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B♭B♭1 · concert pitchopen · 2nd partial
SongsOde to Joy
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Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, 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

Ode to Joy — Tuba Notes

Ode to Joy, 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.

  • Notes30, 5 pitches
  • RangeB♭1–F2
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo112 bpm · about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a tuba play Ode to Joy?

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–F2 · loaded above
  • BB♭ · 3 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭1–F2 · load it
  • CC · 4 valves✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭1–F2 · load it

Ode to Joy: 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

Ode to Joy — tuba notes (BB♭ · 4 valves) · tonalics.com

The 5 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 5 and you can play the whole tune.

  • B♭0×6
  • C4×7
  • D1-2×9
  • E♭1×4
  • F0×4

What to expect on a tuba

  • It runs from B♭1 to F2, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 10 semitones unused below and 24 above.
  • Every move is a step or a repeated note — there is no leap anywhere in it.
  • It uses 4 valve combinations (1-2, 1, open and 4), and 10 of its 30 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 2 partials of the harmonic series (2, 3).

About the tune

The theme of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, first performed in Vienna in 1824, where a choir joins the orchestra to sing Schiller’s poem “An die Freude”. An instrumental arrangement of it has been the anthem of the Council of Europe since 1972 and of the European Union since 1985.

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, 1824. Public domain. More about Ode to Joy →

Ode to Joy on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does 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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