• 52 notes
  • Checked October 2026

Cello Fingerboard Diagram

A cello note diagram for all four strings: print it named, blank or numbered, or quiz yourself.

Cello Fingerboard Diagram

Name Date

Labelled fingerboard

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
More options

Write the name of each numbered note.Answer key

  1. C
  2. G
  3. D
  4. A
  5. C sharp / D flat
  6. G sharp / A flat
  7. D sharp / E flat
  8. A sharp / B flat
  9. D
  10. A
  11. E
  12. B
  13. D sharp / E flat
  14. A sharp / B flat
  15. F
  16. C
  17. E
  18. B
  19. F sharp / G flat
  20. C sharp / D flat
  21. F
  22. C
  23. G
  24. D
  25. F sharp / G flat
  26. C sharp / D flat
  27. G sharp / A flat
  28. D sharp / E flat
  29. G
  30. D
  31. A
  32. E
  33. G sharp / A flat
  34. D sharp / E flat
  35. A sharp / B flat
  36. F
  37. A
  38. E
  39. B
  40. F sharp / G flat
  41. A sharp / B flat
  42. F
  43. C
  44. G
  45. B
  46. F sharp / G flat
  47. C sharp / D flat
  48. G sharp / A flat
  49. C
  50. G
  51. D
  52. A

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-02 from plain lines, a four-sided board and circles: own work. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a note is answered.

Next step Next: label the parts of a cello

All 52 notes on the diagram

Show the list

Open strings 4

  1. C The open C string, with no finger down. String 4, the thickest string.
  2. G The open G string, with no finger down. String 3.
  3. D The open D string, with no finger down. String 2.
  4. A The open A string, with no finger down. String 1, the thinnest string.

First position 16

  1. D This D is under finger 1 on the C string. First position: two half steps above the open C.
  2. A This A is under finger 1 on the G string. First position: two half steps above the open G.
  3. E This E is under finger 1 on the D string. First position: two half steps above the open D.
  4. B This B is under finger 1 on the A string. First position: two half steps above the open A.
  5. D sharp / E flat Finger 2 on the C string: D sharp or E flat. First position: three half steps above the open C.
  6. A sharp / B flat Finger 2 on the G string: A sharp or B flat. First position: three half steps above the open G.
  7. F This F is under finger 2 on the D string. First position: three half steps above the open D.
  8. C This C is under finger 2 on the A string. First position: three half steps above the open A.
  9. E This E is under finger 3 on the C string. First position: four half steps above the open C.
  10. B This B is under finger 3 on the G string. First position: four half steps above the open G.
  11. F sharp / G flat Finger 3 on the D string: F sharp or G flat. First position: four half steps above the open D.
  12. C sharp / D flat Finger 3 on the A string: C sharp or D flat. First position: four half steps above the open A.
  13. F This F is under finger 4 on the C string. First position: five half steps above the open C.
  14. C This C is under finger 4 on the G string. First position: five half steps above the open G.
  15. G This G is under finger 4 on the D string. First position: five half steps above the open D.
  16. D This D is under finger 4 on the A string. First position: five half steps above the open A.

Natural notes higher up 16

  1. G This G is seven half steps above the open C. String 4, past first position.
  2. D This D is seven half steps above the open G. String 3, past first position.
  3. A This A is seven half steps above the open D. String 2, past first position.
  4. E This E is seven half steps above the open A. String 1, past first position.
  5. F This F is eight half steps above the open A. String 1, past first position.
  6. A This A is nine half steps above the open C. String 4, past first position.
  7. E This E is nine half steps above the open G. String 3, past first position.
  8. B This B is nine half steps above the open D. String 2, past first position.
  9. F This F is ten half steps above the open G. String 3, past first position.
  10. C This C is ten half steps above the open D. String 2, past first position.
  11. G This G is ten half steps above the open A. String 1, past first position.
  12. B This B is eleven half steps above the open C. String 4, past first position.
  13. C This C is one octave above the open C string. String 4: twelve half steps up, halfway along the string.
  14. G This G is one octave above the open G string. String 3: twelve half steps up, halfway along the string.
  15. D This D is one octave above the open D string. String 2: twelve half steps up, halfway along the string.
  16. A This A is one octave above the open A string. String 1: twelve half steps up, halfway along the string.

Sharps and flats beside first position 8

  1. C sharp / D flat One half step above the open C: C sharp or D flat. String 4: the first finger plays it in half position.
  2. G sharp / A flat One half step above the open G: G sharp or A flat. String 3: the first finger plays it in half position.
  3. D sharp / E flat One half step above the open D: D sharp or E flat. String 2: the first finger plays it in half position.
  4. A sharp / B flat One half step above the open A: A sharp or B flat. String 1: the first finger plays it in half position.
  5. F sharp / G flat Six half steps above the open C: F sharp or G flat. String 4, past first position.
  6. C sharp / D flat Six half steps above the open G: C sharp or D flat. String 3, past first position.
  7. G sharp / A flat Six half steps above the open D: G sharp or A flat. String 2, past first position.
  8. D sharp / E flat Six half steps above the open A: D sharp or E flat. String 1, past first position.

