BB♭ Tuba

D♭3 on the BB♭ Tuba

Written D♭3. Tap the diagram to hear it.

D♭3
5th partialBeginner note
Written D♭3 on the bass staff

Fifth partial with valve 2, a semitone below open D3. The flatness of the 5th partial is most obvious here — check against a tuner before blaming the slide.

About this note

Fifth partial with valve 2, a semitone below open D3. The flatness of the 5th partial is most obvious here — check against a tuner before blaming the slide.

  • Primary fingering: Valves 2
  • Written pitch: D♭3
  • Sounding frequency: 138.59 Hz
  • Harmonic partial: 5 — the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure select the partial.

Alternate fingerings for D♭3

  • 2-3: Valves 2 + 3. A 6th-partial fingering for the same note, a standard substitute when it is approached from above.

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.