This means that if you play a Bb on the piano, you will need to play C on the clarinet to produce the same sound as the piano. Clarinet transposition can be a tricky concept to understand, but hopefully this article will help transposition seem not so scary!
A concert key instrument means that their notes are the same on the piano. Concert key instruments include the piano, flute, oboe, bassoon, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, and keyboard percussion instruments. When these instruments play a C, it will sound the same as the C on the piano. An instrument in a transposing key means that their notes don't sound the same as the same notes on the piano. Bb instruments include the clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, and euphonium.
When the piano plays a Bb, these instruments must play a major second higher than the piano pitch which is a C to produce the same pitch. The French horn is in the key of F. When the piano plays a Bb, the french horn must play perfect fourth lower which is an F to produce the same pitch. The alto clarinet and the alto saxophone are in the key of Eb. When the piano plays a Bb, these instruments must play a minor third lower to produce the same pitch. The video above provides a seven minute summary of all of the transposing instruments, the reason why instruments are in different keys, and a handy formula to help you transpose from different instruments.
So, why is a C on the piano different from a C on the trumpet or the alto saxophone? The reason is "transpositions". There are concert pitch instruments, also known as non-transposing instruments and transposing instruments.
If you ask a non-transposing instrument to play a C, they will sound a C. On the other hand, if you ask a transposing instrument to play a C, a different note will sound instead of a C.
For example, if a clarinet was asked to play a C that sounded the same as the C on the piano, they would have to play a D.
Why do we need transpositions? Let's think about this example. There are multiple kinds of saxophones in the saxophone family: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. The fingerings are all the same, even though the fingerings will produce different sounds on each instrument. Transposing instruments make it easier to switch between instruments in the same key since the musician won't have to learn new fingerings.
Having transposing instruments also makes reading music in concert key much easier. But the fingerings are the same on all clarinets: if you play a B-flat major scale on the B-flat clarinet, it feels exactly the same as playing an A major scale on the A clarinet or an E-flat major scale on the E-flat clarinet.
It would be confusing if they had to read different pitches and different key signatures for the same fingering! So at some point in history, someone decided that the first note of the basic scale on any clarinet should be written as C, even if that note sounds like B-flat, or A, or E-flat.
The same applies to any other note: a written G will sound like an F; a written C-sharp will sound like a B-natural. Written C will sound like the pitch A, one minor third lower. Written A will sound like F-sharp, and so on. This makes it easier to see immediately what the pitches really sound like: a C is a C, an F-sharp is an F-sharp.
But if a B-flat clarinetist plays from that un-transposed score, it will sound all wrong. The difference between a transposed score and a concert pitch score is ONLY in how it looks. If all the transposing instruments read from properly transposed parts, everything will sound right.
If you uncheck it, you will see all the transposing instruments as they see their parts. But the pitches you read will not be the pitches you hear.
Try it, using this score. All the instruments in this score except the flute, piccolo and guitar are transposing though see below about the piccolo and guitar , so their written pitches will change, but not the sounding ones.
To avoid adding lots of accidentals, Noteflight automatically changes the key signatures to match — this is standard practice for transposing scores. But the French Horn in F, which sounds a perfect fifth lower, must be transposed up a perfect fifth when written in concert pitch — to the key signature one fifth higher than F, or C major remember your circle of fifths! That seems pretty simple, but not all instruments are in concert key. Many instruments are in different keys, such as B flat, E flat, A, or F.
These instruments are called transposing instruments. Like the trumpet, tenor saxophone, and soprano saxophone, it is in the key of B flat. Read here for the answer.
0コメント