Position:Home>Performing Arts> How to transpose i am righting a song in Eb concert and have Eb Bb and C insterm

OK- I understand where you got the C scale!.!.!. but the others!?!.!.!.

For a "C" instrument, you don't need to transpose, so concert pitch Eb!.!.!.

Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb

A "Bb" instrument sounds a whole step lower, so the part must be written one step higher!.!.!. Eb CONCERT for a "Bb" instrument would make it an F scale!.!.!.

F G A Bb C D E F

An "Eb" instrument sounds a minor 3rd up (or a major 6th down), so the part should be written 3 half steps lower than concert pitch!.!.!. an "Eb" instrument playing Eb CONCERT pitch would be in the key of C!.!.!.

C D E F G A B C!.

Feel free to email me if you need more help!Www@QuestionHome@Com

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If the song you are writing is in Eb, you don't have to do anything for the C instruments (like the flute)- they will play the song with the exact same notes you write for them in (which would be in the key of Eb)!.

The Bb instruments sound a whole step lower (a Bb trumpet playing C sounds like a Bb) so you have to write the song a whole step higher to compensate!. Hence, for Bb instruments, your song would be in F!.

Eb instruments (like the Alto Sax) sound a minor sixth lower (a sax playing middle C sounds like it's playing the Eb below middle C), so you have to write the song in a key a minor sixth higher to put them in the right key!. In the case of your song, the key a minor sixth higher than Eb is C, so the alto saxes would play the song in the key of C!.

Remember: you have to transpose all the notes of the song, not just change the key signature!Www@QuestionHome@Com

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It looks to me like you transposed the wrong way on your chart!.

Transposition is a little confusing to learn!. The best way to think of it is this: When a Bb instrument plays a written C, the pitch that comes out of the instrument is actually a Bb (we call this "sounding pitch!.")!. So, the sounding pitch is always a whole step LOWER than written pitch!. Therefore, with a Bb instrument, you must write the piece transposed UP a whole step!. So, you must write the Bb instrument part in the key of F!.

It works the same way with an Eb instrument!. If it plays a C, the pitch that actually sounds is an Eb--a major sixth LOWER than a C!. therefore, the sounding pitch is always a major sixth LOWER than written pitch!. So your Eb instrument part should be in the key a MAJOR sixth higher than your sounding key--Eb--therefore, the key of C!.

However, to write the actual music so that it's in the correct register is a little bit different!. Sometimes, the music for Eb instruments is transposed DOWN a minor third (the inversion of a major sixth UP), because Eb instruments are LOWER in pitch than C instruments!. It kind of depends on where on the staff you write your C instrument part, but I'll give you an example!. Let's say you play the alto saxophone (an Eb instrument)!. This is a much lower sounding instrument than, say, the flute (which is a C instrument)!. If you transposed it UP a sixth from the flute part, the pitch that would sound would be in the same register as the flute!. For example, say you have a Bb in the staff in the flute part!. If you transposed the saxophone UP a sixth--it would be the G above the staff, which would be the exact same pitch and register as the flute--which is pretty high for the sax!. Which if you want that, it's great, but generally, you don't want it to be the same pitch and register as the flute--you want it an octave lower!. So what you would do instead would be to write it as a G ON the staff!. The note that would sound would still be a Bb, but an octave lower, which is a more appropriate range for the saxophone!.

If your C part is written lower, however--say, around the range of middle C--you would tranpose up a sixth!. This would make your C instrument part and sax part in the same register!. This is (as I mentioned) a more appropriate range for sax!. For another thing, you couldn't write down a third, because then it would sound an octave lower than middle C!. Sax can't play that low--it can only play about down to middle C WRITTEN (Eb below middle C SOUNDING)!.

See what I mean--it's confusing, because it's not just the pitch that matters, it's the range of the instruments you're writing for!.

There is one exception to this--the Eb clarinet, which actually sounds HIGHER than written!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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