Good day,
I'm making plans to go try a tuba with a quint valve and have no idea how to use that. The horn has six valve. Fifth valve can be either a flat half or flat whole step and the sixth valve is the quint valve. Anybody have a fingering chart for such a horn?
Thanks in advance
Quint valve fingering chart
- bububassboner
- pro musician

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Quint valve fingering chart
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- cjk
- 5 valves

- Posts: 1915
- Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 12:16 pm
Re: Quint valve fingering chart
Quint valve is 4+5 by itself and I'll call that 5th.
Assuming 6th valve is a flat half step and starting at low C going down:
C: 4
B: 4,6
Bb: 5
A: 5,6
Ab: 1,2,5
G: 3,5,6
Gb: 2,4,5
F: open or 1,2,4,5?
Iirc, you can get down to around D with valves. That's all completely from memory. It has been many years since I had a tuba like that.
Take a tuner along. You may find better solutions. I assume this is one of the many MW Hilgers models?
You may find it easier on your brain to just try it out as a 5 valve tuba, just only press down 5 when you want 4+5.
Assuming 6th valve is a flat half step and starting at low C going down:
C: 4
B: 4,6
Bb: 5
A: 5,6
Ab: 1,2,5
G: 3,5,6
Gb: 2,4,5
F: open or 1,2,4,5?
Iirc, you can get down to around D with valves. That's all completely from memory. It has been many years since I had a tuba like that.
Take a tuner along. You may find better solutions. I assume this is one of the many MW Hilgers models?
You may find it easier on your brain to just try it out as a 5 valve tuba, just only press down 5 when you want 4+5.
- swillafew
- 5 valves

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- bort
- 6 valves

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- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Re: Quint valve fingering chart
Cerveny... I've only seen them on some F tubas, as a way to help out in the low register (LOTS more fingering options).
- Kevin Hendrick
- 6 valves

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Re: Quint valve fingering chart
They also made a C with a quint 5th valve (the 682) -- not sure if it's still in production.bort wrote:Cerveny... I've only seen them on some F tubas, as a way to help out in the low register (LOTS more fingering options).
"Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." -- Pogo (via Walt Kelly)
- cjk
- 5 valves

- Posts: 1915
- Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 12:16 pm
Re: Quint valve fingering chart
Meinl Weston made Walter Hilgers model F tubas with this feature.swillafew wrote:Who makes these? And why?
Pictures of a young Walter Hilgers can be found holding one of the Cerveny F tubas with this valve setup.
I assume he used one of the Cervenys and liked the setup so he continued to use it rather than learning something else.