Woodwind Trainer

Fingerings for flute, clarinet, saxophones, oboe, and bassoon with Speed Match and Key Builder.

About Woodwind Trainer

Learn woodwind fingerings, then play them

Woodwind Trainer covers flute, clarinet, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, oboe, and bassoon. For fingerings it has two modes. Speed Match shows a written note and asks you to pick the correct fingering chart quickly. Key Builder asks you to press the keys and cover the tone holes yourself on an interactive diagram, which is closer to what your fingers really do.

Speed Match builds quick recognition for sight-reading. Key Builder builds exact recall, including the side keys, trill keys, and register keys that are easy to forget.

Play the Note checks the real thing: you see a note and play it, and the microphone listens for the right pitch. It tells you when you play the right note in the wrong octave, or a clarinet note a twelfth low (often a missing register key), and with strict tuning on, it also checks that you are in tune. It hears only pitch, so it can't tell you the cause: check your fingering and your octave or register key.

Scales has you finger a whole scale in order, up and back down, using concert pitch names with your written key alongside, like "Concert B♭ Scale (Clarinet C Scale)." Pick a level, single keys (drill their signatures in Key Trainer), relative minors, the chromatic scale, or two octaves, and turn on timed mode to build tempo for chair tests.

How to practice

  1. 01Choose your instrument and start with Speed Match at the Beginner range.
  2. 02Switch to Key Builder for any note you keep missing.
  3. 03Finger along on your instrument as you answer, even without playing.
  4. 04Say the note name as you finger it, so your eyes, name, and hands connect.
  5. 05Before a new piece, drill the notes that sit just outside the range you already know.

Written pitch vs concert pitch

Many woodwinds are transposing instruments: the note you read is not the pitch that sounds. When a clarinet plays a written C, the band hears a concert B♭. When an alto saxophone plays a written C, it sounds a concert E♭. This trainer uses written pitch, the notes on your part.

Clarinet overblows a twelfth, not an octave. That is why its upper-register fingerings don't simply repeat the lower ones the way flute and saxophone fingerings do.

Who it's for

Beginning woodwind players, students doubling on a second instrument, and saxophone or clarinet players moving into a wider range.

Read more

WoodwindsClarinet fingering chart: the first 12 notes, then low E to high CThe first 12 notes many band books teach and the order to learn them in, plus a chart from low E to high C.WoodwindsFlute fingering chart: why many notes use the same fingers in two octavesBeginner flute fingerings, and how your air, not your fingers, moves many fingerings up an octave.WoodwindsHow to make your first sound on fluteStart on the headjoint, shape your lips, aim the air, and balance the flute, then play your first three notes.WoodwindsHow to get a better sound on fluteWhy a flute sounds airy, and how air direction, a smaller lip opening, alignment, steady air, and long tones help.WoodwindsHow to tongue on fluteHow the tongue starts and separates notes while the air keeps moving, "too" and "doo," and tongued vs. slurred notes.WoodwindsHow to play high notes on fluteFaster, supported air through a smaller lip opening, aimed slightly higher, plus octave slurs and third-octave fingerings for a clear upper range.WoodwindsWhy won't my flute play low notes?Why low D, C♯, and C crack or jump up an octave, and what to check: lip coverage, slower air, finger coverage, and leaks.WoodwindsHow to clean and care for your fluteTaking the flute apart safely, cleaning it after every practice, storing it, and the signs it needs a repair tech.WoodwindsHow to make your first sound on saxophoneReed, assembly, neck strap, and holding position, then your embouchure and first notes B, A, and G, plus what to check when the first notes don't work.WoodwindsSaxophone fingering chart: beginner notes and full referenceThe first notes many band books teach, then each written note from low B♭ to high F with the octave key marked. One chart for alto, tenor, and bari.WoodwindsHow to get a better sound on saxophoneExamples of clear, airy, and pinched saxophone tone, what to check for each, and the steady air, embouchure checks, clean starts, and long tones that help.WoodwindsWhen do you press the octave key on saxophone?Which notes need the octave key, the usual C♯ fingerings and other options, why the saxophone goes up an octave (not a twelfth like clarinet), and how to switch smoothly.WoodwindsWhy your saxophone squeaks and how to fix itNotice when the squeak happens to narrow down the cause, then check the reed, mouthpiece, embouchure, keys, and leaks, with something to try for each.WoodwindsThe clarinet register key and crossing the breakWhy the clarinet overblows a twelfth, and exercises for crossing the break smoothly.WoodwindsHow to make your first sound on clarinetAssembly, reeds, embouchure, and air, then your first three notes, plus what to check when something doesn't work at first.WoodwindsWhy does my clarinet squeak? Causes and fixesUse when the squeak happens to decide what to check first, then work on fingers, reeds, embouchure, air, or a leaky clarinet.WoodwindsHow to make your first sound on oboeSoak the reed, crow on it alone, set your embouchure, then put the oboe together and play your first notes, plus fixes for first-day problems.WoodwindsOboe fingering chart: beginner notes and full referenceThe first notes band books often teach, a chart from middle C to high C with the half-hole and octave keys marked, and how to choose regular, forked, or left F.WoodwindsHow to get a better sound on oboeWhy an oboe can sound thin, buzzy, or harsh, what to check first, and how long tones and a short routine help.WoodwindsHow to choose and care for oboe reedsSoaking, checking the crow and tip, storing reeds in a case, rotating two or three, and what to do when a reed acts up.WoodwindsOboe octave keys and the half-hole: playing above the staffWhich notes use the half-hole, the first octave key, and the second, and how to move between them smoothly.WoodwindsHow to make your first sound on bassoonSoak the reed and crow on it, put the bassoon together, set the height and your embouchure, then play your first notes, plus first-day checks.WoodwindsBassoon fingering chart: beginner notes and full referenceThe first notes band books often teach, the whisper key, flick keys, and thumb keys, and a chart from low B♭ to high D in bass or tenor clef.WoodwindsHow to get a better sound on bassoonWhy a bassoon can sound thin, buzzy, or flat, what to check first, how the reed and bocal affect pitch, and a short tone routine.WoodwindsHow to choose and care for bassoon reedsSoaking, checking the crow, tip, and wires, storing reeds in a case, rotating two or three, and what to do when a reed acts up.WoodwindsBassoon whisper key and flick keys: when to use themWhich notes need the whisper key, when to lock it, and how flicking helps notes at the top of the staff start in the right octave.WoodwindsBreathing exercises for woodwind playersHow to take a full, relaxed breath, keep your air even, and plan breaths so you can play longer phrases on any woodwind.
Practice tools
Fingering charts
Printable, every instrument
Scale sheets
Printable, every instrument
Sight-reading
Project for the full band
Tuner
Uses your microphone
Drone
Tune by ear
Transposer
Concert ↔ written