Your first seven saxophone fingerings

Learning the saxophone starts with very concrete steps: fitting the reed correctly, adjusting the strap, and only then the fingers. This article walks through the first seven fingerings and the basic habits to have in place before you play a note.

Before you play

Fit the reed against the flat table of the mouthpiece, with the tip of the reed level with the tip of the mouthpiece. Moisten it for a minute or two before you start.

The neck strap carries most of the weight of the instrument; your hands only balance it, they do not hold it up. Sit or stand with a straight back and loose shoulders.

When seated, adjust the strap so the mouthpiece comes to your mouth by itself — you should not be bending down to find it, and the horn should not be pulling your shoulders up.

Embouchure

The lower lip cushions lightly over the lower teeth, the upper teeth rest on top of the mouthpiece, and the mouth closes evenly around it.

Do not bite. This is the single most common reason low notes will not speak: the harder you press, the less the reed vibrates and the more choked the sound.

Naming the keys

In this article the left hand has three main keys: L1 (index finger), L2 (middle finger) and L3 (ring finger). The right hand has R1, R2 and R3 in the same order.

The left thumb sits on the octave key, the right thumb supports under the thumb hook. Fingers curve naturally and touch the keys with the pad of the finger, not the tip.

The first seven fingerings

• Low D = L1+L2+L3+R1+R2+R3
• E = L1+L2+L3+R1+R2
• F = L1+L2+L3+R1
• G = L1+L2+L3
• A = L1+L2
• B = L1
• C = L2 only

Take one fingering at a time and hold a long note to hear the tone. Playing L1+L2 and holding a slow breath for eight seconds is the fastest way to get used to sealing two keys at once.

The octave key

Keep the same fingering and add the octave key with the left thumb, and the note rises exactly one octave.

This is worth learning early: it doubles the number of notes you can play without a single new fingering to remember. Play a note, add the thumb, listen, then release it — repeat a few times so your ear gets used to the interval.

The order to learn them

Start with G → A → B → C. These use the fewest fingers, so they speak easily and you get a result in the very first session.

Then go down: F → E → D. The lower you go, the more keys have to seal at once and the steadier the air has to be, so save these until the hands have settled.

Common mistakes and how to check yourself

• Pads not sealing, giving a rasp. Take the fingering and blow very gently: a hiss means there is a leak.
• Tension in the fingers and wrist. Use a mirror to see whether your fingers lift high off the keys; a few millimetres is all that is needed.
• Biting the reed, which stops the low notes speaking.
• Changing notes too fast before the fingering is learned. Slow the metronome until you can make the change correctly ten times in a row, then speed up.

A twenty-minute practice session

• 5 minutes of long tones: hold each note 8 to 12 seconds, listening for evenness.
• 10 minutes of slow note changes with the metronome at 60 beats per minute.
• 5 minutes putting together a short four-bar phrase.

Before each part, check the embouchure and the strap position again. Work from the easy notes to the harder ones in the order above, and drop the tempo the moment the fingers start going wrong.

In short

These seven fingerings are all you need for the first few weeks — add the octave key and you already have fourteen notes.

Start with G → A → B → C for a quick result, then work down to F → E → D. Twenty minutes a day on the structure above, check your seal by blowing gently, and do not add speed before the fingers know the shape. When the sound itself is what you want to work on next, read the five breathing mistakes that choke your tone.