The clarinet is part of the woodwind family and is able to produce around four octaves of notes. There are various key systems for the clarinet which differ from country to country but the most common is the Boehm system (which we have used in our interactive chart).
Before using the above interactive fingering chart and playing your first pieces, you need to know where to position your hands on the clarinet.
Let’s start with your right hand, which should be positioned at the bottom of the instrument. Place your thumb underneath the thumb rest. Your index, middle and ring finger should sit on the three holes available on the bottom of the clarinet. Your pinkie finger should rest on the long keys.
Your left hand should be positioned at the top of the instrument. Your thumb rests on the hole at the back of the clarinet. On the front of the clarinet, your index finger sits on the first hole, your middle finger on the second hole and your ring finger on the third hole. Your pinkie finger should rest on the long keys.
Once you understand where your hands should be positioned, you can use the interactive fingering chart above to practice the notes and to start playing your first pieces! You can simply click on any note and the fingering will be displayed on the visual clarinet. Don’t forget, you can also download and print the interactive clarinet fingering chart for free.
Your hands are in position and you’re now ready to play your first notes! The interactive fingering chart will help you but first, you’ll need to know where to begin.
The easiest notes to start with on the clarinet are E, D and C. It’s best to start with E because it requires very few keys. Your left-hand thumb should cover the hole behind the clarinet and your index finger should cover the first hole - now you can play the note E. To produce the note D, you simply need to cover the second hole (in addition to the previous holes), and so on. Use the interactive clarinet fingering chart above to continue learning the other notes.
Please note, there are alternative fingerings and we have included some of the most common examples on the interactive clarinet fingering chart.
We have a large catalogue of clarinet sheet music for all different levels, including beginner level. Our team of professional musicians record the play-along tracks and produce the sheet music for you to play and enjoy! For beginner clarinetists, you’ll be happy to hear that we also provide a visual clarinet - select any note and the visual instrument will light up to show you which keys you need to press!
