Oboe fingering chart: beginner notes and full reference

This guide starts with the notes band books often teach first. Each fingering is drawn on a diagram of the oboe next to the note on the staff. Then come the two things that make oboe fingerings different, the half-hole and the octave keys, and the three ways to finger F. At the end there's a chart from middle C to high C, one fingering per note.

The diagrams show a conservatory-system oboe with semi-automatic octave keys and a left F key. Some oboes have a fully automatic octave mechanism or fewer keys. If yours doesn't match the diagrams, ask your teacher.

How to read an oboe fingering chart

• Top to bottom is your left hand, then your right. On the oboe, the left hand is always on top, nearest the reed, even if you're left-handed.
• Filled keys are pressed. Open ones are up. Press each key with the pad of your finger, not the tip.
• O is the octave key, on the back under your left thumb. The second octave key is a side key near your left first finger.
• A half-filled left 1 is the half-hole: roll your finger down so the small hole at the top of the key opens while the rest stays pressed.
• Pinky keys are at the bottom: C, C♯, and E♭ for the right pinky; G♯, low B, and low B♭ for the left, plus the left F key (LF) on oboes that have one (and a second E♭ on many). The F key between right 2 and right 3 is for regular F.

The first notes in the band book

Start with B, A, and G to learn the left-hand fingerings. Then learn the notes your band book introduces, including B♭ and E♭ for concert B♭ major. Tap any note or fingering to hear it.

Left hand: B, A, and G

The concert B♭ scale

Practice these in Woodwind Trainer, already set to oboe and the beginner notes.

The half-hole

For C♯, D, and E♭ in the staff, your left first finger opens a small hole in its key by rolling down toward your palm. That little opening helps those notes jump up to the upper register, the same job an octave key does for higher notes.

The octave keys

From E in the top space up to G♯, add the octave key with your left thumb. From A above the staff up to high C, use the second octave key, a side key you press with the side of your left first finger. On a semi-automatic oboe the thumb can stay on its key or come off; the side key closes the first vent either way. In both cases, your fingers are the same as the note an octave lower.

For a full map of which notes use which key, and how to switch between them smoothly, see oboe octave keys and the half-hole.

F: regular, forked, and left F

F has three fingerings on this oboe. They all play the same note, and the one to use depends on the notes around it. Tap each one to hear it.

How to choose: regular F works well when the notes around it leave your right ring finger free. Next to D, E♭, or low C, which use that finger, moving it to the F key and back can be awkward. Left F (if your oboe has the key) or forked F can make those moves smoother. Your teacher may mark which F to use.

If it helps, write R, F, or L (regular, forked, or left) above the Fs in your music.

Oboe fingering chart

The notes from middle C to high C, with one fingering for each. Notes from C♯ in the third space up to E♭ use the half-hole; E to G♯ above it add the octave key; A and up use the second octave key.

Common fingering mistakes

• Lifting instead of rolling for the half-hole. The note cracks or wobbles. Keep the finger touching the key and roll it like a hinge.
• Thumb resting on the octave key. Low notes jump up. Keep the thumb on the wood just below it.
• Using forked F for every F. It helps next to D and E♭, but its tone can be stuffier. Choose the F that fits the notes around it.
• Flat, stretched fingers. Keep the fingers curved, like holding a ball, so the pads land in the middle of each key.
• Forgetting the half-hole. D and E♭ in the staff come out an octave low or crack. Roll left 1 every time.

Practice these fingerings

• Finger each note silently while saying its name, from G up to B♭ above the staff and back.
• Roll between low D and D on the 4th line 10 times, slowly, until the half-hole moves without looking.
• Play G, F, G with regular F, then D, F, D with forked or left F.

Then quiz yourself in Woodwind Trainer: you see a note and build its fingering. When those are solid, switch to the full range.

The chart above runs from middle C to high C. The separate oboe fingering chart tool goes a little lower: every half step from low B♭, below middle C, up to high C, with alternates you can show or hide. You can print it for your folder.