Now that we have a functional understanding of diatonic harmony, we can begin analyzing scores that use instruments other than voice or piano, but to so, you will need to understand how to read music composed for transposing instruments.
For various practical and historical reasons, transposing instruments produce a different sounding pitch than the one written on the page. For example, when a B-flat clarinet sees a written ‘C’, that pitch will sound as a ‘B-flat’.
Musicians use the following terms to discuss transposing instruments.
Transposing instruments are not conceptually difficult to understand–these instruments sound at a different pitch than written–but in practice, it often confuses students because instrument transposition is the process by which we compensate for an instrument’s sounding pitch. If we write for a B-flat instrument, it sounds a whole-step lower, so we must write the part a whole-step higher to get the performer to sound the correct pitch. Conversely, when reading a B-flat transposed part, we must read it a whole-step lower for concert pitch, because it is written a whole-step higher than sounding.
It is easy to transpose in the wrong direction when having to constantly flip back and forth between concert pitch and the transpositions, so it is important to have a complete understanding of transposition for each instrument. Luckily, they can be grouped into relatively few categories.
First, it is helpful to discuss the standard ranges of the instruments while looking at the transpositions. If you can remember that a tenor saxophone has a range similar to a tenor voice, this makes it considerably easier to remember the direction and distance required for its transposition.
Instrument and voice ranges are self-explanatory, but there are a variety of caveats that affect the extremes for almost every instrument. Brass players and vocalists, for example, have a wide variation of how high or low an individual can comfortably perform depending on the experience of the performer. Some instruments can be physically altered such as the bassoon, double bass, and piano to add more range. Because of this variation as well as the constantly evolving standards of instrument construction and performance standards, you should always research an instrument before you choose to compose for it. While the internet is full of great resources–such as the link below–the best research for understanding an instrument is to discuss the instrument with expert performers. Even with good references such as the one below, it is not able to show the nuances of each instrument. (For example, this sheet does not show the common range extension techniques and tools such as the low C extension for double bass, the use of piccolo trumpet, or altissimo for woodwinds.)
For our part-writing, we will use the basic ranges from this helpful resource compiled by Dr. BJ Brooks.
Orchestral Instrument Ranges and Transpositions
NOTE: There is a small mistake on the part for the double bass; the top note (D) is missing a tenor clef.
The ranges on this sheet are the written ranges for each of the instruments. If you want to find the sounding range, you will need to apply the transpositions that follow each staff. Read more about this below.
You may print this page for easy reference.
While not directly related to transpositions, some instruments commonly read alternate clefs to lessen the number of ledger lines necessary. These include:
Before going further, please make sure that you understand the above definitions and usage for the terms sounding pitch, concert pitch, and written pitch.
One of the most confusing elements of understanding transposing instruments is the use of key names to describe the instruments. If an instrument is “in B-flat” as described above, that implies that the instrument reads parts that are written a M2 away from concert pitch. Unfortunately, this creates the possibility of confusing statements such as, “For a trumpet in B-flat, the key of A-flat is actually B-flat.” This ambiguity should be clarified by differentiating between the instrument’s transposition and the key signature in which the piece is composed: “For a trumpet [that sounds] in B-flat, the [concert key signature] of A-flat [major] is [written] as B-flat [major].” The language we use in this instance is clunky at best, inadequate at worst. It falls upon the musician to make sure that they are communicating clearly when it comes to transposing instruments.
Non-transposing instruments are the easiest to understand, because they read and sound at the pitch written. This group includes:
Some instruments read in concert pitch, but sound in a different octave. This is done to limit the number of ledger lines necessary to write their parts. This group includes:
You can find the concert pitch for all B-flat instruments by transposing down a M2 from the the written pitch. This does not necessarily give you the correct octave–just the correct pitch–so you must then consider the distance and direction based on the specific instrument.
Instruments in B-flat include many of the most common “band” instruments. This group includes:
Conveniently, no B-flat instruments sound higher than their written pitch, so for each of the above instruments, when reading their written parts, transpose down a M2 to find concert pitch, although you must add the additional octave for tenor saxophone.