Sharps and flats higher up 8

  1. G sharp / A flat Eight half steps above the open C: G sharp or A flat. String 4, past first position.
  2. D sharp / E flat Eight half steps above the open G: D sharp or E flat. String 3, past first position.
  3. A sharp / B flat Eight half steps above the open D: A sharp or B flat. String 2, past first position.
  4. F sharp / G flat Nine half steps above the open A: F sharp or G flat. String 1, past first position.
  5. A sharp / B flat Ten half steps above the open C: A sharp or B flat. String 4, past first position.
  6. F sharp / G flat Eleven half steps above the open G: F sharp or G flat. String 3, past first position.
  7. C sharp / D flat Eleven half steps above the open D: C sharp or D flat. String 2, past first position.
  8. G sharp / A flat Eleven half steps above the open A: G sharp or A flat. String 1, past first position.

How this list was compiled: Tuning in fifths, from the lowest string to the highest C2, G2, D3, A3: Wikipedia, Cello (Its four strings are usually tuned a perfect fifth apart, low to high: C2, G2, D3 and A3), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cello, read 2026-10-02; checked against the string tunings file of an open-source music typesetter, https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lilypond/lilypond/master/ly/string-tunings-init.ly (cello-tuning: c, g, d a), read 2026-10-02. String numbers (A the first string, C the fourth): J. L. Duport, Essay on Fingering the Violoncello, and on the Conduct of the Bow, English translation (London, about 1852, public domain), https://archive.org/details/essayonfingering00dupo (the first position chord, "the note E of the second string"), and E. van der Straeten, The Technics of Violoncello Playing (London: The Strad, 1898, public domain), https://archive.org/details/technicsofviolon00stra ("the fourth or lowest string"), both read 2026-10-02. First position, the first finger a whole tone above the open string and the fingers a semitone apart: Straeten, chapter 7 ("the starting point for the first finger ... is at a full tone distance from the open string"; "all fingers retaining their natural distance (of one semitone)"), and Duport ("in the first position, when the first finger is put on the note E of the second string, and the second finger on the note F"; the fingers "at the distance of a semitone from each other"). Half position, the hand a semitone from the nut: Straeten ("The Half Position"), and J. J. F. Dotzauer, Violoncello Method, revised by J. Klingenberg, volume 1 (New York, 1917, public domain), https://archive.org/details/violoncellometho01dotz ("Hand and thumb to be placed a semitone from the nut; the second finger takes the former position of the first"), read 2026-10-02. The octave halfway along the string: Dotzauer ("half of the string will produce the octave") and Straeten. The two names of each sharp or flat note: Robert Hutchinson, Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom, section 1.5, https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/EnharmonicNotes.html, read 2026-10-02. The note at each of the 52 places was counted by script from the open string and the number of half steps. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-02 from plain lines, a four-sided board and circles: own work. The places step closer together toward the bridge less than on a real cello, so that every marker has room. No font and nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This cello fingerboard diagram shows the four strings, C G D A, from the nut to the octave, and opens with every note named. A cello has no frets, so a marker stands at each half step.

Read the full guide

Read the fingerboard

Each string starts on its open note, above the nut, and climbs one half step with every marker. The strings are tuned in fifths, so the note seven half steps up a string is the next open string.

First position

As a cello finger positions diagram it covers first position: the first finger sits two half steps above the open string, and fingers 2, 3 and 4 follow one half step apart.

Print it named, blank or numbered

Press Print this fingerboard for the named board. Blank leaves every marker empty; Numbered adds a number in each marker and a line for each answer.

  • The octave of each string is halfway along the string, the last row of markers here.
  • A cello is tuned like a viola, one octave lower.

Questions and answers

What are the four strings on a cello string diagram?

From the thickest to the thinnest they are C, G, D and A, tuned in fifths. A is string 1 and C is string 4.

Is a cello fretboard diagram the same thing?

Yes. A cello has no frets, so its neck carries a fingerboard, but the diagram shows the same notes: one place for each half step up the string.

Does it show every position?

No. It gives the fingers of first position, where the first finger sits two half steps above the open string. Half position is one half step nearer the nut. Higher positions are not marked.

Which fingers play which notes in first position?

On the A string finger 1 plays B, finger 2 plays C, finger 3 plays C sharp and finger 4 plays D. The other strings follow the same pattern, each finger one half step above the last.

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