Transposing Instruments – B♭, E♭, F and Concert Pitch

Concert pitch and written pitch

Concert pitch is the note you actually hear. Written pitch is the note on the player's page. For piano, flute, violin and voice they are the same. For a transposing instrument they differ by a fixed interval, and its music is written that interval away so the player can read it with normal fingerings.

The name of the instrument tells you what you hear when it plays a written C: a B♭ trumpet sounds B♭, an E♭ alto saxophone sounds E♭, a horn in F sounds F.

The three big families

Family	Instruments	Write the part
B♭	trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, B♭ clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, euphonium in treble clef	a major 2nd higher (2 semitones)
E♭	alto and baritone saxophone, E♭ clarinet	a major 6th higher (alto/baritone sax) — same letters as a minor 3rd lower
F	French horn, English horn	a perfect 5th higher (7 semitones)

The E♭ clarinet is the odd one out: it sounds a minor 3rd higher than written, so its part is written a minor 3rd lower. The letter names come out the same as for the alto sax.

Concert key → the key each player reads

Concert key	B♭ instruments	E♭ instruments	F instruments
C	D	A	G
F	G	D	C
B♭	C	G	F
E♭	F	C	B♭
G	A	E	D
D	E	B	A

Example: a band piece in concert E♭ is in F for trumpets and clarinets, in C for alto saxes, and in B♭ for horns.

Instruments that transpose by octaves

Some instruments are written one or two octaves away from their sound, only to keep the notes on the staff: piccolo, guitar (notation), bass guitar / double bass, glockenspiel, soprano (descant) recorder. Their note names don't change, so chord names never need transposing for them. The tenor and baritone saxophones combine both: a key change (like the trumpet or alto sax) plus an extra octave.

How to transpose music for a B♭, E♭ or F instrument

Find the interval for the instrument (table above).
Move the key by that interval: concert F for a B♭ trumpet becomes G.
Move every note and chord by the same interval and spell them in the new key.
Check the range. If the written part ends up too high or low for the instrument, move it an octave.

Going the other way (a trumpet part back to concert pitch) is the same interval in the opposite direction: down a major 2nd.

Do it with the tool

The instrument transposer converts chord charts, whole songs and melodies between concert pitch and every common transposing instrument, and between two transposing instruments (for example an alto sax part for a trumpet player).

Frequently asked questions

Is guitar a transposing instrument?

Yes, at the octave: guitar music is written one octave higher than it sounds, so that it fits on the treble staff without many ledger lines. Note and chord names don't change, so guitar chords never need transposing for other players.

What is a B♭ instrument?

An instrument that sounds B♭ when it plays a written C. The B♭ trumpet, B♭ clarinet and the tenor saxophone are B♭ instruments; their music is written a major 2nd higher than concert pitch (the tenor sax also an octave higher).

What is concert pitch?

The real sound. Piano, flute, violin, voice and guitar chord charts use concert pitch. When a band says "we're in concert B♭", it means the actual sound is B♭, even if the trumpets read in C and the alto saxes in G.

How do I transpose piano music for trumpet?

Move every note and chord up a major 2nd (2 semitones) and add two sharps to the key signature (or remove two flats): concert C major becomes D major, concert F becomes G, concert B♭ becomes C.

Why are some instruments written in a different key?

So that players can switch between instruments of the same family with the same fingerings: a written C uses the same fingering on every saxophone, whatever note actually sounds. For instruments that are written an octave away, the reason is to avoid notes far above or below the staff.