When reading a concert pitch line, transpose up a M2 to write for a B-flat instrument. Do not forget the additional octave for bass clarinet and tenor saxophone.
You can find the concert pitch for all E-flat instruments by transposing up a m3 or down a M6 from than the written pitch. This does not necessarily give you the correct octave–just the correct pitch–so you must then consider the distance and direction based on the specific instrument.
This group includes:
When reading an E-flat clarinet part, transpose a m3 up to find concert pitch. When reading an alto or baritone saxophone part, transpose a M6 down to find concert pitch, although you must add the additional octave for baritone saxophone.
When reading a concert pitch line, transpose down a m3 to write for E-flat clarinet. When reading a concert pitch line, transpose up a M6 to write for alto or baritone saxophone. Do not forget to add an additional octave for baritone saxophone.
You can find the concert pitch for all F instruments by transposing down a P5 from the written pitch. Conveniently, this will give you the correct pitch and octave for both of these instruments.
Both of the “horns” are written in F. This includes:
When reading an an English horn or French horn part, transpose down a P5 to find concert pitch.
When reading a concert pitch line, transpose up a P5 to write for either English horn or French horn.
Almost all instruments fall into the above categories, but there are two outliers.
Clarinet in A is the only instrument that has a standard transposition in A. (Trumpet and French horn parts are occasionally written in A as well. See the section below on the history of brass instruments for more details.) To find concert pitch from a part in A, transpose down a m3 from the written pitch. To write in this transposition, you should write up a m3 from concert pitch. Students often confuse these transpositional directions with the more common E-flat instruments, because they are opposites.
Alto flute is the only instrument that has a standard transposition in G. (French horn parts are occasionally written in G as well. See the section below on the history of brass instruments for more details.) To find concert pitch from a part in G, transpose down a P4 from the written pitch. To write in this transposition, you should write up a P5 from concert pitch. Students often confuse these transpositional directions with the more common F instruments, because they are exact opposites.
Brass instrument transpositions often confuse students, because they evolved into their modern forms at a later date than many of the other instruments. This means that depending on the era in which a piece was composed, there are a wide variety of “keys” in which the part might be written.
Early versions of both of the high brass instruments, trumpet and French horn, could only play pitches from the natural overtone series of their instruments which meant that early versions of these instruments were not fully chromatic. To compensate, composers would write the part “in X”, in order to show the performer which “key” their instrument needed to be in to play the part. Simply put, the performer had to change instruments every time that they changed keys. The practice of writing various transpositions for these two instruments lasted throughout the 20th century–long after both of these instruments became fully chromatic through the addition of valves–because of competing standards in which key the instrument would be tuned.
Modern professional trumpeters and hornists are masters of transposition. They choose the instrument on which they will perform based on timbral characteristics of each instrument, regardless of the transposition chosen by the composer. Modern trumpeters commonly use instruments pitched in B-flat, C, D, E-flat, and A and sometimes even F and G. Modern horns are built to include the standard F “side” of the horn, but by pressing a valve down they can switch to a B-flat “side” on a double horn, or even an E-flat or F (up an octave) “side” on a triple horn. You will encounter all of these transpositions when reading scores. If you are writing a modern band piece, it is common practice to write the trumpet parts in B-flat and horn parts in F. If you are writing a modern orchestral piece, it is simplest to just write trumpet parts in C and horn parts in F. The performer will decide which instrument, although if you desire a specific trumpet (e.g. cornet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, etc.), you should ask a professional which transposition will work best.
Luckily, all of the low brass instruments read in concert pitch, so writing for them is relatively simple. However, do not be confused when trombonists talk about their instrument as a B-flat instrument. The fundamental of the trombone is a concert B-flat, but it always reads from parts written in C. It is a non-transposing instrument.
The tuba often confuses students for the same reason. Tubists have a variety of tubas from which to choose, including instruments with fundamentals at B-flat, C, E-flat, and F. This does not change the key in which the tubists read; their parts should always be in concert pitch. Instead, they learn a new set of “fingerings” for each instrument. Note that this is opposite from how trumpets and horns approach transposition.