BB♭ Sousaphone
A♭2 on the BB♭ Sousaphone
Written A♭2. Tap the diagram to hear it.
A♭2
4th partialBeginner note
A♭2 is the 4th partial with valve 1, 2 semitones below open B♭2. With valve 1 down the tuning is honest, which makes it a useful note to tune against. This is the sousaphone's most comfortable range — where most marching parts live.
About this note
A♭2 is the 4th partial with valve 1, 2 semitones below open B♭2. With valve 1 down the tuning is honest, which makes it a useful note to tune against. This is the sousaphone's most comfortable range — where most marching parts live.
- Primary fingering: Valves 1
- Written pitch: A♭2
- Sounding frequency: 103.83 Hz
- Harmonic partial: 4 — the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure select the partial.
Alternate fingerings for A♭2
- 1-2-3: Valves 1 + 2 + 3. Reaches the same pitch from the 5th partial; sharp and unwieldy, so a trill fingering only.
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.