Instrument reference · brass

Trumpet

By Band Tuning editorial · Facts checked 15 September 2026

The B♭ trumpet is a transposing instrument written in C but sounding a major second below. ^2,4 A basic tube length of about 4.5 feet gives a fundamental (pedal tone) of B♭2; the fundamental is hard to sound and seldom used.²

The frequencies on this page are computed from the pitch standard A4 = 440 Hz, the 1939 London conference standard reaffirmed by ISO in 1975, in twelve-tone equal temperament, which divides the octave into twelve equal semitones: f = 440 × 2^(n/12), where n is the number of semitones above A4 (negative below). ¹ The notes are named in scientific pitch notation, where C4 is middle C.

Tuning notes and reference pitches

In a band's daily tuning the concert B♭ is the note this instrument tunes to, and the source says to warm up before tuning and to use no vibrato. ⁶ The table gives every octave of that note inside the instrument's sounding range, the note the player reads for it, and its frequency. The browser tuner plays each of these as a reference tone.

How the pitch is adjusted

• Slides pulled out play flatter, pushed in sharper. ⁶
• The main tuning slide sits at the first U-bend after the mouthpiece, and each valve loop has its own slide. ²
• The 1-3 and 1-2-3 valve combinations run sharp; trumpets must kick the third-valve slide out for them. The 2-3 combination runs a little flat. ⁶
• Partial tendencies on brass: the third partial slightly sharp, the fifth slightly flat, the sixth sharp, the seventh very flat. ⁶

Every note in the range at A4 = 440 Hz

E3 to B♭5, practical range of the B♭ trumpet, sounding. ^2,5 The written column is the note the player reads; the sounding column is what a tuner hears.

Maker's specification

Figures as printed in the maker's catalogue for its standard and intermediate models; a bore is the inside diameter of the tubing, a bell the diameter of its rim.

The family: other keys and sizes

Notes from the sources

• Elementary reference books put the highest note of a B♭ trumpet one octave above the B♭ just above the middle line of the treble clef; some players produce a B♭ an octave above that. ¹⁰
• With three valves there are seven tube lengths, the open tube and six combinations, each with its own harmonic series. ²
• Trumpets vary in range across the family; the piccolo trumpet is half the length of the B♭ trumpet. ⁹