B♭4 on the B♭ Trumpet
To play B♭4 on trumpet, press valve 1.
What’s a partial?
With the same valves down your lips can buzz several notes. Each one is a partial, counted from the lowest. B♭4 is the 4th.
Play along: hear the note for 2 beats, then you play it for 2.
Band tuning on trumpet often starts here, so get the first valve slide right on this note.
Band tuning on trumpet often starts here, so get the first valve slide right on this note.
Sound and display
Next moves
Teaching a class? Class mode keeps Stand mode and Test me on the notes your class is learning.
Alternate fingerings for B♭4
Each alternate has its own link. Send it to a student and the page opens with that fingering on the big diagram.
Same fingering, different note
Your lips choose between these notes: the fingering stays the same.
More for advanced players
Written and sounding pitch, and how the note works
About this note
B♭4 is written B♭4 and sounds concert A♭4. It is the 4th partial.
Fourth partial with valve 1, sounding concert Ab4. Band tuning on trumpet often starts here, so get the first valve slide right on this note.
- Primary fingering: Valves 1
- Written pitch: B♭4 · Concert pitch: A♭4
- Sounding frequency: 415.30 Hz
- Harmonic partial: 4: the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure (the shape of your lips) select the partial.
Alternate fingerings for B♭4
- 1-2-3: Valves 1 + 2 + 3. Reaches the same pitch from the 5th partial; sharp and unwieldy, so it is a trill fingering only.
Questions
How do you play B♭4 on trumpet?
To play B♭4 on trumpet, press valve 1. B♭4 is written B♭4 and sounds concert A♭4. It is the 4th partial.
Is B♭4 written or concert pitch?
The name on this page is the written note you read. On B♭ trumpet it sounds concert A♭4.
Is there another fingering for B♭4?
1-2-3: Reaches the same pitch from the 5th partial; sharp and unwieldy, so it is a trill fingering only.
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.