French horn fingering chart: single F and double horn

A French horn has three valves. They make eight combinations, counting open, but valve 3 alone and 1-2 lower the note by about the same amount, so there are seven main pitch groups. Each fingering plays several notes that sit close together, and your lips and ear choose which one. This guide shows the beginning fingerings for single F horn, how a double horn adds the B♭ side, and a full chart from written C3 to C6.

How this chart works. Notes are written the way they appear in your horn part, in F, and they sound a perfect 5th lower. The single F horn fingerings are also the F side of a standard F/B♭ double horn. On the double horn chart, T means press the thumb lever (often called the thumb trigger) to play on the B♭ side. On most double horns, pressing the lever switches from F to B♭, but the linkage can be set up the other way round. If yours works the other way, ask your teacher how to read the T fingerings.

How to read a horn fingering chart

• Your left hand plays the valves. Valve 1 is under your index finger, valve 2 your middle finger, valve 3 your ring finger.
• Filled circles are pressed. Empty circles stay up. "Open" means no valves.
• T means the thumb lever on a double horn. In this chart, T fingerings are on the B♭ side, and fingerings without T are on the F side.
• Horn is in F. The notes here are written the way they appear in your part. A written C sounds as a concert F, a perfect 5th lower: the C in the 3rd space (written C5) sounds concert F4. See concert pitch.

The first notes in the band book

Many band books start with the first five notes of the concert B♭ scale. On horn, that's written F in the 1st space up to C in the 3rd space:

The full concert B♭ scale keeps going up to written F on the top line: D on the 4th line is open, E in the 4th space is open, and F is 1. You'll find them in the full chart below.

Next come the notes below them, down to C below the staff:

Notes that share a fingering

Look how many of those notes are open. Each fingering plays a family of notes, called partials, and in the middle and upper range of the horn they sit only a few steps apart. That's one reason notes crack on horn: the lips can land on a neighbor.

Hearing the note before you play it helps you choose the intended partial. Tap it, hum it, or play it on the piano tool first. See why notes crack on horn.

Single F horn fingerings

A single F horn has one set of tubing. Each valve combination lowers an open note by a set amount:

Valve 3 alone and 1-2 both lower the note by about a step and a half, but they aren't exactly the same in tune. On a single F horn, high notes sit on partials that are very close together, so they can be harder to center. That's what the double horn's B♭ side is for.

Double horn: adding the B♭ side

A standard F/B♭ double horn is two horns in one: the F side and a shorter B♭ side. The thumb lever works a valve that sends the air through one side or the other. On the B♭ side, the same written notes sit on lower partials that are farther apart, so many players find high notes easier to center there.

Teachers choose different places to switch. This chart uses a common one: the F side up to G on the 2nd line, and the B♭ side from A♭ above it.

For more on the two sides and where to switch, see when to use the thumb trigger.

French horn fingering chart

Every written note from C3 to C6 on a single F horn, low to high. Tap a note to hear it.

For alternates and a printable copy, see the French horn fingering chart.

Common fingering mistakes

• Right fingering, wrong note. You probably landed on a neighboring partial. Listen to the note, then play it again.
• Using trumpet fingerings. Some written notes have different fingerings on horn and trumpet. D below the staff is 1 on F horn and 1-3 on trumpet.
• Forgetting the thumb lever. On a double horn, use the switch point your teacher gives you, and practice it until your thumb learns it.
• Pressing halfway. A valve that isn't all the way down can make the note stuffy or unclear.

Practice these fingerings

• Finger each note from C below the staff up to C in the 3rd space silently, saying the note names.
• Play each one as a long tone. Listen to it first, then check it with a tuner or a drone.
• Slur open C to E to G and back without moving the valves. Change only your lips and air.

Then quiz yourself in Brass Trainer, set to single or double horn in its settings.