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B♭B♭1 · concert pitchopen · 2nd partial
SongsHot Cross Buns
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Traditional English street cry and nursery rhyme, 18th century. 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

Hot Cross Buns — Tuba Notes

Hot Cross Buns, 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.

  • Notes17, 3 pitches
  • RangeB♭1–D2
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 10 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a tuba play Hot Cross Buns?

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, B♭1–D2 · loaded above
  • BB♭ · 3 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭1–D2 · load it
  • CC · 4 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭1–D2 · load it

Hot Cross Buns: 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

Hot Cross Buns — tuba notes (BB♭ · 4 valves) · tonalics.com

The 3 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 3 and you can play the whole tune.

  • B♭0×7
  • C4×7
  • D1-2×3

What to expect on a tuba

  • It runs from B♭1 to D2, a major third, using 3 different notes. That leaves 10 semitones unused below and 27 above.
  • 94% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, B♭1 to D2, at note 4.
  • It uses 3 valve combinations (1-2, 4 and open), and 7 of its 17 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 2 partials of the harmonic series (2, 3).

About the tune

Hot Cross Buns began as a street cry: the call of London bakers selling spiced buns on Good Friday. It was in print as a rhyme by the end of the 18th century, and the tune it settled on is about as small as a tune can be — three neighbouring notes, most of it a single falling step repeated.

Traditional English street cry and nursery rhyme, 18th century. Public domain. More about Hot Cross Buns →

Hot Cross Buns on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation.

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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