Transposition Chart
A transposition chart and concert pitch converter: pick your instrument, then turn any written note or key into concert pitch, back again, or into another instrument's part.
Keyboard: ↑ ↓ step the note or key, S swaps the direction.
Transposition chart
Find the concert note in the first column; each other column is the note written for that group of instruments. Octave transposers (piccolo, glockenspiel, soprano recorder, guitar, bass guitar, double bass) read the concert column, one or two octaves away.
How to use the transposition chart
A transposition chart shows which concert pitch each written note sounds on a transposing instrument; this one converts any written note or key for Bb, Eb, F and A instruments to concert pitch and back, or rewrites a part for another instrument. This transposition chart works in both directions. Choose Note or Key signature, then pick a direction: Written to concert (what your part sounds like), Concert to written (what to write for your instrument) or Part for another instrument (for example, a Bb trumpet part rewritten for Eb alto sax). Choose the instrument, then the note and octave or the key. The dark panel shows the answer, the key signature with its sharps or flats, and how far the instrument transposes.
Press Hear concert pitch to play the sounding note, or the tonic chord of the concert key. Swap turns the answer back into the question. On a computer, the Up and Down arrow keys step the note or key and S swaps. The full chart under the converter lists all 12 concert notes for C, Bb, Eb, F and A instruments, so it doubles as a B flat transposition chart for trumpet, clarinet and tenor sax.
What concert pitch means
Concert pitch is the note that actually sounds, the pitch a non-transposing instrument such as the piano plays from the same written note. On a transposing instrument, the written note and the sounding note differ. Play a written C on a Bb clarinet or soprano sax and you hear a concert Bb, which is why they are called Bb instruments. Every instrument is named this way: the key name is the concert note you hear when you play a written C.
So when a band director asks for a concert Bb, a flute or trombone plays Bb, a trumpet or clarinet plays a written C, an alto sax plays a written G and a horn in F plays a written F. A tuner reads concert pitch; the online tuner can also show the written note for a Bb, Eb or F instrument. Flute and tuba read at concert pitch, so the flute tuner and tuba tuner show the note just as it is written.
Why some instruments transpose
Clarinets, saxophones, flutes and trumpets come in families of different sizes. Their music is written transposed so that the same written note takes the same fingering on every size. A player who switches from alto sax to tenor sax, or from Bb clarinet to bass clarinet, reads the page exactly the same way and lets the instrument change the pitch.
Other instruments transpose at the octave only, so their music fits on the staff with fewer ledger lines. Piccolo and soprano recorder sound an octave higher than written, glockenspiel two octaves higher, and guitar, bass guitar and double bass an octave lower. They stay in the same key as the piano, so they use the concert column of the chart. Violin, viola and cello do not transpose at all: their parts sound as written (see the violin, viola and cello note charts).
Transposing instruments at a glance
This concert pitch chart covers the common instruments. Each row says what a written middle C (C4) sounds like, and how far the instrument sounds from the page.
| Instruments | Key | Written C4 sounds | Sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bb trumpet, cornet, Bb clarinet, soprano sax | Bb | Bb3 | a major 2nd lower |
| Tenor sax, bass clarinet, euphonium and baritone (treble clef) | Bb | Bb2 | an octave and a major 2nd lower |
| Alto sax, alto clarinet | Eb | Eb3 | a major 6th lower |
| Baritone sax | Eb | Eb2 | an octave and a major 6th lower |
| Eb clarinet | Eb | Eb4 | a minor 3rd higher |
| French horn, mellophone, English horn | F | F3 | a perfect 5th lower |
| A clarinet | A | A3 | a minor 3rd lower |
| Piccolo, soprano recorder | C | C5 | an octave higher |
| Glockenspiel | C | C6 | two octaves higher |
| Guitar, bass guitar, double bass | C | C3 | an octave lower |
| Piano, flute, oboe, trombone, tuba | C | C4 | as written (concert pitch) |
The fingering charts use written notes, so read them with this table: trumpet, saxophone, clarinet and French horn.
How to transpose a part by hand
1. Find the interval. Going from written to concert, move down by the instrument's interval (Bb instruments down a major 2nd, alto sax down a major 6th, horn in F down a perfect 5th). Going from concert to written, move up by the same interval.
2. Change the key signature first. Move the key by the same interval. Written D major on alto sax (2 sharps) sounds in concert F major (1 flat). For Bb instruments, the written key always has two more sharps or two fewer flats than the concert key: concert Bb major (2 flats) is written C major. The key signatures page and the circle of fifths show every key.
3. Move every note by letter, then fix the accidental. A major 2nd up always moves the letter up one step: concert Eb becomes written F, and concert F# becomes written G#, never Ab. Counting letters first keeps the spelling right, and the converter above does it the same way.
4. Check the octave. Tenor sax and baritone sax add an extra octave to the interval: concert C4 is written D5 for tenor sax and A5 for baritone sax.
More for band instruments: Clarinet Fingering Chart · Saxophone Fingering Chart · Trumpet Fingering Chart · French Horn Fingering Chart · Euphonium Fingering Chart · Mellophone Fingering Chart · Tuner
Questions
What is concert pitch?
The pitch that actually sounds, as played by a non-transposing instrument like the piano. A written C on a Bb trumpet sounds a concert Bb.
What note does an alto sax play for concert Bb?
A written G. The alto sax sounds a major 6th lower than written, so written G sounds concert Bb.
How do I transpose from Bb clarinet to alto sax?
Move every written note up a perfect 5th (or down a perfect 4th) and change the key signature by the same amount. Written C for Bb clarinet is concert Bb, which is written G for alto sax. Choose Part for another instrument above to do it note by note.
Is the trombone a transposing instrument?
No, not in orchestra or concert band parts: the trombone is pitched in Bb but reads bass clef at concert pitch. In British-style brass bands the tenor trombone reads treble clef as a Bb instrument, sounding an octave and a major 2nd lower.
Why is the horn in F?
F became the standard horn transposition in the early 19th century. Horn music in treble clef sounds a perfect 5th lower than written.