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B♭B♭1 · concert pitchopen · 2nd partial
SongsHark! The Herald Angels Sing
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Felix Mendelssohn, 1840, adapted to the carol by William H. Cummings in 1855. Public domain.

42 notes · C1–F4 · the pedal B♭0 on the ladder · 42 notes · The band tuba: 18 feet of tube in B♭, and a fourth valve that fills the gap above the pedal.

Tap a note, or slide along them to slur from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is the low F on the BB♭ (the G on the CC) and they climb a semitone at a time.

TubaFree · printable · plays in your browser

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing — Tuba Notes

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, written out for the tuba as written notes with the valves for each one and set up above on the BB♭ · 4 valves. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the tuba waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes76, 9 pitches
  • RangeF2–G3
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo112 bpm · about 43 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a tuba play Hark! The Herald Angels Sing?

Yes — every one on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • BB♭ · 4 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, F2–G3 · loaded above
  • BB♭ · 3 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, F2–G3 · load it
  • CC · 4 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, F2–G3 · load it

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: tuba notes

The large line is the written note; the small line under it is the valves to press — 0 is none. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing — tuba notes (BB♭ · 4 valves) · tonalics.com

The 9 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 9 and you can play the whole tune.

  • F0×3
  • G1-2×1
  • A2×4
  • B♭0×13
  • C1×11
  • D0×15
  • E♭1×9
  • F0×14
  • G1-2×6

What to expect on a tuba

  • It runs from F2 to G3, an octave and a whole step, using 9 different notes. That leaves 17 semitones unused below and 10 above.
  • 72% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, F2 to F3, at note 31.
  • It uses 4 valve combinations (open, 2, 1 and 1-2), and 45 of its 76 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 5 partials of the harmonic series (3, 4, 5, 6, 8).

About the tune

Mendelssohn wrote this melody in 1840 as part of a cantata marking four hundred years of printing, and said he thought it unsuitable for sacred words. In 1855 the English musician William H. Cummings fitted it to Charles Wesley’s carol anyway, and the pairing has been standard ever since.

Felix Mendelssohn, 1840, adapted to the carol by William H. Cummings in 1855. Public domain. The notes follow Sudbury Ancient Fyfe & Drum Companie carol book, transcribed by John Chambers, cross-checked against 2 other transcriptions. More about Hark! The Herald Angels Sing →

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, handpan or ocarina, which do not have the notes.

More songs for the tuba

All 36 tuba songs · Christmas songs for tuba · The online tuba on its own

Playing it on a real tuba?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The tuba tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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