Transposition Chart

Pick the concert pitch. Every instrument shows the note it reads. Built to be read from the podium at a glance, not studied.

Concert pitch
* Practical range — a range, not a fence. This is the range composers and arrangers normally write in, and where young players are most comfortable. It is not a limit. Notes above and below it are entirely playable, and there is nothing wrong with writing them or practising them — that is what The Whole Horn is for. It works the whole horn on purpose. What this line tells you is where a young section will sound confident, which is a different question from what the instrument can do.

Why does each instrument transpose?

The board above answers “what do I read.” These answer “why” — one page per instrument, with the concert-to-written table for every key.

Questions

Which concert band instruments do not transpose?

Flute and oboe read concert pitch in treble clef; bassoon, trombone, euphonium and tuba read concert pitch in bass clef. The piccolo also reads concert pitch, but sounds an octave higher. Everything else on this chart transposes.

What does a B♭ trumpet read when the concert pitch is C?

D. A B♭ trumpet sounds a major second lower than written, so its part is written a major second above concert pitch. Choose any concert pitch on the chart above and every instrument's written note changes with it.

Why does the alto saxophone read a different note from the flute?

The alto saxophone is in E♭ and sounds a major sixth lower than written, so its part is written a major sixth above concert pitch. The flute reads the sounding note. Both players produce the same pitch from different notation.

How far below the written note does a tenor saxophone sound?

A major ninth — an octave plus a major second. The bass clarinet sounds a major ninth lower too, and the baritone saxophone sounds an octave and a sixth lower.

Which instruments on this chart read bass clef?

Bassoon, trombone, euphonium and tuba — all four at concert pitch. Every other instrument here reads treble clef.