The lecture-recital, The Development of Woodwind Fingering Systems, traces the evolution of devices for controlling the pitch produced by woodwind instruments from prehistoric times to the present. The addition of keys, and the evolution of collections of individual keys into coordinated systems is particularly stressed, as are the various physical, physiological, and cultural forces which determined the directions of development of these systems. The similarities between the fingerings of various woodwind instruments are explained, a system of numbers is introduced in order to clarify these similarities, and a projection of some possibilities for future development of woodwind fingering systems is offered.