F2 on the BB♭ Tuba
To play F2 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. F2 is the 3rd.
Play along: hear the note for 2 beats, then you play it for 2.
The 3rd partial sits a shade sharp on most tubas, so correct it at the main tuning slide rather than with the lip.
The 3rd partial sits a shade sharp on most tubas, so correct it at the main tuning slide rather than with the lip.
Sound and display
Next moves
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Alternate fingerings for F2
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
F2 sounds F2 (the tuba reads at concert pitch). It is on the 3rd partial.
Open horn on the 3rd partial, the middle-register anchor. The 3rd partial sits a shade sharp on most tubas, so correct it at the main tuning slide rather than with the lip.
- Primary fingering: Open (no valves)
- Written pitch: F2
- Sounding frequency: 87.31 Hz
- Harmonic partial: 3: the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure (the shape of your lips) select the partial.
Alternate fingerings for F2
- 1-3: Valves 1 + 3. A 4th-partial fingering for the same pitch, used for lip-flexibility work; it inherits the sharpness of 1-3.
Questions
How do you play F2 on tuba?
To play F2 on tuba, press no valves: play it open. F2 sounds F2 (the tuba reads at concert pitch). It is on the 3rd partial.
Is F2 written or concert pitch?
The name on this page is the written note you read. It sounds F2.
Is there another fingering for F2?
1-3: A 4th-partial fingering for the same pitch, used for lip-flexibility work; it inherits the sharpness of 1-3.
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.