The Whole Horn
A transposing instrument is one whose written notes do not match the concert pitch that sounds. The baritone saxophone is one of them: it sounds a octave and a major sixth (twenty-one semitones) lower than written. Read a written C and the audience hears concert E♭.
That is why it is called a E♭ instrument: a written C produces the pitch E♭, the key the instrument is built around.
The most useful version of this in a rehearsal is the reverse direction — the director names a concert pitch and you need to know what to read. Add a octave and a major sixth:
| Concert pitch (sounds) | Baritone Saxophone reads |
|---|---|
| Concert B♭ | G |
| Concert E♭ | C |
| Concert F | D |
| Concert C | A |
| Concert A♭ | F |
| Concert G | E |
| Concert D | B |
The pattern never changes: the baritone saxophone reads a octave and a major sixth above the concert pitch. Internalising this table is one of the fastest ways to feel at home in a concert band or jazz ensemble.
The baritone is the E♭ saxophone an octave below the alto, so the two read exactly the same written notes and the baritone simply sounds an octave lower. That is the whole point of Adolphe Sax's design: one fingering system across four sizes, with the transposition doing the work instead of the player.
The standard written range of the baritone saxophone is B♭3 to F♯6 — sounding a octave and a major sixth lower. That is the range parts are scored in and the range these pages and the app both use.
Because the baritone saxophone transposes, every scale you practise has a written name and a sounding name. The fastest way to build fluency is to practise the twelve major scales in the instrument’s own written pitch, hearing each note as it truly sounds. See the baritone saxophone scale-practice page, or read the method behind mastering all twelve keys.
The baritone saxophone is in the key of E♭. A written C sounds as concert E♭, a octave and a major sixth lower than written.
It sounds a octave and a major sixth — twenty-one semitones — lower than written. To put a concert-pitch melody on the baritone saxophone, write it a octave and a major sixth higher than it sounds.
A written G. Concert B♭ is a octave and a major sixth below written G, so that note sounds concert B♭.
Yes. Written and sounding pitch are different: the baritone saxophone sounds a octave and a major sixth lower than the note on the page.
The standard written range is B♭3 to F♯6. That is what appears on the page; the sounding pitches are a octave and a major sixth lower.
The Whole Horn plays all twelve major scales in the baritone saxophone’s written pitch, so you hear concert pitch while you read baritone saxophone.
Get the app → The full transposition chart