Transpose Music From C to B Flat

Transposing instruments are those instruments—such as the clarinet, tenor sax, and trumpet—that unlike a piano, are notated at a different pitch than they actually sound. This article will show you how to transpose music written in the key of C, for Bb instruments.

Steps

  1. Know your instrument's transposition. The following are some B-flat instruments:
    • Trumpet and cornet
    • Tenor sax
    • Clarinet
  2. Know the key to transposition. When a piano player reads a C on the score, the note that we hear is a C. Yet when a trumpet player plays a C on the score, the note that we hear is a Bb. To make music sound right (and to reduce tension in the band) we need to write parts for the transposing instrument so that the trumpet player and the keyboard player are playing in the same apparent key.
  3. Start with the key signature. A Bb instrument sounds one whole tone lower than what is written, you must raise every note written for that instrument by one whole tone. The easiest way to do that is to start by writing in the correct key signature for that instrument.
    • Let's say the piano part is written in the key of Bb (which should have 2 flats in the key signature, and does not in the picture), concert pitch. One whole tone up from Bb is C (the concert pitch diagram starts on D it should start on Bb), so you will write your trumpet part in the key of C.
    • Conversely, if the piano part were written in the key of C, you would start with a different key signature: D.
  4. Here's a helpful tool. To transpose a part for a Bb instrument, start from the concert key—the key that is actually being heard—and add a whole step to it. That is the key you will use for your transposing part.
    • For example, let's say the concert key is the key of G major. On the chart, find the key of G major (it's the second from the top left). Note that is written with one sharp, F#. One whole tone up from G is A, so find A major on the chart, and you will see it has 3 sharps: F#, C#, and G#. This is the key you will use for your Bb instrument.
    • Sometimes you shift from flats to sharps, or vice versa. For example, if concert key is F major, with a Bb, one whole tone up from F is G, which is written written with one sharp, F#.
    • Remember to not just change the key signature, but write the notes one whole tone up as well. For example, if the note on the concert score is "F," the transposed note is "G".

Tips

  • Don't be afraid to ask somebody musical for advice.
  • If you are a visual learner, you can write out the letter names of all 12 of the notes from C to Bb, then write the note of the key of the instrument you are trying to transpose into next to one of the Cs. Write out all the notes again for this instrument, from C to C. When you get so that your second column is at the end of the first column, start at the next note at the top. They won't match up, but you have just created a cheat sheet that might come in handy. Look for the F on the concert pitch C column, and, looking in the next column over, it's a G on the Bb Instrument.
  • Remember that this applies to all BЬ instruments, including some trumpets, clarinets, the soprano saxophone and the tenor saxophone.
  • Practice makes perfect.
  • If you know the song well and you are good at playing by ear, it may be possible for you to play the song by ear, but in the key one full step above the key it is written in, i.e. play it in D if it is written in C.
  • You can always determine the key you will be playing in by adding two sharps to the key signature the music is written in. For instance, if the music is written in the key of E-flat major (3 flats in the key signature), you will play it in the key of F major (1 flat in the key signature). Adding a sharp is the same as subtracting a flat.
  • Be aware of octave transpositions on any given instrument. For example, the Assemble a Tenor Saxophone sounds a major ninth (an octave + a whole step) lower than written.

Warnings

  • Be careful make sure you add the correct accidentals, for example in transposing B it should be C# to give a whole tone even though the key signature does not give you this.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  • The Professional Arranger/Composer by Russell Garcia
  • The Harper Dictionary of Music
  • Music Notation—A Manual of Modern Practice by Gardner Read
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