Instrument reference · brass

Tuba

By Band Tuning editorial · Facts checked 15 September 2026

Tubas are in general non-transposing instruments written at pitch in the bass clef; the music is written in C although the instrument is in B♭. ^2,5 An 18-foot tube pitched in B♭ has a fundamental (pedal tone) of B♭0; the fourth valve alone turns it into a 24-foot instrument in F.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♭ and the concert F are the notes 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 those notes 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
• Each valve loop has its own tuning slide, and the main tuning slide, after the final valve, is worked by the left hand while playing. ²
• 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

E1 to B♭3, practical range of the B♭ tuba, sounding; many players extend both ends. ² This instrument reads at pitch, so the written and sounding notes are the same.

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

• Music for euphonium and tuba is written in C even though the instruments are in B♭; the maker's guide reads this as composers favouring notation that is easy to read whatever the instrument's key. ⁵
• Tubas pitched in B♭ with rotary valves were being produced by 1845, which puts the design's origin in the 1840s. ²
• With three valves there are seven tube lengths, and seven more when the fourth valve is in use. ²