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Oboe players are almost always in demand for orchestras and bands, so you can’t go wrong with choosing the instrument. But if you don’t have a good oboe fingering chart guide, you may struggle to learn to play.
As you begin to learn the oboe, consider what notes it can play and what each of the keys does. Then, you can use that information to learn new fingerings and get better at playing music.
Oboe Range
When learning the oboe fingerings, you should consider the range of notes an oboe can play. The oboe is one of the higher-pitched instruments in the orchestra, but it’s not quite as high as the flute or piccolo. An oboe’s lowest note is a B flat below the treble clef (Bb3), but some student models only go down to a B below the staff (B3). You can play up to the G an octave above the staff, which is also known as G6.
Advanced players may be able to play a little higher than that. However, you don’t need to worry about those notes when learning your first few notes on the oboe.
Left-Hand Oboe Keys
The oboe has a lot of keys, and you have to use your left hand for quite a few things. Knowing what each of the keys on the left hand do will help you understand how to read an oboe fingering chart.
When playing the oboe, you’ll place your left hand on the top part of the instrument. This is true for right- and left-handed players because oboes are all made the same. Trying to play the other way around doesn’t work with all of the keys.
Consider the keys your left hand will have to operate and how they help your playing.
First Key
Your first finger will operate the first key, which you can use to play the B in the middle of the staff. You’ll also press this key with other keys to play most of the other notes on the oboe. However, sometimes, you will need to close the key without covering the hole in the key. Some players call this a half-hole, and you use it for notes like C sharp, D, and E flat in the second octave.
That vents the instrument, and it can help those notes sound good and in tune. It does take practice to move your finger on and off the hole, though, so take it slowly at first.
Second Key
The second key is the key you play with your left-hand second finger. You can combine it with the first key to play notes like A and A sharp or B flat in the staff. Like the first key, the second key is part of a lot of fingerings on the oboe. It doesn’t have the same half-hole feature, so you don’t need to worry as much about where to place your finger.
However, you do need to place your finger on the key so that you can close it completely. Then, air won’t leak out and cause you to play a wrong note.
Third Key
The next key down on your left hand is the third key, and it’s similar to the second key. It doesn’t have a hole, but you still need to carefully place your finger to get the right pitch. You can use this key to play notes like the G or G sharp in the staff. It’s also part of all of the lower notes on the oboe, and this is one of the first few keys you’ll learn when you start playing the oboe.
Pinky Keys
When you play the oboe, you’ll need to develop some strong pinky muscles because both fingers operate multiple keys. On the left hand, your pinky plays five keys. The most common key you’ll play is probably the G sharp key, at least at first. Next to it is the low B key, which lets you play the B at the bottom of the oboe’s range.
You can also find the low B flat key next to the low B, so you can play as far down as the oboe will go. Another key in this configuration is the E flat key, which allows you to play E flat, and it’s particularly useful when switching between E flat and C.
Finally, some oboes also feature a left-hand F key, so you can play that note more easily. If your oboe has one, it will sit next to the E flat key.
B Trill Key
While the standard fingerings are important, you sometimes need to use a different fingering. Trills involve moving between two notes quickly, and that’s not always easy with the standard oboe keys. The B trill key sits between the first and second keys of the left hand. It’s a tiny key and can be easy to hit on accident, but it makes trilling between A sharp and B a lot easier in the first and second octaves.
If you were to do that trill without the special key, you’d need to move your left-hand second finger and right-hand first finger. That’s not an easy combination to keep smooth, so the B trill key is essential.
C# Trill Key
Between the second and third keys on the left hand, you can find the C# trill key, which you use to trill to C sharp or D flat. It’s another small key, so it can be hard to hit or keep from hitting when you don’t want to. The is super helpful because the C and C sharp fingerings are almost the opposite. Most of your fingers move up or down between the two notes, so it can be hard to play a trill between those notes.
D Trill Key
Like C sharp, D can be hard to trill to from C, so there’s a small trill key for the purpose. You can find the key next to the B trill key on your left hand. If you ever need to go back and forth between C and D, you can use the main C fingering, and you’ll just add the D trill key to make the higher note. Then, you don’t have to have all of your fingers move back and forth together.
Right Hand Oboe Keys
Your left hand has to play a lot of keys on the oboe, but the right hand also has a lot of keys of its own. There are main keys, trill keys, pinky keys, and even side keys. Fortunately, you don’t need to remember all of these keys at the start. You can take time to learn each of the keys and what they do, and you can memorize them that way.
As you learn to play the oboe, take a look at the following keys for your right hand.
First Key
The first finger of your right hand will play the first right-hand key, and you can combine it with a G fingering to play a G flat or F sharp. You’ll also use this key for notes lower than the F sharp within the first octave. In the second octave, you use this key for notes C sharp through F sharp. If you’ve played another woodwind, like the clarinet or flute, the F sharp fingering can be confusing.
The oboe uses the first finger, but the flute uses the third finger and not the first. Finally, the clarinet uses the second finger and not the first finger to play that same written note.
Second Key
Next up, you have the second key on the right hand, which you can use to play an E if you already can play an F sharp. You can also use this fingering with the F key (more on that later) to play F natural.
