How to read the fingering pictures: just press the black keys
How to read FingerNola fingering pictures: left and right hand, filled black keys, the six basic finger positions and the mirror button.
The first time you hold a saxophone, the twenty-plus keys look scary. But for the first months you mostly use six finger positions and the octave key under your left thumb.
Reading a FingerNola fingering picture
- The picture shows the sax from the front. The top half is your left hand, the bottom half your right hand.
- Press the keys filled in black; leave the white ones open. That is the only rule.
- The six big circles are the basic positions: left index (1), middle (2), ring (3), then right index (4), middle (5), ring (6).
- The small keys at the sides are for the little fingers, the palm and the side of the hand. They appear one by one for high and low notes.
Left: low D, with all six fingers down. Right: B, with only the left index finger.
Remember one rule
The more fingers you put down, the lower the note. All six give D; lift them one at a time from the bottom and you climb E–F–G–A–B.
Prefer a mirror view?
If the front view confuses you, press [↔ Mirror] on the fingering chart. The pictures flip left to right, and the practice and quiz pages use the same setting.
Next step
Get to know the eight easy notes (low D up to C♯) on the chart, then check yourself with the "Easy" level of the fingering quiz.