How to Place Fingers for the Notes on a Saxophone

Proper finger placement for notes on a saxophone will help increase your speed, agility and ability to play the correct notes every time. Knowing how to place the right and left hands on the saxophone doesn't take much work, but must be done correctly to play the saxophone appropriately. The saxophone consists of several keys that can be played by placing the right and the left hand in the correct position. The left hand goes on the top half of the saxophone while the right hand goes on the bottom half.

Step 1 Avoid touching the brass with your fingers as the oils from your fingers can damage the instrument.

Step 2 Place your left hand at the top of the saxophone near the neck. You will see four large keys. Place your index finger over the top key, the middle finger on the second key from the top, the ring finger on the third and the pinky on the small extension keys.

Step 3 Position your right hand on the bottom half of the saxophone. The thumb tucks underneath the thumb rest. The index finger rests over the first large key from the top, the middle finger over the second key, the ring finger goes on the next key and the pinky hovers over the roller on the bottom.