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I've read this term many times. However, I'm not quite sure of what it exactly is. What is a transposing instrument? What would be an example of one?

NReilingh
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American Luke
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2 Answers2

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A transposing instrument is one for which the standard practice is to write music in a key different from the sounding pitch of that instrument.

For example, a non-transposing instrument is something like a piano (anything with a keyboard, really)--when you read a C on the staff, you play a C and it sounds a concert pitch C. Most pitched percussion instruments fall into this category, as do traditional C transverse flute, oboe, harp, tuba, and most string instruments (like violin, viola, cello).

A transposing instrument is one where the player reads a C, plays a C, and what sounds is the name of the key of the instrument. Most instruments are often referred to with the key in their name, for example Bb trumpet, Bb clarinet, Horn in F, Eb alto saxophone, Bb tenor saxophone.

There is a third case, where instruments sound an octave displaced from the written notes (to avoid the player having to read too many ledger lines). These aren't usually grouped with keyed instruments, but they are technically transposing (for example: crotales, guitar, string bass, piccolo).

Players of transposing instruments will have trouble reading music written for other instruments in different keys, unless they are experienced at transposing written music on the fly (regardless of transposition, this is also true for instruments written in different clefs.) The reason for transposing instruments has to do with the fact that many of these instruments come in different sizes that are all playable by someone who knows the technique and fingerings for one of these instruments. There are also historical reasons owing to the fact that brass instruments (before the invention of valves) could only play in the harmonic series native to their current instrument.

Anyway, when a saxophone player picks up a saxophone, regardless of whether it's keyed in Bb or Eb, the player will use the same fingering for written C on each instrument. The music needs to be transposed into the correct key for this to work, but the result is that the player can play any size saxophone with the same set of fingerings. If the music was not transposed, the player would have to have a different set of fingerings for each saxophone that they played.

The above applies as well to the various sizes of clarinet, and the various keys of trumpet.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule left and right--french horn is a particular beast, as professional horn players will see music written in a HUGE range of keys, and be expected to transpose at sight to, typically, an F/Bb double horn.

NReilingh
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    It should be pointed out that, in some cases, the individual parts may be written in transposed form, but in the conductor's score, they won't show as transposed instruments: they will all be written "in C." – aeismail Feb 05 '12 at 08:19
  • Yup. This can usually be identified if all parts of the score have the same key signature. In more modern music absent a key signature this can be ambiguous, and again, horns are a constant exception. – NReilingh Feb 06 '12 at 02:08
  • Bass (both double and electric) is another example of your third case, where the instrument sounds an octave lower than written. – wadesworld Feb 06 '12 at 18:50
  • For completeness let me add that the recorder family is non-transposing, so players learn new fingerings for each key/clef: C (soprano, tenor) and F (alto, bass) are the most common; G, D, and Bb are useful for advanced playing. Advanced players can read any clef ancient or modern, figure out which instrument fits the range and then how to finger it by pretending to be on a different instrument in a different clef with a different key signature. – ohmi Feb 07 '12 at 17:21
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    "the result is that the player can play any size saxophone with the same set of fingerings" - this is where perfect pitch can be a drawback. I do not have it, but picking up a C trumpet after playing only Bb trumpet is a weird experience none the less. I expect a tone to have one pitch and feel, and get something else. – Gauthier Feb 08 '12 at 09:29
  • @Gauthier - Potentially true for a beginner with AP on a transposing instrument, but at a high enough level, AP can be useful in reading music in any transposition, or in transposing written music to a different key on the fly. The difficulty you experience is one all multi-instrumentalists have to get around. – NReilingh Feb 08 '12 at 19:28
  • I'm sorry, what is AP? I am used to transposing (mostly playing Bb parts on a C trumpet and the inverse, but also symphonic works with "switch to F/G/D trumpet" scattered everywhere), the problem is that my brain sets up my mouth and my fingers for a tone, and if the instrument is not in the key I am used too, these may be uncompatible. Another example: I find it very hard to switch harp. I play very little, and since I think tone-wise (C, D, E, F) rather than function-wise (I, II, III, IV), I just can't play on a F harp. – Gauthier Feb 09 '12 at 10:36
  • @NReilingh would you have the same issue playing guitar with a capo? Keyboard with the pitch shifted? – slim Sep 28 '12 at 13:04
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    @Gauthier - AP = (perfect) absolute pitch. Relative pitch can be taught and learned pretty easily by ear training; the ability to identify a note by pitch, and to sing or at least hum that pitch in perfect tune, takes either a born talent or a lifetime of practice. – KeithS Sep 28 '12 at 19:33
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    Additional octave-transposing instruments include the electric and double bass (sound one octave lower) and handbells (sound one octave higher). And one more reason to transpose; many wind instruments have a "natural" key (their "C") that's played using the main pads/fingerholes. The further you get from that key around the Circle of Fifths, the more of the add-on chromatic keys need to be used, making the keys harder to play in. Hence, Bb and A clarinets, with basically the same range, but one is easier to use in "flat" keys while the other is easier to use with sharps. – KeithS Sep 28 '12 at 19:40
  • "a key different from the sounding pitch of the instrument": that isn't it at all. If that were true, then historically the D trumpet would *not* be a transposing instrument because standard practice was to write music in the key of D. – phoog May 21 '18 at 05:17
  • @phoog You’re conflating musical key with transposed notation. If I play music that sounds in the key of G on a D trumpet, it will be notated for that instrument in the key of F. You could argue that I “applied a D instrument transposition” in order to do this, but that wasn’t what I said in my definition. In fact, I was trying to define what transposition is in the first place, since that was effectively the original question. – NReilingh May 21 '18 at 06:09
  • No, your first paragraph conflates those things. Speaking about "music in a key" in this context is just confusing. – phoog May 21 '18 at 06:14
  • Bass-clef orchestral tuba or tenor trombone play as non-transposing instruments. But if you play the exact same physical instrument in a UK brass band you read transposed treble-clef parts. So the _instrument_ stays the same, but the musical context you're playing in determines whether you consider it a transposing instrument or not. – Brian THOMAS Feb 03 '20 at 13:06
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Transposing instruments are ones you can transpose . For example you can transpose down a major 2nd or up a perfect 5th.

user66173
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