Trumpet fingering chart: why 3 valves make every note
A trumpet has only three valves, which makes just seven different fingerings. Yet it plays more than two octaves of notes. The trick is that each fingering plays several notes, and your lips choose which one. This guide shows the beginning fingerings and how they fit together. The notes are shown just as they appear in your trumpet music.
Want to drill them? Practice these fingerings in Brass Trainer →
How to read a trumpet fingering chart
- Valve 1 is closest to you (nearest the mouthpiece), pressed with your right index finger. Valve 2 uses your middle finger, valve 3 your ring finger.
- Filled circles are pressed. Empty circles are up. "Open" means no valves.
- Numbers like 1-2 mean press those valves together.
The seven valve combinations
Each valve adds a loop of tubing, and a longer tube plays a lower note. Together they make seven steps down from open, each about a half step lower than the last:
| Fingering | Lowers the note by |
|---|---|
| Open | Nothing |
| 2 | A half step |
| 1 | A whole step |
| 1-2 (or 3) | A step and a half |
| 2-3 | Two whole steps |
| 1-3 | Two and a half steps |
| 1-2-3 | Three whole steps |
For the full story of how valves and partials work together, see the harmonic series and brass valve combinations.
The first notes in the band book
Most band books start trumpet on these five notes, from middle C up to G:
Next come the notes up to the C in the third space:
One fingering, several notes
Notice that C, G, and the higher C are all open. Each fingering can play a whole family of notes, called partials. Your lips pick the partial: a faster buzz and faster air play higher in the family.
This is why you can play the right fingering and still get the wrong note. If the note sounds too high or too low, keep the fingering and adjust your air and buzz until you land on the right partial. Singing or buzzing the note first helps you hear where it should be.
Fingerings that run out of tune
Valve combinations aren't perfectly in tune. The more valves you press together, the sharper the note tends to be:
- 1-3 and 1-2-3 run sharp. Low D (1-3) and low C♯ (1-2-3) are the usual problems. Push the third valve slide out with your ring finger, or the first valve slide with your thumb, to bring them down.
- 1-2 vs. 3. Both lower the note a step and a half. 1-2 is the usual choice; 3 alone is an alternate for fast passages.
- Listen, then adjust. A tuner is a good check, but matching the players around you is the real goal. See playing in tune.
Trumpet fingering chart by partial
Here is the whole beginning range in one chart. Each row is one partial, starting on its open note; each column is one fingering. Moving right along a row, each fingering is a half step lower than the one before it.
G | F♯ | F | E | E♭ | D | C♯ |
E | E♭ | D | C♯ | C | B | B♭ |
C | B | B♭ | A | A♭ | G | F♯ |
G | F♯ | F | E | E♭ | D | C♯ |
C | B | B♭ | A | A♭ | G | F♯ |
Practice these fingerings
- Finger C through G silently while saying the note names.
- Play each note as a long tone, then check it against a tuner or a drone.
- Slur open C to open G and back without moving the valves. Use only your air and buzz.
- On low D and C♯, practice pushing out the slide as part of the fingering.
Then quiz yourself in Brass Trainer: you'll see a note and pick its fingering, until the chart lives in your hands.