Valve 1 is the one nearest the mouthpiece, valve 2 is the middle, valve 3 is nearest the bell. Those three give seven usable combinations, and every note on the trumpet comes out of one of them.
Everything below is written pitch — what you read off a part marked for B♭ trumpet. The same fingerings work on cornet, flugelhorn and treble-clef baritone, so one chart covers all four.
Every note, low F♯ to high C
Below the staff
| Note | Valves | Alternate | Tuning |
|---|---|---|---|
| F♯ / G♭ (lowest note) | 1-2-3 | — | Very sharp |
| G | 1-3 | — | Sharp |
| A♭ / G♯ | 2-3 | — | — |
| A | 1-2 | 3 | — |
| B♭ / A♯ | 1 | — | — |
| B | 2 | — | — |
| C (one ledger line below) | open | — | — |
| C♯ / D♭ | 1-2-3 | — | Very sharp |
| D | 1-3 | — | Sharp |
| E♭ / D♯ | 2-3 | — | — |
On the staff
| Note | Valves | Alternate |
|---|---|---|
| E (bottom line) | 1-2 | 3 |
| F (first space) | 1 | — |
| F♯ / G♭ | 2 | — |
| G (second line) | open | 1-3 |
| A♭ / G♯ | 2-3 | — |
| A (second space) | 1-2 | 3 |
| B♭ / A♯ | 1 | — |
| B (third line) | 2 | — |
| C (third space) | open | 2-3 |
| C♯ / D♭ | 1-2 | 3 |
| D (fourth line) | 1 | 1-3 |
| E♭ / D♯ | 2 | 2-3 |
| E (fourth space) | open | 1-2 |
| F (top line) | 1 | — |
Above the staff
| Note | Valves | Alternate |
|---|---|---|
| F♯ / G♭ | 2 | — |
| G (space above the top line) | open | 1-3 |
| A♭ / G♯ | 2-3 | — |
| A (first ledger line above) | 1-2 | 3 |
| B♭ / A♯ | 1 | — |
| B | 2 | — |
| C (high C, two ledger lines above) | open | — |
Written F♯ below the staff is the bottom of the trumpet’s normal range — 1-2-3 is as much tubing as three valves can add. Above high C the notes sit close enough together that several fingerings will produce most of them, and players choose whichever is in tune on their own horn rather than following a chart.
QMG color-coded trumpet fingering chart
An 11×17 laminated wall chart with the valve circles color-coded by note, which is what makes it readable from a music stand at arm’s length instead of something you lean in and squint at. Laminated matters more than it sounds: a paper chart clipped to a stand lasts about a term.
Why seven fingerings cover thirty-one notes
Each valve drops the pitch by adding tubing. Valve 2 has the shortest loop and lowers by a half step, valve 1 by a whole step, valve 3 by a step and a half. Press two down and the drops add up, which gives seven lengths of horn: open, 2, 1, 1-2 (or 3), 2-3, 1-3, and all three.
Seven lengths is nowhere near thirty-one notes. The rest comes from your lips. One length of tubing sounds a whole series of notes depending on how fast you buzz, and the trumpet’s range is those seven series stacked on top of each other. It is why the open fingering plays six different notes, and why nothing on the chart can tell you which one you will get.
| Fingering | Notes it plays, low to high |
|---|---|
| Open | C · G · C · E · G · C |
| 2 | B · F♯ · B · E♭ · F♯ · B |
| 1 | B♭ · F · B♭ · D · F · B♭ |
| 1-2 (or 3) | A · E · A · C♯ · E · A |
| 2-3 | A♭ · E♭ · A♭ · C · E♭ · A♭ |
| 1-3 | G · D · G · B · D · G |
| 1-2-3 | F♯ · C♯ · F♯ · B♭ · C♯ · F♯ |
Every row starts below the staff and finishes above it, and the gaps close as it climbs: a fifth, then a fourth, then two thirds. That is why the high register is hard to pitch accurately and the low register is not — near the top, the wrong note is a step away rather than a fifth away.
The jump from G above the staff to high C looks like a break in that pattern. There is a note between them, but it lands so flat that it is unusable, so the trumpet skips it and takes the fourth instead.
Low D and low C♯ play sharp, and the chart cannot fix it
Each valve slide is cut to be correct on its own. Use two together and the combined tubing comes out fractionally short for the note, and the more valves involved the worse it gets. Low down, the error is big enough to hear from across a room.
Four notes are affected, and two of them turn up constantly:
- D below the staff and G below the staff (1-3) — push the third valve slide out about half an inch.
- C♯ below the staff and bottom F♯ (1-2-3) — push it out about an inch, or as far as it will go.
That is what the ring or saddle on the third valve slide is for. Hook a finger through it and move the slide as you play the note, not before it: the adjustment has to arrive and leave with the note, because that same slide position would leave everything else flat.
Some trumpets also carry a throw or trigger on the first valve slide, which does the same job for D and E♭ at the top of the staff. On a horn with no ring at all, the only option is to lip those four notes down, which works and costs you tone.
