key. Thanks
Hello mr Neal, Please I want you to tell me the meaning of #,b on saxophone
Hey Alade, not a bad question. So in Western music, there are twelve tones. Consecutive pitches progress by 1/2 steps, the smallest unit of pitch (in Western music). Adding a b lowers a note by a 1/2 step, adding a # raises a note by a 1/2 step.
The same pitch can be written in different ways. So an Eb is a 1/2 step below E, a D# is a half step above D. A D# is a 1/2 step below E and an Eb is also a 1/2 step below E. So a D# and Eb will be the same pitch.
Neal,
When/will you have a class for extreme beginners?
thanks
Chris
Hey Chris,
I made exactly that, http://saxstation.com/saxophone-foundations
Thanks
-Neal
good
Great thanks…..
Neal….
hi neal
could you send me notes for stevie wonder i just called to say i love you in capital
Don’t know that song yet. Will think about doing a lesson on it.
i am new beginner i can not read notes!!!
only in capital.
like G# F#……..
You probably want to learn how to read music.
hi neal you are doing a great job and you are also a great encourager and inspirer.
Thanks olumide
hey neal, correct my self.i bought my walstein Bauhaus bronze tenor sax.from russ becker.com.who sale these horns in u.s.a. a real,real nice guy.i had his name wrong.so I had to correct my self.jas.huggins
The one at the top of the table. http://saxstation.com/saxophone-fingering-chart-ab-or-g-on-the-staff.htm
It should make just one pad lift.
Yes, you might want to take it to a shop. Basically they would need to bend it so that it closes all the way. The pads don’t need to open up too far to function, but they do need to close all the way. I imagine it wouldn’t be a repair that was too expensive.
Ok. Thanks for your help, Neal!