[ Post a Response | Music Theory Forum ]
Posted by 02 Likewise, play C on an E flat alto sax, you'll get a concert E flat. The real trouble in all this is in writing parts for the transposing instruments and keeping track of whether you write higher or lower. B flat instruments get their parts written a whole step higher than concert pitch. If the piece is in F major, the B flat instruments get their parts in G major, for example. E flat instruments get their parts written a minor third LOWER than concert pitch, or a major sixth HIGHER, depending on the convention for the instrument. Either way, if the piece is in C major, the E flat instruments get their parts in A major.
on 12/1/2006, 11:42 am, in reply to "Transposition Question"
64.171.237.66
Don't go insane over this. The history of the instruments is an interesting subject, but to understand the transpositions, just be aware that when a transposing instrument plays its "C", that note sounds like the key of the instrument. Therefore, if you play a C on a B flat trumpet, you get "concert" B flat, or the B flat that the nontransposing instruments play.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread