Cross-fingering
Alternative fingering on wind instruments (or piano) for producing otherwise missing notes.
What it means
Cross-fingering (German: Gabelgriff, “fork fingering”) is a fingering on wind instruments in which a note is produced not by opening the next hole but by a “forked” combination: one or more holes below the open one stay closed. This changes the length of the vibrating air column so that notes arise that cannot be fingered with the simple sequence of holes.
Musical use
Cross-fingerings matter above all on instruments with no or few keys, such as the recorder, the baroque flute, and historical woodwinds, where they enable semitones and chromatic notes. They usually color the sound somewhat darker or veiled, which was used as a means of expression in Baroque music. On modern instruments such as the clarinet, too, cross-fingerings are used for trill fingerings and special notes.
Cross-fingering should be distinguished from key fingering, in which a key changes the pitch, and from the normal fingering, in which all holes below the open one are closed. The term does not mean an additional key but the arrangement of the fingers.
Performance practice
Learn cross-fingerings from a fingering chart and check every note with a tuner, since it is often somewhat lower or softer than the normal fingering. Balance the differences by slightly adjusting embouchure and air, and use the altered sound deliberately as a means of expression.