The Whole Horn
A transposing instrument is one whose written notes do not match the concert pitch that sounds. The tenor saxophone 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) | Tenor Saxophone 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 tenor saxophone 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.
Adolphe Sax built the whole saxophone family on one fingering system, so the same fingering sounds a different pitch on each size and the music is written transposed. The soprano and tenor are the B♭ saxophones; the alto and baritone are the E♭ saxophones. Tenor and soprano therefore read the same written notes — the tenor simply sounds an octave lower.
The standard written range of the tenor saxophone is B♭3 to F♯6 — 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 tenor 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 tenor saxophone scale-practice page, or read the method behind mastering all twelve keys.
The tenor saxophone 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 tenor saxophone, 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 tenor saxophone sounds a major ninth 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 major ninth lower.
The Whole Horn plays all twelve major scales in the tenor saxophone’s written pitch, so you hear concert pitch while you read tenor saxophone.
Get the app → The full transposition chart