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NoteAtlas

A♭3 on the B♭ Trumpet

To play Low A♭ (A♭3) on trumpet, press valves 2 + 3.

Full chart
Now showing
Low A♭A♭3
Valves 2 + 3
Written
A♭3
Sounds
G♭3
Partial
2nd
What’s a partial?

With the same valves down your lips can buzz several notes. Each one is a partial, counted from the lowest. Low A♭ is the 2nd.

A♭3 on the treble staff

Play along: hear the note for 2 beats, then you play it for 2.

Tip · Low A♭

Second partial with 2-3, four semitones under C4. 2-3 behaves far better in tune than 1-3 or 1-2-3, which makes Ab3 the most secure of the very low notes. Written Ab sounds concert Gb, which surprises students reading flat-key parts.

F♯3Low F♯G3Low GA♭3Low A♭A3Low AB♭3Low B♭B3Low BC4Low CC♯4Low C♯D4Low DE♭4E4F4F♯4G4A♭4A4B♭4B4C5C♯5D5E♭5E5F5F♯5G5High GA♭5High A♭A5High AB♭5High B♭B5High BC6High C
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Tip · Low A♭

Second partial with 2-3, four semitones under C4. 2-3 behaves far better in tune than 1-3 or 1-2-3, which makes Ab3 the most secure of the very low notes. Written Ab sounds concert Gb, which surprises students reading flat-key parts.

Sound and display

Next moves

Previous noteLow GValves 1 + 3Next noteLow AValves 1 + 2Full chartAll 31 trumpet notesThe whole fingering chartScaleConcert B♭ majorWritten C major, fingering under every noteTrainerNote trainerRead treble clef notesPrintPrintable PDFLetter · A4 · blank

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Same fingering, different note

Your lips choose between these notes: the fingering stays the same.

E♭43rd partialA♭44th partialA♭5High A♭

More for advanced players

Written and sounding pitch, and how the note works

About this note

Low A♭ is written A♭3 and sounds concert G♭3. It is the 2nd partial.

Second partial with 2-3, four semitones under C4. 2-3 behaves far better in tune than 1-3 or 1-2-3, which makes Ab3 the most secure of the very low notes. Written Ab sounds concert Gb, which surprises students reading flat-key parts.

  • Primary fingering: Valves 2 + 3
  • Written pitch: A♭3 · Concert pitch: G♭3
  • Sounding frequency: 185.00 Hz
  • Harmonic partial: 2: the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure (the shape of your lips) select the partial.

Questions

How do you play Low A♭ on trumpet?

To play Low A♭ (A♭3) on trumpet, press valves 2 + 3. Low A♭ is written A♭3 and sounds concert G♭3. It is the 2nd partial.

Is Low A♭ written or concert pitch?

The name on this page is the written note you read. On B♭ trumpet it sounds concert G♭3.

B♭ Trumpet 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.