The tuba’s range in notes and hertz
| Sounding | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme low | B♭0 | 29.14 Hz |
| Practical low | F1 | 43.65 Hz |
| Practical high | C4 | 261.63 Hz |
| Extreme high | C5 | 523.25 Hz |
Tubas come in BB♭, CC, E♭ and F, but parts are written at concert pitch in bass clef whichever you play. F1 to middle C is easy on any of them.
Written and sounding pitch
The tuba reads at concert pitch in bass clef: a written note sounds as written, so the range above is both the sound and the page.
Instruments with a similar range
The instruments whose normal range shares the most notes with the tuba’s:
- Bass guitar · E1–G4 32 notes shared
- Contrabassoon · B♭0–D4 32 notes shared
- French horn · F1–F5 32 notes shared
- Piano · A0–C8 32 notes shared
- 8-string guitar · F♯1–C♯6 31 notes shared
- Bass ukulele · E1–B3 31 notes shared
Tune it, play it
- Tuba tuner — tune by microphone, with the tuba’s own target notes.
- Play a tuba online — the same range, playable in your browser.
Songs that fit the tuba
36 songs from our public-domain library fit inside the tuba’s range, each written out in the notation tuba players read:
- Hot Cross Buns
- Lightly Row
- Going Home (New World Largo)
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Happy Birthday
- Ode to Joy
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Jingle Bells
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas
- Yankee Doodle
- Silent Night
Frequently asked questions
What is the range of a tuba?
The tuba’s normal range runs from F1 to C4 — 43.65 to 261.63 Hz, about 2.6 octaves. At the extremes it reaches B♭0–C5.
What is the lowest note on a tuba?
B♭0 (29.14 Hz), on instruments that have it; the usual bottom is F1.
What is the highest note on a tuba?
C4 is the top of the normal range, and C5 (523.25 Hz) is reachable at the extreme.