Trill Fingerings

The following chart includes special fingerings designed for rapid alternation between two notes at an interval of a minor second (semitone) or a major second (whole tone) apart. Many of these fingerings can also be used as alternate fingerings for some fast passages. Keys to be trilled are indicated in red. When more than one key is to be trilled, the keys should be pressed and released simultaneously.

Trill notation
When a note has the letters tr above it, or a long squiggly line, that's a trill. (In very old music, trills may also be notated with a +.) What you have to do is to rapidly alternate between the written note and the next note-name above it, in the key signature. This second note is usually not written out. As a rule of thumb, in modern music you should start on the written note, while in music written before 1800 the trill generally starts on the note above. This second way of playing is sometimes explicitly requested by preceding the written note with the upper note as a small note (an acciaccatura). Let's make some examples:

If you find an A with a tr symbol above it, and you have no sharps and no flats in the key signature, the upper note is B. If you find an A with a tr symbol above it, and B is flat in the key signature, the upper note is B-flat (Bb).

If the composer wishes you to trill to an upper note which is not in the key signature, above or next to the trill symbol there will be an accidental indicating what the upper note should be. That accidental can of course be a flat, a sharp, a natural, a double-sharp or a double-natural.

Searching the chart

The chart below shows both the lower and the upper notes of a trill. You should search for the couple that has your written note on the left and the upper note (figured out as explained above) on the right. If you don't find the notes you are looking for, that's usually because no adequate alternative to the basic fingerings exists. In many cases, particularly in the first two octaves, the trill fingering and the regular fingering are the same. We have omitted such basic trills in order to keep the chart small and readable.

Another possibility is that the trill you are looking for is found here with another enharmonic name. For instance, you should be aware that the trill C#D# has the same fingering as the trill DbEb.

D4E4Eb4F4E4F#4F4Gb4F#4G#4G#4A4Ab4Bb4

A4Bb4Bb4C5C5D5C#5D5C#5D#5D5E5D#5E5

Eb5F5E5F#5F5Gb5F#5G#5G#5A5Ab5Bb5A5Bb5

Bb5C6C6D6C#6D6C#6D#6D6Eb6D6E6D#6E6

Eb6F6E6F6E6F#6F6Gb6F6G6F#6G6F#6G#6

G6Ab6G6A6G#6A6G#6A#6A6Bb6A6B6A#6B6

Bb6C7B6C7B6C#7C7Db7C7D7

Trill speed
The speed of a trill should be related to the global speed of the music. If a piece is marked Adagio, don't play its trills as fast as you can humanly move your fingers. Also, you will probably notice that adding in a bunch of trills and grace notes can be tricky when first learning a piece. So try playing the piece first without the ornaments, and then going through slowly and adding in those extra notes.

Basic Fingerings
In the following fingering chart we have listed all the basic fingerings for the Boehm-system flute, which are also valid for the other instruments of the family: the piccolo, the alto flute, the bass flute, etc.

Low B

Please note that the lowest note, the B below the staff (B3), is only playable on flutes with the so-called B foot. This footjoint, which is not usually found on student models, is a bit longer than the classic C foot, and features two rollers instead of one. Besides allowing the production of low B, the B foot also facilitates the emission of some higher notes, most notably of the high C way above the staff (C7). This is possible thanks to thegizmo key, which allows the B tone hole to close without closing the C and C# holes.

A-sharp / B-flat
In the first and second register, there are actually two basic fingerings commonly used to produce these notes. In this fingering chart we have listed both, since they are of equal importance. Here are the main principles you should consider when deciding which fingering to use:

The fingering which makes use of the Bb thumb lever (also known as the Briccialdi lever, after Italian flutist Giulio Briccialdi) is best used in passages without any B-natural, as you can keep the thumb lever depressed all the way through without preventing the other notes from coming out. This is often the case in pieces with a key signature that presents one to five flats: if the piece has no chromatic passages, you can keep the thumb lever depressed through the whole piece and play all the Bs without worrying about them being flat.

Apart from the B-naturals, there is just one other note whose emission is hindered by the thumb lever: this is the F#6/Gb6 in the high register. In passages featuring this note, you should normally finger A#/Bb using your right index finger.

When practicing scales, favor the right index fingering, as it is the most awkward one.

The fingering chart for the Modern Flute follows.

B3C4C#4 / Db4D4D#4 / Eb4E4F4F#4 / Gb4G4G#4 / Ab4

A4A#4 / Bb4B4C5C#5 / Db5D5D#5 / Eb5E5F5F#5 / Gb5

G5G#5 / Ab5A5A#5 / Bb5B5C6C#6 / Db6D6D#6 / Eb6E6

F6F#6 / Gb6G6G#6 / Ab6A6A#6 / Bb6B6C7C#7 / Db7D7

The Fourth Register

Standard orchestral repertoire for the modern flute never goes beyond D7. However, fingerings for higher notes do exist. These higher notes are extremely difficult to obtain, as they take a lot of air support and can sound like the most horrible shrieking noise you've ever heard. On a practical basis, you may never use these flute fingerings, but they certainly prove useful as a learning instrument to help you develop a better breath support.

D#7 / Eb7E7F7F#7 / Gb7G7