Alternate fingerings, and when they earn their keep
The alternates in the third column are not worse versions of the standard fingering. They come from the overlap between those seven series — several of them reach the same note from a different length of tube — and they are there for two reasons: to keep the fingers still in a fast passage, and to shift the pitch of a note that is sitting badly.
The 1-2 and 3 swap is the one to learn first, because it applies to every note that uses 1-2. Those two combinations are supposed to be the same length, but on most trumpets the third valve slide is built slightly longer than valves 1 and 2 together, so 3 on its own sits a shade flat where 1-2 sits a shade sharp. Two things follow. A below the staff often speaks better in tune on 3 than on 1-2. And a figure that runs A to G on the second line moves one finger with the 3 fingering instead of lifting two.
The rest are situational. Third-space C as 2-3, G above the staff as 1-3, D on the fourth line as 1-3 — each of these keeps a valve down through a passage where the standard fingering would make you release one and press another at speed, and trills are where that pays off most.
Check any alternate against a tuner before you commit to it. They vary from instrument to instrument, and a fingering that solves a technical problem is no use if it drags the pitch with it.
Your written C is a concert B♭
The trumpet is a transposing instrument. Play the C on this chart and the note that comes out of the bell is the B♭ a whole step below it. Sit at a piano, play what you each call C, and you will disagree.
It matters in two places. Music written for piano, guitar, flute or violin cannot be handed to a trumpet player as it stands — every note has to move up a whole step first. And when a director calls a concert B♭ scale, the trumpet section plays a C scale: open, 1-3, 1-2, 1, open, 1-2, 2, open.
Orchestral players often work on a C trumpet, which sounds where it is written. The fingerings on this chart are identical on one; only the pitch that comes out changes.
The exercise that puts the chart away
A chromatic scale from bottom F♯ to high C and back runs all thirty-one notes in order, so it drills every combination on this page in about ninety seconds. Slowly, with a tuner on the stand and the third valve slide moving where it should, it does most of the work of the chart on its own.
Start it from written C rather than from the bottom for the first few weeks. The low register wants a settled embouchure before it will speak reliably, and starting on F♯ means starting on the worst note on the instrument.
What to work through next
Fingerings are quick to learn and not much use alone. What turns them into playing is a method book with a sequence to it, and which one depends on whether anyone is teaching you.
| Book | Best for | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential Elements Book 1 | School band. It is the book most US programs issue, and it is written for a room of players on different instruments at once | Around $13 | Check price |
| Rubank Elementary Method | Teaching yourself. A straight sequence of studies with no ensemble parts and nothing to bounce off, which is what you want alone in a room | Around $9 | Check price |
If you are reading this before buying a trumpet at all, the range is wider than it looks, and the school-standard instruments sit between $400 and $900. We have been through what a trumpet actually costs at each level, and which brands to steer around.
| Trumpet | Who it suits | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Paul TR-330 | The cheapest first horn from a maker with a published warranty, a parts programme and named service centers. 7C mouthpiece and semi-hard case included | Around $250 | Check price |
| Jean Paul TR-430 | The step up, and the one to buy if a teacher is involved. Rose brass leadpipe and a third valve slide ring, which the low-D problem above makes worth having | Around $400 | Check price |
Trumpet fingering questions worth answering
Which valve is number one?
The one closest to the mouthpiece, under your index finger. Valve 2 is the middle, under your middle finger, and valve 3 is nearest the bell, under your ring finger. Charts number them in that order without exception.
Why do C, G and E all use no valves?
Because a single length of tube sounds a series of notes, not one. With no valves down the trumpet will play C, G, C, E, G and C going up, and your lips pick between them. Every other fingering does the same thing from a lower starting point.
Why are my low D and low C♯ always sharp?
Because 1-3 and 1-2-3 add up to slightly less tubing than those notes need. It is built into the instrument rather than into your playing. Extend the third valve slide about half an inch for D and about an inch for C♯, using the ring, and bring it back for the next note.
What are the lowest and highest notes on the chart?
Written F♯ below the staff at the bottom, because 1-2-3 is as much tubing as the valves can add, and high C at the top. Pedal tones exist below that F♯ and experienced players go well above high C, but neither belongs on a fingering chart.
Do cornet and flugelhorn use the same fingerings?
Yes. Both are pitched in B♭ with three valves, so this chart transfers directly, and treble-clef baritone and euphonium parts use it too. What changes between them is the bore and the tone, not the fingers — the differences are in our flugelhorn and cornet comparison.
Why does my C sound like a B♭ on the piano?
Because a B♭ trumpet sounds a whole step below what it reads. Nothing is out of tune; the notation is shifted so that one fingering means one written note across the whole family. Piano music needs transposing up a step before a trumpet can read it.
Do I have to memorize all of them?
Eventually, but not deliberately. Keep the chart on the stand and look things up mid-piece. The notes you play most stop needing it within a few weeks, and a slow chromatic scale takes care of the stragglers.
If you are still weighing the trumpet against something else, we have compared it with the saxophone, the mellophone and the bugle, and the rest of the family sits under brass instruments.