C Major Scale Clarinet Finger Chart

This is a virtual clarinet that allows you to see the fingerings for playing the C major scale on a B flat clarinet. The virtual clarinet is interactive in that you can click straight onto the screen using either your mouse or trackpad. If you prefer not to touch the mouse at all then there are also options to control it using your computer keyboard. With both options, you will be able to listen to the note sound while changing the fingerings and learning how the clarinet work.

Start by looking at the row of buttons below the title. These are the eight notes in the C major scale from the written out note of C4 to written C5. Each button is a note. If you click one of them the note will be selected and the left-hand main diagram will change so that you know precisely which keys and holes would cover this pitch. As you can hear, the six main ring keys along with the register key and thumb key all changes their state to match the selected note. This gives you visual feedback that links the abstract idea of what a note sounds like to what you physcially need to do to make it.

How to Use the Virtual Clarinet

On the right-hand side of the screen there is an option to give you further information about the note you have chosen. This includes the sound pitch and the written pitch, as the B flat clarinet sounds a major second lower. It also includes a text version of the fingering with all the information compressed into one line. Next, you’ll find a key icon showing where each finger should be placed, as seen in the diagram above. As you place your fingers on the keys these light up confirming which are being used and which are not.

To listen to what’s being played, press the Send air upward button located along the bottom of the console. It will produce an artificial sound based off the current note being played. The Air pace slider to the left of the Send air upward button adjust the speed at which the note is played back. For example, if you wanted to work on running scales, you’d increase the value of the slider so it transitions from note-to-note more quickly. The Reed volume slider is where you set how loudly the synthesized note play. You can adjust it to suit your listening environment without discomfortly.

To focus on training there are three options of Practice Strip sections. Full breath mode (default) plays the full eight notes of the scale if you click start. A to B to C bridge mode, which limits practice to just the difficult bridge over the break with only those two tricky notes and the throat tones. For the less experienced player, the register key switch can be a challenge. Shadow right hand mode allows you to keep your right-hand fingers hovering without playing. This lets you concentrate purely on the register key and the left-hand thumb.

The arrow keys provides an efficient way to move around the scale on the keyboard. The left arrow key steps back a note at a time whereas the right does the same but forwards a note. You can play the highlighted note with the space bar whenever you like. This gives you complete control over when you hear the sound. If you press Enter while the widget is selected then it will run through the current practice exercise all the way through. This means you don’t need to remove your hands from the keyboard while observing the visual changes in the diagram.

If you’re new to the finger patterns, then turn the Air pace slider on to slow things down so that your fingers and eyes have a chance to keep up with the changes in the diagram before your brain registers the next note. Change back and forth through the coach modes so you can repeat any tricky areas until they become comfortable. Shadow mode is especially useful here because it lets you practice just the mechanics of the break crossing without worrying about the right-hand fingering yet.

There’s also a convenient Help panel on the bottom which explains all the keyboard shortcuts as well as the various controls. If you’d like a refresher, click on the How to play button and it will expand the help section which shows what each key does. The Fullscreen button hides everything around the clarinet diagram so you can see more of it. This is handy if you have little desktop space or want to project the screen.

As you go through the scale, take a moment to observe the visualization of the air column. Observe how the active bore length change when you press and release each key. Watch particularly for the transition from G4 to A4 and then to B4. Here the thumb key and register key are activated to skip an octave. Try playing in both modes of practice, slowly getting faster on the note-by-note until you feel comfortable with it at a speed you are confident with.

The idea behind this widget is that it connects the theory in your head to what is going on in your hands. It adds audio feedback and visual diagrams to help you learn common Boehm system fingerings. This helps solidify the required muscle memory. It’s a safe place to play around if you’re a player looking to refresh your memory or a student wanting to double check your technique. Click the “Send air upward” button and have some fun experimenting with the structure and sound of the C major scale. You should of tried it more!