BB Trumpet Finger Chart: Play a Clean C Major Scale

A bb trumpet finger chart helps you find the valves, but your first goal is to make each written note speak clearly. Start with middle C, D, and E, then use the chart below to build a full octave.

You do not need your highest note today. Instead, aim for a steady sound, coordinated fingers, and a phrase you can repeat without guessing.

Read your bb trumpet finger chart correctly

All notes here are written pitches for B-flat trumpet, not concert pitches. Written C sounds concert B-flat. Therefore, use these note names with a trumpet part, not directly with a piano’s note names.

The valves are numbered from your mouthpiece toward the bell:

• 1: index finger, closest to the mouthpiece.
• 2: middle finger.
• 3: ring finger, closest to the bell.
• Open: no valves pressed.

A combination such as 1–3 means press both valves together. Keep your fingertips resting lightly on the buttons, because lifting them high makes coordinated changes harder.

However, valves alone do not choose the register. Written middle C and the G above it both use open valves. Your air and embouchure help select the intended resonance.

For more on that relationship, read Fingering for the Trumpet: A Practical Jazz Guide.

Written notes from middle C to upper C

This bb trumpet finger chart covers one chromatic octave using standard fingerings. C4 is written middle C, on the ledger line below the treble staff. C5 sits in the third space.

| Written note | Valves | Staff location | |---|---|---| | C4 | Open | Ledger line below staff | | C♯4 / D♭4 | 1–2–3 | Below staff | | D4 | 1–3 | Space below staff | | D♯4 / E♭4 | 2–3 | Below first line | | E4 | 1–2 | First line | | F4 | 1 | First space | | F♯4 / G♭4 | 2 | Between first and second lines | | G4 | Open | Second line | | G♯4 / A♭4 | 2–3 | Above second line | | A4 | 1–2 | Second space | | A♯4 / B♭4 | 1 | Below third line | | B4 | 2 | Third line | | C5 | Open | Third space |

Sharps and flats sharing a row use the same fingering in this register. Their spelling depends on the musical context.

Written low D and C-sharp tend to run sharp with these valve combinations. If your trumpet has an adjustable third-valve slide, extend it as needed while checking the pitch. There is no universal slide distance.

Also, notice that E4 and A4 both use 1–2. If the wrong note speaks, pressing harder will not solve it. Pause, hear the target, and restart gently.

Play three notes before the whole scale

Set a metronome to 60 beats per minute. Play written C4–D4–E4–D4, one quarter note per beat. Then play C4 for two beats and rest for two.

The valve pattern is:

Open → 1–3 → 1–2 → 1–3 → open.

Listen closely to D–E. Your first valve stays down while the third valve rises and the second valve drops. If those movements miss each other, you may hear a brief unwanted pitch.

First, repeat D–E slowly with a light tongue on each note. Then slur the pair. Keep the air moving through the change rather than restarting it with your fingers.

On a B-flat trumpet, this low-register pattern should feel relatively relaxed. If D feels stuffy, check that both valves reach the bottom of their travel. Avoid forcing extra air against a partly depressed valve.

Next, play the written C major scale:

C4–D4–E4–F4–G4–A4–B4–C5, then descend.

Use quarter notes, and breathe before the descent if needed. If upper C cracks, stop at G and descend instead. Build reliable note starts before extending the range.

Turn the chart into a jazz phrase

Now use your bb trumpet finger chart for a two-bar phrase in written C:

• Bar 1: C4 quarter note, D4 quarter note, E4 eighth note, G4 eighth note, A4 quarter note.
• Bar 2: G4 quarter note, E4 quarter note, D4 quarter note, C4 quarter note.

Play the eighth notes evenly first. Then give the E–G pair a gentle swing feel without making the short note clipped or rushed.

For a listening reference, hear Miles Davis on “So What” from Kind of Blue. Focus on the space around his phrases and the clarity of his attacks. This exercise is original, not a transcription of his solo.

Leave two silent bars between repetitions. Because the pause gives you time to hear the next entrance, it can improve both timing and note accuracy.

For another small note set, try G Major Pentatonic Scale: Trumpet Exercises for Jazz Phrasing.

Take the next repetition into practice

Keep the same register and tempo rather than adding more notes immediately. Your check is simple: can you ascend and descend with an even sound and no stray pitches?

Open JazzValve’s C major scale screen. Play written C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C ascending and descending at 60 beats per minute, then repeat the C–D–E–G–A phrase above.