In fact it’s to make life easier, but may not seem like that at first, especially if you don’t read or arrange music and you want to play in a band with guitars and keyboards. Why? Is transposition just to make life awkward? the soprano (in Bb one octave higher than the tenor) and the baritone (in Eb one octave lower than the alto). These are the most common saxophones but of course there are other sizes, e.g. The alto (pitched in Eb) is slightly smaller and higher pitched than the C melody, and the tenor (pitched in Bb) is larger and lower. However it was the alto and tenor that became more popular in bands. The C melody was quite popular in the 1920s and marketed as a useful instrument for people to gather round the family piano and play together from the same piece of sheet music. The most common is the C melody though very few are made these days. We say they are “pitched” in the key of C because a C on the instruments sounds the same pitch as an actual C (aka concert pitch). NB: there are saxophones whose notes do all correspond to the notes of a piano or guitar. Download the saxophone transposition chart Welcome to the world of saxophone transposition. It can be a big shock to discover that the piano player, guitarist, bass player are all playing in the key of C, but when you join in on your alto or tenor in the same key, YOU ARE IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT KEY AND EVERYONE IS GIVING YOU DIRTY LOOKS. This is a very common question, especially from anyone who has just bought a saxophone, taught themselves a little bit and then decides to play along with some other musicians. Why am I in a different key to the rest of the band? Can I work out the transposition without a chart?ĭoesn’t sound quite right to me….All the Notes and Their Transposed Equivalent.

But what if I the music I play doesn’t have transposed sheet music?.What would happen if saxophones weren’t transposing instruments?.Why? Is transposition just to make life awkward?.Download the saxophone transposition chart.Why am I in a different key to the rest of the band?.Our fundraising See here for more info….Classifieds Used instruments on Cafesaxophone.Discounts and Free Find all the best deals.Collectables Rare and unusual music stuff.CD | Playalongs Including downloads & sheet music.Beginners Downloads Free when you buy a book.CaféSaxophone Our friendly & informative saxophone forum.Beginners Improvising In the impro section>.Understanding Transposition for Saxophones.

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B flat major scale alto sax