Euphonium fingering chart: bass clef, treble clef, 3 and 4 valves

Euphoniums and baritones have three or four valves. Three valves can be pressed in eight combinations, counting open, and each fingering plays several notes. Your lips choose which one. The fingerings here are for a conventional non-compensating horn. Compensating euphoniums finger the lowest notes differently, and this guide doesn't cover them.

Euphonium music comes in two clefs: bass clef, at concert pitch, and treble clef, written as a B♭ part a 9th higher with the same fingerings as trumpet. Pick yours below, and every example on this page changes to match. It's the same choice as in Brass Trainer and the fingering chart.

The lookup shows 3-valve fingerings, from low E (E2) up to the F above the staff (F4).

How to read a euphonium fingering chart

• Valve 1 is under your right index finger. Valve 2 uses your middle finger, valve 3 your ring finger. On most euphoniums and baritones, valve 1 is the one closest to you, nearest the mouthpiece.
• A 4th valve can sit in two places. Some horns have it in line with the others, pressed with your right little finger. Others have it on the side, pressed with your left hand.
• The circles are a simple diagram, not a picture of your horn: valves 1, 2, and 3 in a row, and a 4th circle when a fingering uses valve 4. Filled circles are pressed. Empty circles stay up. "Open" means no valves.
• Numbers like 1-3 mean press those valves together.

Eight combinations, seven pitch groups

Each valve adds a loop of tubing, and a longer tube plays a lower note. Three valves can be pressed in eight ways, counting open. Valve 3 alone and valves 1-2 together lower the note by about the same amount, so the table puts them in one group. That makes seven pitch groups: open, then one to six half steps lower.

1-2 and 3 are close, but they don't tune exactly the same, so check both with a tuner on your horn. A 4th valve adds more combinations, covered in With a 4th valve below.

The first notes in the band book

Many band books start euphonium on these five notes:

Next come three more, up to the B♭ above the staff:

Bass clef or treble clef?

Both parts play the same sounds. Only the way they're written changes. Bass clef is written at concert pitch. B♭ treble clef is written a major 9th higher (an octave plus a whole step), so a treble clef euphonium player can read trumpet fingerings. The whole step changes some accidentals: concert E is written F♯, and concert B is written C♯. Watch the octave too. The B♭ on the 2nd line of bass clef (B♭2) is written as middle C (C4), below the treble staff.

Ask your director which part you'll read. For more, see euphonium in treble clef vs. bass clef.

Notes that share a fingering

Notice that B♭, F, and the higher B♭ are all open. Each fingering plays a family of notes, called partials. Your lips and air pick the partial: a faster lip vibration plays higher in the family.

If you play the right fingering and get the wrong note, keep the fingering and change your air and buzz. See the harmonic series and brass valve combinations.

With a 4th valve

On a 4-valve horn, the 4th valve lowers a note about as much as 1-3 (five half steps), and it's usually better in tune. Use 4 in place of 1-3 and 2-4 in place of 1-2-3:

Four valves can be pressed in 16 combinations. Besides 4 and 2-4, the ones you'll use are for the low notes below the 3-valve range: E♭ 1-2-4 (or 1-4), D 2-3-4, D♭ 1-3-4, and low C (1-2-3-4 on a non-compensating horn; compensating horns finger these notes differently). Valves added together on a non-compensating horn run sharp, so the fingerings for E♭ (1-2-4), D, D♭, and low C add up to one half step more on paper than the note needs. These low notes still need careful tuning. On low E♭, 1-4 may be closer in tune than 1-2-4 for some players and instruments, so compare the two with a tuner. See the 4th valve on euphonium and tuba.

Euphonium fingering chart

Every note on a 3-valve euphonium or baritone from low E (E2) up to the F above the staff (F4), low to high. Tap a note or fingering to hear it.

For alternates, 4-valve fingerings down to low C, notes up to D5, and a printable copy, see the euphonium fingering chart tool.

Fingerings that run out of tune

• 1-3 and 1-2-3 tend to run sharp. Low C, B, F, and E are the usual problems. Use the 4th valve if you have one, or lip the note down.
• 1-2 vs. 3. Both lower the note about a step and a half, but they don't tune exactly the same. 1-2 is the usual choice; 3 alone is an alternate.
• Listen, then adjust. A tuner is a good check, but matching the players around you is the real goal. See playing in tune.

Practice these fingerings

• Finger B♭ through F silently while saying the note names.
• Play each note as a long tone, then check it against a tuner or a drone.
• Slur open B♭ to F and back without moving the valves. Use only your air and buzz.

Then quiz yourself in Brass Trainer. Pick bass clef in its settings so the notes match your part.