Tuba Fingering Chart: B♭ and E♭ Tuba, Basses and Sousaphone

How do you read a tuba fingering chart?

Find your note in bass clef, then press the valves shown: valve 1 is under your first finger, 2 under your middle finger and 3 under your ring finger. "Open" means no valves. Make sure you use the chart for your tuba: B♭ and E♭ tubas finger the same note differently.

Most school and band tubas are B♭ (BB♭) tubas. The table below is for them and for the sousaphone; the E♭ tuba has its own table further down the page.

★ marks notes outside the usual beginner range (B♭1 to F3). Low notes played with 1 + 3 and 1 + 2 + 3 are sharp; on a 4-valve tuba use the 4th valve instead (see below).

To keep a printable copy, use your browser's Print and choose "Save as PDF". The tables print without the buttons and pictures.

What is the sousaphone finger chart?

A sousaphone is a B♭ tuba wrapped around the player's body for marching, with the bell facing forward over the head. So the sousaphone finger chart is the same as the B♭ tuba chart above. Most sousaphones have three valves, pressed with the right hand.

The sousaphone is named after the American bandmaster John Philip Sousa and was first made in the 1890s. Because the valves are in front of the player at chest height, many players use the right hand with the fingers pointing down; the valve numbers stay the same (1 is nearest the mouthpiece).

Quiz: name the tuba fingering

Eight quick questions on the beginner notes of the instrument chosen in the chart, then a short "I can" checklist.

• Marked by Classfern – the eight fingering questions, checked straight away.
• Self-assessed – the "I can" checklist: you tick it when you have done it.

Start the quiz

What is the E♭ tuba fingering chart?

The E♭ tuba is pitched a perfect 4th above the B♭ tuba. It reads the same bass clef notes at concert pitch, but its open notes are E♭2, B♭2, E♭3 and G3, so most notes need a different fingering from the B♭ tuba.

★ marks notes outside the usual beginner range (E♭2 to B♭3).

Is tuba fingering the same in treble clef?

Yes, if you read treble clef brass band parts: E♭ and B♭ basses use exactly the same valves as a cornet for the same written note. In bass clef the fingering depends on whether you play a B♭ or an E♭ tuba.

In a brass band, an E♭ bass part written as C sounds as concert E♭, and a B♭ bass part written as C sounds as concert B♭. Choose a treble clef part in the interactive chart, or use the trumpet fingering chart, which has the same valves for every written note.

What does the 4th valve on a tuba do?

The 4th valve lowers a note by a perfect 4th, the same as valves 1 + 3 together but better in tune. On a B♭ tuba, low C2 can be played 4 instead of 1 + 3, and B1 can be played 2 + 4 instead of 1 + 2 + 3.

The 4th valve also gives the notes below E1 that a 3-valve tuba cannot reach. Beginners can learn the 3-valve chart first; every fingering on it still works on a 4-valve tuba.

More fingering charts and music tools

The charts are Classfern's own, written from the standard published basic fingerings; there are often other fingerings for the same note, and your teacher may prefer one of them. Mr Chopin and Miss Clara Schumann are Classfern's own cartoon characters, named in honour of the composers Frédéric Chopin and Clara Schumann – they are not portraits of the real people.