B♭3 on the BB♭ Tuba
To play High B♭ (B♭3) on tuba, press no valves: play it open.
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.
Solo tubists go on to F4 and beyond, but for band music B♭3 is the practical ceiling.
Solo tubists go on to F4 and beyond, but for band music B♭3 is the practical ceiling.
Sound and display
Next moves
Teaching a class? Class mode keeps Stand mode and Test me on the notes your class is learning.
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♭ sounds B♭3 (the tuba reads at concert pitch). It is on the 8th partial.
Open horn on the 8th partial — two octaves above B♭1 on the identical no-valve fingering, and the top of this chart. Solo tubists go on to F4 and beyond, but for band music B♭3 is the practical ceiling.
- Primary fingering: Open (no valves)
- Written pitch: B♭3
- Sounding frequency: 233.08 Hz
- Harmonic partial: 8: the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure (the shape of your lips) select the partial.
Questions
How do you play High B♭ on tuba?
To play High B♭ (B♭3) on tuba, press no valves: play it open. High B♭ sounds B♭3 (the tuba reads at concert pitch). It is on the 8th partial.
Is High B♭ written or concert pitch?
The name on this page is the written note you read. It sounds B♭3.
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.