The Whole Horn
A transposing instrument is one whose written notes do not match the concert pitch that sounds. The clarinet is one of them: it sounds a major second (two semitones) 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 second:
| Concert pitch (sounds) | B♭ 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 clarinet reads a major second 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 clarinet family is built in several sizes that share a fingering system, so the music is transposed and a player can move between them. The B♭ is the one nearly everybody plays. The A clarinet, common in orchestral parts, sounds a minor third lower than written; the E♭ sounds a minor third higher.
The standard written range of the clarinet is E3 to C7 — sounding a major second lower. That is the range parts are scored in and the range these pages and the app both use.
Because the 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 full clarinet fingering chart — every note with its written and concert pitch — or read the method behind mastering all twelve keys.
The clarinet is in the key of B♭. A written C sounds as concert B♭, a major second lower than written.
It sounds a major second — two semitones — lower than written. To put a concert-pitch melody on the clarinet, write it a major second higher than it sounds.
A written C. Concert B♭ is a major second below written C, so that note sounds concert B♭.
Yes. Written and sounding pitch are different: the clarinet sounds a major second 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 second lower.
The Whole Horn plays all twelve major scales in the clarinet’s written pitch, so you hear concert pitch while you read clarinet.
Get the app → The full transposition chart