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B♭B♭1 · concert pitchopen · 2nd partial
SongsO Come, All Ye Faithful
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“Adeste Fideles”, attributed to John Francis Wade, c. 1743. 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.

O Come, All Ye Faithful — Tuba Notes

O Come, All Ye Faithful, 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–F3
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 47 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a tuba play O Come, All Ye Faithful?

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–F3 · loaded above
  • BB♭ · 3 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, F2–F3 · load it
  • CC · 4 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, F2–F3 · load it

O Come, All Ye Faithful: 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 Come, All Ye Faithful — 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.

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

What to expect on a tuba

  • It runs from F2 to F3, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 17 semitones unused below and 12 above.
  • 78% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, F2 to F3, at note 25.
  • It uses 4 valve combinations (open, 1, 2 and 1-2), and 36 of its 61 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 4 partials of the harmonic series (3, 4, 5, 6).

About the tune

The Latin hymn “Adeste Fideles” survives in manuscripts copied by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic music copyist working in France, from about 1743; he is usually credited with the tune as well as the copying. The English text sung today dates from 1841.

“Adeste Fideles”, attributed to John Francis Wade, c. 1743. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about O Come, All Ye Faithful →

O Come, All Ye Faithful 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.

🎙 Open the Tuba Tuner