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B♭B♭1 · concert pitchopen · 2nd partial
SongsO Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)
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German traditional melody, sung as “O Tannenbaum” since 1824. 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

O Christmas Tree — Tuba Notes

O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum), 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.

  • Notes61, 8 pitches
  • RangeF2–G3
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 28 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a tuba play O Christmas Tree?

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

O Christmas Tree: 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

O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum) — tuba notes (BB♭ · 4 valves) · tonalics.com

The 8 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 8 and you can play the whole tune.

  • F0×3
  • A2×3
  • B♭0×12
  • C1×10
  • D0×18
  • E♭1×9
  • F0×5
  • G1-2×1

What to expect on a tuba

  • It runs from F2 to G3, an octave and a whole step, using 8 different notes. That leaves 17 semitones unused below and 10 above.
  • 73% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major sixth, D3 to F2, at note 47.
  • It uses 4 valve combinations (open, 1, 2 and 1-2), and 38 of its 61 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 5 partials of the harmonic series (3, 4, 5, 6, 8).

About the tune

A German folk melody with roots in the 16th century, sung as “O Tannenbaum” since the Leipzig organist Ernst Anschütz wrote the words used today in 1824. The same tune carries several unrelated songs, among them the British labour anthem “The Red Flag” and the state song of Iowa.

German traditional melody, sung as “O Tannenbaum” since 1824. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about O Christmas Tree →

O Christmas Tree 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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