A2 on the BB♭ Tuba
To play A2 on tuba, press valve 2.
What’s a partial?
With the same valves down your lips can buzz several notes. Each one is a partial, counted from the lowest. A2 is the 4th.
Play along: hear the note for 2 beats, then you play it for 2.
Valve 2 needs no slide correction, so A2 is a clean intonation check.
Valve 2 needs no slide correction, so A2 is a clean intonation check.
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 A2
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
A2 sounds A2 (the tuba reads at concert pitch). It is on the 4th partial.
Fourth partial with valve 2, a semitone under open B♭2. Valve 2 needs no slide correction, so A2 is a clean intonation check.
- Primary fingering: Valves 2
- Written pitch: A2
- Sounding frequency: 110.00 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 A2
- 1-3: Valves 1 + 3. The same pitch off the 5th partial, used for trills; sharp like every 1-3 fingering.
Questions
How do you play A2 on tuba?
To play A2 on tuba, press valve 2. A2 sounds A2 (the tuba reads at concert pitch). It is on the 4th partial.
Is A2 written or concert pitch?
The name on this page is the written note you read. It sounds A2.
Is there another fingering for A2?
1-3: The same pitch off the 5th partial, used for trills; sharp like every 1-3 fingering.
BB♭ Tuba 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.