BB♭ Sousaphone
F1 on the BB♭ Sousaphone
Written F1. Tap the diagram to hear it.
F1 is the 2nd partial with valves 1 and 3, 5 semitones below open B♭1. Valves 1 and 3 together run sharp, so lip it down — sousaphones have no slide triggers, so the lip is the only fix. Low register: a big, relaxed aperture and lots of slow air; on the march, breathe before the phrase, not during it.
About this note
F1 is the 2nd partial with valves 1 and 3, 5 semitones below open B♭1. Valves 1 and 3 together run sharp, so lip it down — sousaphones have no slide triggers, so the lip is the only fix. 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 + 3
- Written pitch: F1
- Sounding frequency: 43.65 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.