Piccolo Trumpet Fingering Chart
4-valve B♭ piccolo trumpet · written pitch · valves 1–2–3 as on a trumpet, 4th valve extends the low range
How to play
- Tap a note to see its valve combination in the big diagram and hear the pitch.
- Valves 1–2–3 behave exactly as on a B♭ trumpet (1 = −2, 2 = −1, 3 = −3 semitones). The 4th valve lowers a perfect 4th (−5) and is used for the low notes below F♯3 (shown with a dashed border).
- Play repeats the selected note; Play all walks up the full chromatic range. Vol sets volume.
- Sharps / Flats switches how the accidental notes are named.
- Notes sound at written pitch here; a real B♭ piccolo sounds higher than written.
- Keyboard: Tab to any note or control, Enter/Space to activate.
This interactive chart help you visualize and hear the fingering for a four-valve B-flat piccolo trumpet. It allow you to listen to sound and also view the fingering.
There are two main types of interaction available. Firstly, you can simply click on any note on grid with your mouse. It will play the note and show the fingering for that note. Alternatively, you can use your computer keyboard and move around chart and press buttons for more fluid experience.
How to Use the Piccolo Trumpet Chart
A large panel sits above a grid of notes that make up main interface. Each cell on the grid represent a particular pitch in chromatic range of instrument. The large panel then displays what valves needs to be pressed when you choose a note.
The first three follow conventional trumpet fingering with the fourth valve adding an extension to the bottom end of the instrument’s range. This drop the pitch down a perfect fourth, allowing the instrument to reach notes lower than F-sharp three. The distinction between standard and fourth valve is clear from visual diagram.
Near the top are some segmented buttons that allows you to switch from flat note names to sharp note names. This is helpful if you like to read in certain key signature because accidentals is also shown using those note names in the grid.
The volume slider allow you to adjust the audio volume if you wish to practice somewhere else but don’t want it too loud.
Press the “play one” button to play just the note you’ve chosen. This is good for drilling a particular fingering. Play all, on the other hand, will go through full range of instrument playing each note one after the other. You can press this again to stop playback.
On the left-hand side of chart, you’ll see the written pitch however, in reality, a true B-flat piccolo trumpet have a sound one semitone above notation. To give you an idea of the transposition, this is where display panel comes into play as it indicates concert pitch.
If you only have limited space or want a bigger picture then there’s also fullscreen option. This is especially useful when you’re displaying screen from a projector.
Clicking the help button opens a quick reference guide that summarize keyboard controls and functions of valves, etc. So if you’ve forgotten something, take a look here.
Choose notes that is tricky for you to finger and practice. Watch out for valve diagram as you play and listen to note produced. It will help you build muscle memory of how the instrument actualy works.
Click through grid in order and try playing some scale. You can then use the play all feature to hear how smoothly the notes connects.
Before beginning I would of turned volume down to a comfortabley level. You can also change from flats to sharps depending on what is required in your sheet music. This help you to more easily follow your sheet music.
Try this: Get used to layout and start learning range. In lower register, the fourth valve create some interesting options which are well worth trying out in various combinations to see what impact they has on the sound.
To strengthen your understanding of piccolo trumpet fingering, use it as a learning aid. As well as being an excellent means of practising while not near your trumpet, it’s fun to explore the subtleties of this bright and agile instrument.