B♭5 on the B♭ Trumpet
To play High B♭ (B♭5) 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. High B♭ is the 8th.
Play along: hear the note for 2 beats, then you play it for 2.
Blowing harder will not find this note; a faster air stream behind a firmer aperture will.
Blowing harder will not find this note; a faster air stream behind a firmer aperture will.
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♭5
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
High B♭ is written B♭5 and sounds concert A♭5. It is the 8th partial.
Eighth partial with valve 1 alone. Blowing harder will not find this note; a faster air stream behind a firmer aperture will.
- Primary fingering: Valves 1
- Written pitch: B♭5 · Concert pitch: A♭5
- Sounding frequency: 830.61 Hz
- Harmonic partial: 8: the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure (the shape of your lips) select the partial.
Fingerings to avoid for B♭5
- Open (7th partial): Open (no valves). The open 7th partial sounds a written Bb5 but roughly a third of a semitone flat; listed for reference and special effects only — it is not a usable orchestral fingering.
Questions
How do you play High B♭ on trumpet?
To play High B♭ (B♭5) on trumpet, press valve 1. High B♭ is written B♭5 and sounds concert A♭5. It is the 8th partial.
Is High B♭ written or concert pitch?
The name on this page is the written note you read. On B♭ trumpet it sounds concert A♭5.
Is there another fingering for High B♭?
Open (7th partial): The open 7th partial sounds a written Bb5 but roughly a third of a semitone flat; listed for reference and special effects only — it is not a usable orchestral fingering. (not recommended)
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.