C3 Tuba Fingering
How to play C3 on the tuba: Valve 1 pressed. — on the 5th partial, in bass clef, sounding exactly as written.
Filled valves in the diagram are the ones you press. Valve 1 is nearest you and is worked by your right index finger, valve 2 by the middle finger, and valve 3 — nearest the bell — by the ring finger. These are three-valve fingerings for the BB♭ tuba; the staff is in bass clef, and in bass clef the tuba sounds exactly as written. The same fingering serves the sousaphone.
Hear C3 and try the fingering
Pick an instrument and a note and the diagram updates instantly — filled keys are the ones you press. The same finder sits on every note page, pre-set to that note.
The C3 fingering, step by step
- Press valve 1 with your right index finger — press it straight down, all the way, with the pad of the finger. Half-pressed valves leak, and on a tuba a leak means a gargly, unfocused note.
- Keep the fingers you are not using curved and resting lightly on their valve caps, ready for the next note.
In short: valve 1 pressed.
Alternate fingering for C3
Valves 1 + 3 pressed.
Yamaha’s official chart brackets this alternate for C3. It reaches the pitch from the 6th partial instead of the flat 5th — useful for avoiding a flat slot in a slur. It inherits the sharpness of every 1+3 combination, so check it against a tuner.
About C3 on the tuba
The middle register is the tuba’s home territory — the 4th partial’s ladder (G♭2 to B♭2) and the 5th partial’s short ladder (B2 to D3). The 5th partial runs flat, so its notes (B2, C3, D♭3 and the open D3) sit a touch low and reward a tuner check; two of them carry the alternates Yamaha’s chart brackets.
C3’s bracketed alternate in Yamaha’s chart — valves 1+3 — reaches the note from the 6th partial instead of the flat 5th. It runs sharp the way every 1+3 combination does, so it is a slur and flexibility option, not a replacement; but it is genuinely useful when the 5th-partial C3 will not centre.
C3 is note 15 of the 25 in the full tuba fingering chart, sitting between B2 below it and D♭3 above it. Like every fingering on this site, it was checked against Yamaha’s official chart and the NoteAtlas tuba chart before publishing.
Practising C3
Practise this note against a tuner, especially if it belongs to the 5th partial (B2 to D3), which sits flat. Then play it in a phrase at band volume — a note that only tunes alone at a whisper is not learned yet.
Questions about C3
What is the fingering for C3 on tuba?
Valve 1 pressed. C3 is played on the 5th partial (harmonic) of the BB♭ tuba in the middle register, with the three-valve fingerings this site charts. The full step-by-step is on this page, and you can hear the note with the Fingering Finder.
Does C3 sound as written on tuba?
Yes. In bass clef the tuba is a non-transposing instrument, so written C3 sounds as concert C3 — the same pitch a piano plays. The same fingering also serves the sousaphone, which is a BB♭ tuba wrapped for marching.
Is there an alternate fingering for C3?
Yes — Valves 1 + 3 pressed. Yamaha’s official chart brackets this alternate for C3. It reaches the pitch from the 6th partial instead of the flat 5th — useful for avoiding a flat slot in a slur. It inherits the sharpness of every 1+3 combination, so check it against a tuner.
Think this fingering is wrong? Report it — every report is checked against the source charts.