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 thumb rests on the hole at the back of the clarinet.

Your left hand should be positioned at the top of the instrument. Your pinkie finger should rest on the long keys. Your index, middle and ring finger should sit on the three holes available on the bottom of the clarinet. Place your thumb underneath the thumb rest. Let’s start with your right hand, which should be positioned at the bottom of the instrument. How to hold the clarinetīefore using the above interactive fingering chart and playing your first pieces, you need to know where to position your hands on the clarinet.

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).

The clarinet is part of the woodwind family and is able to produce around four octaves of notes.

E flat on clarinet