As with the left hand, you’ll use your middle finger to play this key on your right hand. It’s an essential part of playing a lot of the lower notes because it helps close the tubing toward the bottom of the oboe.
Third Key
The last main key of the right hand is the third key, and you use it for a lot of notes. It’s what changes an E to a D, and you can use it to change an F sharp to an F natural.
Your ring finger controls this key, and it’s part of both standard and alternate fingerings. When playing notes that use your pinky, make sure to keep your ring finger on the key so that you can play the correct notes.
Pinky Keys
The right-hand pinky doesn’t play as many notes as the left hand, but it still has plenty of keys to press. You’ll use this finger to play notes like low C, C sharp, and E flat.
Low C is the closest key to your ring fingering, and low E flat is the key right below that. Slightly off to the side is the key to play low C sharp or D flat.
Because it’s hard to switch between these keys, you can use the left-hand pinky to play E flat if you have to go back and forth between it and C or C sharp.
Side Keys
Your right-hand palm can also play some keys to help facilitate some notes. First, there’s the A key, which is a trill key similar to the trill keys for the left hand. The A-side key is useful when trilling between a G sharp and A natural. If you didn’t use this key, your ring finger and pinky would have to move together, which is hard.
There’s also a G# side key that you can use to trill to a G sharp or A flat from G natural. Your pinkies are naturally weaker than your other fingers, so using your right-hand palm can make it easier to trill, especially for long periods.
D Trill Key
The right-hand features the same D trill key as the left hand, so you can trill between C and D with ease. Sometimes, trilling with your left hand is hard and not as consistent. If that’s the case, you can use the D trill key in the right hand. This is also an easier option for new oboe players who have played the flute because the key is in the same position: between the first and second keys.
You can decide which of the two D trill keys to use based on the notes leading up to and following the trill. While the right hand might be better occasionally, you may have music where using the left hand is better.
F Trill Key
The note F natural is the only note that uses a trill key in its basic fingering. If you play an E and need to trill to an F, you can use this key between the second and third keys on your right hand. If your oboe doesn’t have a left-hand F key, this is your best option for those trills and other fast notes. But it’s not that practical if you need to quickly go to or from a pitch like D since that uses the third finger.
You have to use your third finger for the F trill key. Fortunately, there are a few other ways to play an F natural if you need to go between that and notes like D or low C.
Alternate C Key
The alternate C key, which you might also call the banana key, is next to the third key. You can use this key to play a low C when you need to trill between a low C and C sharp. That way, you don’t have to slide your pinky from one key to the other. If you do that, you could easily play a wrong note in there, and it just doesn’t feel as secure.
Oboe Octave Keys
Moving back to the left hand, you operate three different octave keys on the oboe. You’ll use your left thumb to press a key on the back of the instrument to trigger the first octave key for E to G sharp in the second octave.
To play A through C and even higher notes, you will need to use your left palm to press the second octave key. On some oboes, you’ll also find a third-octave key, which you can use with alternate fingerings to help play some notes in the third octave.
Standard Fingerings
As a beginner, you’ll probably start by learning the standard fingerings for the first and second octaves of the oboe. You can find plenty of oboe fingering charts alone or as part of an oboe method book.
Even as you learn the oboe, it can help to have an oboe fingering chart to reference. If you ever forget how to play a really high note, this can be useful.
Trill Fingerings
Since the oboe has so many trill keys, it also has plenty of trill fingerings to make playing certain notes easier. I really like the website The Woodwind Fingering Guide to review fingerings for various woodwinds.
The oboe fingering chart on there includes basic fingerings, trill fingerings, and even tremolo fingerings. Tremolos are like a trill but they go between notes that aren’t right next to each other.
FAQs
Answer: Beginners should start with the notes B, A, and G in the treble clef staff. These are some of the easiest notes because they don’t use the extra trill keys, and they don’t require you to close the entire tube of the oboe.
The more keys you close, the harder it can be to produce a sound as a beginner. You can then slowly work your way down and up the range in the key of C, and you can add accidentals after that.
Answer: The difficulty of oboe fingering depends on the person. Some people can learn the notes really quickly, especially if they’ve played another woodwind since the fingerings share some similarities.
However, it can be harder to learn some of the fingerings unique to the oboe. As I mentioned, the F and F sharp are different from other woodwinds, so that might take time to get used to. But the oboe isn’t as complex as the bassoon, so bassoonists may not have much trouble.
Answer: Oboe fingerings matter because that’s how you play different notes on the instrument. When it comes to alternate and trill fingerings, they can make playing the oboe a lot less hard.
While you may be able to use all standard fingerings for a while, that will change when you advance. Some trills are impossible without using trill fingerings.
Answer: The oboe is probably not the best woodwind to learn if you want to teach yourself. However, you can teach yourself the oboe if you have the motivation to play it each day.It doesn’t hurt to also have a good oboe method book, like the Rubank books. A method book provides a progressive structure to help you learn the basics and slowly improve.
Final Note On The Oboe Fingering Chart Guide
When you first play the oboe, it can look overwhelming. However, a good oboe fingering chart guide can help you interpret the charts so that you know how to play each note.
Then, you can turn those notes into songs and pieces. As you advance, you can learn even more notes and fingerings to make playing more comfortable or otherwise less of a hassle.
