Grade Five Music Theory - Lesson 8: Transposing

You hear a middle C, of course. But if you play the same note on a clarinet, horn or trumpet you will hear a different note. Clarinets, horns, trumpets and a few other instruments are “transposing” instruments, which means that the note the player reads is different from the note which their instrument produces.

For example, if a trumpeter reads and plays the following:

the notes you actually hear are

Most clarinettists start off learning on a “B flat” clarinet. Trumpets are also in B flat. This means that when the player reads a note which looks like a C, the note produced by their instrument is actually a B flat. Every note that the player reads actually sounds a tone lower.

Some instruments tranpose at the octave, which means that this note

would sound as a C, but not middle C. It could be an octave higher (for the piccolo, for example), or lower (e.g. for the bass flute).

Why are there transposing instruments?

There are many different reasons why we have transposing instruments, and most of them are very interesting. However, you don’t need to know why for Grade 5 Theory! If you’re interested and would like to find out, read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposing_instrument

Common Transposing Instruments

These are the most common transposing instruments:

• Clarinet- in B flat and A
• Trumpet- in B flat
• Horn- in F
• Saxophone- in B flat or E flat

In each case, the key of the instrument is the note which is produced when the player reads a C.

Grade 5 Theory Question Types

As well as having to transpose extracts of music (see below), you might also need to know a bit of general knowledge about all the common orchestral instruments and which octaves they play in. Often you are asked to choose one instrument (from four) which could play a given extract, so that it sounds at the same pitch.

So, you need to learn which instruments can play each other’s music because the clef is the same and there is no change in pitch. Try to memorise the following groups of instruments: (I've included some non-orchestral instruments too)

Sometimes you will see drum-type instruments included in the choices, “timpani”, for example. Drums are only tuned to one note, which means they can’t play a melody - they will never be the right answer to the question!

What is “concert pitch”?

The term “concert pitch” means the real sound of a note, as you would get on the piano. (On the piano if you read/play a C, you hear a C, if you read/play an F sharp you hear an F sharp, and so on).

Players of transposing instruments look at notes in two ways - the name they give to a note is not the same as the way it sounds. A trumpet player reads/fingers/plays a C, but the note he plays is a concert pitch B flat, because that note corresponds to a B flat on the piano (or any other non-transposing instrument).

When an orchestra tunes up, all the players play concert pitch A. This means that clarinettists and trumpet players finger a B, and horn players finger an E.

Transposing a Melody for a Transposing Instrument ,

You might have to transpose a melody into (or out of) concert pitch. In Grade 5 Theory, you will always be told which direction you have to transpose in (up or down), and by what interval (major 2nd, perfect 4th etc.) (You don’t have to work out from scratch how to write out a piece of clarinet music so that it sounds at concert pitch, for example!)

You will need to understand intervals properly before you can begin. (Have a look at “Lesson 7 – Intervals” if you need to). Sometimes you are asked to use a key signature, and sometimes not. Read the question carefully!

Start by carefully transposing the key signature, if you have been asked to include one.

For example, if the key signature is A major (3 sharps) and you have been asked to transpose down a major 2nd, you will need to write the key signature for G major (1 sharp).

Don’t forget to add the time signature (this doesn’t change, of course):

starts off as

Next, transpose each note in turn. Be careful when you come across accidentals - in the above extract the first accidental is E sharp. Transpose E sharp down a major second, and you get D sharp.

(If you think that E sharp on a piano keyboard is the same as F, you might think the correct transposition would be E flat - but you would be wrong: E sharp - E flat is actually an interval of a double-augmented tonic!)

Here is the finished transposition:

Avoiding Mistakes

Lightly pencil (in the margin of your exam paper) a list of the letter names from the extract and what they will become. When you’ve finished, carefully double check each note. Your list could look something like this:

Erase the list before you hand in your exam paper!

Neat Notation

Does it matter how neatly you write your answers? Yes! Here are some tips:

• Try to space out your notes as they are in the original extract.
• Don’t draw in the stems and beams of quavers or smaller notes until you’ve placed the whole group - you might have to put the stems the other way up.
• Write accidentals before you draw the note-head, to make sure you have enough space. Remember that accidentals are always placed on the left side of the note they affect.
• Make sure you have copied all the barlines, phrasing, articulation and tempo marks, ties, dynamics, ornaments, dots, rests and anything else which is written in the original.
• Check out “Lesson 1 – Good Notation” for more ideas.