Transposing instruments
Trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, horn: how it is written, how it sounds, which key the player reads. Sixteen instruments in the chart, four notation examples with sound.
A transposing instrument does not sound the way its notes look. The instrument “is in B♭” means: the note written as C sounds as B♭. The reason is practical — clarinets and saxophones come in several sizes, and the player should use the same fingerings for the same notes on all of them. The engraving takes care of the arithmetic.
The instruments
“Sounds lower than written” means, for whoever is writing: notate higher. The fourth column says what to write down for a sounding note.
| Instrument | in | C sounds as | for C write | sounds … than written |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trumpet in B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | D | major second lower |
| Clarinet in B♭ | B♭ | B♭ | D | major second lower |
| Soprano saxophone | B♭ | B♭ | D | major second lower |
| Flugelhorn | B♭ | B♭ | D | major second lower |
| Tenor saxophone | B♭ | B♭ | D | octave and major second lower |
| Bass clarinet | B♭ | B♭ | D | octave and major second lower |
| Alto saxophone | E♭ | E♭ | A | major sixth lower |
| Baritone saxophone | E♭ | E♭ | A | octave and major sixth lower |
| E♭ clarinet | E♭ | E♭ | A | minor third higher |
| French horn in F | F | F | G | perfect fifth lower |
| Cor anglais | F | F | G | perfect fifth lower |
| Clarinet in A | A | A | E♭ | minor third lower |
| Alto flute in G | G | G | F | perfect fourth lower |
| Piccolo | C | C | C | octave higher |
| Guitar | C | C | C | octave lower |
| Double bass, bass guitar | C | C | C | octave lower |
Written and sounding
Trumpet, clarinet, tenor sax in B♭
First bar as written, second bar as it sounds: major second lower.
Alto saxophone in E♭
First bar as written, second bar as it sounds: major sixth lower.
Horn in F
First bar as written, second bar as it sounds: perfect fifth lower.
Clarinet in A
First bar as written, second bar as it sounds: minor third lower.
Which key the player reads
When a piece is in a concert key, every instrument reads its own. B♭ instruments read a whole tone higher — which is why wind players love the flat keys — E♭ instruments a major sixth higher, F instruments a fifth higher, A instruments a minor third higher.
| Sounds in | in B♭ | in E♭ | in F | in A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major | D major | A major | G major | Eb major |
| Db major | Eb major | Bb major | Ab major | E major |
| D major | E major | B major | A major | F major |
| Eb major | F major | C major | Bb major | F# major |
| E major | F# major | Db major | B major | G major |
| F major | G major | D major | C major | Ab major |
| F# major | Ab major | Eb major | Db major | A major |
| G major | A major | E major | D major | Bb major |
| Ab major | Bb major | F major | Eb major | B major |
| A major | B major | F# major | E major | C major |
| Bb major | C major | G major | F major | Db major |
| B major | Db major | Ab major | F# major | D major |
Transposing · Fingering charts · Intervals
Anotona does this for you
Photograph a page of sheet music or play the melody — Anotona finds the key, engraves the notes and transposes them into any other. Free.
See AnotonaEvery note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.