Transposing from C tuned instrument to Bb Clarinet.

[keyofc]

Hi,

It's been years since I had to transpose for Bb Clarinet.  I'm transposing a piece for someone in our band.  I'm playing Eb on keyboard - Do I transpose my piece to D for the Bb clarinet?
thanks

[iansinclair]

D flat, you lucky person.  Or get the clarinetist to play at concert pitch...

[keyofc]

Thanks Sinclair - transposing it would probably be easier than asking them to play concert pitch

[keyofc]

Doesn't the clarinet player need a written d to sound like c?

[brogers70]

Hi,

It's been years since I had to transpose for Bb Clarinet.  I'm transposing a piece for someone in our band.  I'm playing Eb on keyboard - Do I transpose my piece to D for the Bb clarinet?
thanks

If it's a Bb clarinet, you must write one whole step higher than you want it to sound. So if you want the Bb clarinet to produce an Eb ( a real Eb, that is) you have to write an F natural. If you want the clarinet to play in C major (the real key of C major), then you need to write the clarinet part in D major.

[Bob]

"Play a C, sound your key," is the saying. 

More accurately... "Play a (written) C (on that instrument), sounds its key," I say.

If that helps. 


Everything a Bb clarinet reads will be written a whole step higher than concert pitch.

If you're on piano (C instrument), you'd have to write that a whole step higher for Bb clarinet.  (like everyone says here)   Or, if you have a Bb clarinet part, you'd have to play/read that down a whole step on piano (C instrument) if you want the actual pitch.

[quantum]

For a transposing instrument, you transpose the same distance in the opposite direction.  

Example: Bb clarinet is 1 tone lower, so you would transpose 1 tone up to get the correct key for the clarinet part.  In this case, concert Eb on piano becomes F for Bb clarinet.

Example 2: A clarinet is 3 semitones lower, so you would transpose 3 semitones up for A clarinet.  Concert Eb on piano becomes Gb for A clarinet.  

Example 3: Alto sax is a major 6th lower, so you would transpose a major 6th up.  For concert Eb on piano, it will become C for alto sax.


For a Bb clarinet players, there is a trick to reading off a concert pitch score and doing a sight transposition:  read the staff as if it were an alto clef.