BB♭ Sousaphone
A♭1 on the BB♭ Sousaphone
Written A♭1. Tap the diagram to hear it.
A♭1 is the 2nd partial with valve 1, 2 semitones below open B♭1. With valve 1 down the tuning is honest, which makes it a useful note to tune against. Low register: a big, relaxed aperture and lots of slow air; on the march, breathe before the phrase, not during it.
About this note
A♭1 is the 2nd partial with valve 1, 2 semitones below open B♭1. With valve 1 down the tuning is honest, which makes it a useful note to tune against. Low register: a big, relaxed aperture and lots of slow air; on the march, breathe before the phrase, not during it.
- Primary fingering: Valves 1
- Written pitch: A♭1
- Sounding frequency: 51.91 Hz
- Harmonic partial: 2 — the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure select the partial.
BB♭ Sousaphone fingering data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.