The Whole Horn
A transposing instrument is one whose written notes do not match the concert pitch that sounds. The bass clarinet is one of them: it sounds a major ninth (fourteen semitones — an octave plus a whole step) lower than written. Read a written C and the audience hears concert B♭.
That is why it is called a B♭ instrument: a written C produces the pitch B♭, 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 major ninth:
| Concert pitch (sounds) | Bass Clarinet reads |
|---|---|
| Concert B♭ | C |
| Concert E♭ | F |
| Concert F | G |
| Concert C | D |
| Concert A♭ | B♭ |
| Concert G | A |
| Concert D | E |
The pattern never changes: the bass clarinet reads a major ninth 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 bass clarinet is a B♭ instrument like the soprano clarinet, but it sounds an octave lower again — a major ninth below written rather than a major second. Because it shares the B♭ clarinet's fingering system, a clarinettist can pick it up and read a part immediately. Nearly all modern parts are written in treble clef; older European scores sometimes use bass clef, where the transposition is a major second instead.
The standard written range of the bass clarinet is E3 to C7 — sounding a major ninth lower. That is the range parts are scored in and the range these pages and the app both use.
Because the bass clarinet 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 bass clarinet scale-practice page, or read the method behind mastering all twelve keys.
The bass clarinet is in the key of B♭. A written C sounds as concert B♭, a major ninth lower than written.
It sounds a major ninth — fourteen semitones — an octave plus a whole step — lower than written. To put a concert-pitch melody on the bass clarinet, write it a major ninth higher than it sounds.
A written C. Concert B♭ is a major ninth below written C, so that note sounds concert B♭.
Yes. Written and sounding pitch are different: the bass clarinet sounds a major ninth lower than the note on the page.
The standard written range is E3 to C7. That is what appears on the page; the sounding pitches are a major ninth lower.
The Whole Horn plays all twelve major scales in the bass clarinet’s written pitch, so you hear concert pitch while you read bass clarinet.
Get the app → The full transposition chart