This is an interactive chromatic scale chart for euphonium. It will help you find your way around the chromatic scale of a ‘standard’ four-valve euphonium. The plan is to allow you to hear various combinations of valve sounds in context, as well as visualize which fingerings is required to produce them. To get around quickly use your computer keyboard or click directly in the interface.

This is your central ledger table. This shows all of the pitch names you are going to play, in this case B flat 2 through to B flat 3 on each row. Simply click on any of the pitch names to select them.

How to Use the Euphonium Chart

Above is a instrument diagram showing the relevant valve route highlighted. You can then view the main and alternative fingerings for that note plus the exact frequency. An open disc means the valves is released, and a filled disc means the valves are depressed.

Manually create your own fingering above the table. Pressing (or releasing) the buttons on the four pistons shows all the pitch available in the same octave using this specific fingering. It is a nice little way to find alternative pathways if they’re more in tune, and to see how some notes has the same fingering.

Having chosen your pitch, how does it sound? You can play a synthesized tone of that note by clicking the Sound the selected slot button. This will sound the note as modelled by audio engine which recreates the raw ring of the brass bore. You can hear its timbre and pitch without holding the key down.

To adjust the tempo of the automatic demonstration, you can use the pace slider. To play the scale up (low note to high), press the button ‘Climb the chromatic bore’. For playing the sequence back down, hit the button ‘Return through the chromatic bore’. You can speed the sequence up for a technical warm-up and slow it down for practicing. The bottom status bar will indicate whether you’re in return mode or climb mode.

Long-tone hold is an option that alters the duration of note sustain. With it turned off then when you trigger the note it will fade rapidy. If turned on, the sound will continue playing for a long time. It will be as if you are holding down the note and concentrating on getting the right intonaton or air support behind it. It can help you check that the sound you are hearing matches what you think should of be happening.

Dim alternate tubing shows and hides the secondary fingerings in the table. On some instruments, there are alternative routes for certain notes that might respond more quickley or be tuned better on your instrument. If you’re only interested in learning the main fingerings then hiding these help reduce the visual clutter. If you’d like to see what else is available, showing will present this option alongside what’s already selected.

The mute control lets you switch off the brass output so only the visual selections remain, useful if you are in a quiet environment or wish to just concentrate on reading the chart. The Fullscreen button will expand the widget to take up your whole screen to provide more room for viewing the detailed frequency data and valve routes.

Here, we have assumed a four-valve instrument that compensates. If you’re working with a different set-up, then toggle to non-compensating via the view option. The fingerings remains unchanged but the information presented in the status bar will be adapted to match. Remember to adjust your tuning as required depending on the system.

To begin, click on some pitches near the center of the range and listen to what happens. Try to figure out the fingering yourself, then check which other notes follow this path. Activate the auto-play options and learn how to move smoothly from one semitone to another. You can play with all controls however you want; the whole purpose of the tool is to experiment.