BB♭ Sousaphone
B♭1 on the BB♭ Sousaphone
Written B♭1. Tap the diagram to hear it.
B♭1 is an open note on the 2nd partial: no valves down, so the lip alone picks the slot. With no valves 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
B♭1 is an open note on the 2nd partial: no valves down, so the lip alone picks the slot. With no valves 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: Open (no valves)
- Written pitch: B♭1
- Sounding frequency: 58.27 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.