The Overtone Series for Tuba
Each valve combination on a tuba creates a different overall length of tubing through which the air column can vibrate. For each length of tubing, a different set of notes - known as a harmonic series - can be played. Each tone in the harmonic series is called a partial. The first partial is the fundamental pitch. In other words, partial 1 is the lowest note that length of tubing can produce. Below are the sets of harmonic series for each position (valve combination) on the tuba. We'll cover the first 16 partials, but for the first few years, young tuba players will likely only need to play notes from partials 2 through 6. Alternate fingerings for 6th and 7th position are provided for tubas with only three valves or as another option for four valve tubas.
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