You want to play a duet scored for two flutes, but you have a flute and a sax.You have a flute-and-piano score, but you want to play the flute part with a sax.When is this a Problem?Įvery time you wish to play a score written for C instruments (like the flute or the piano) but you need to substitute one or more of the instruments with transposing instruments (like saxophones). Not all saxophones are in E-flat, though: The tenor and the soprano sax, for instance, are in B-flat.Īs you may already have guessed, on such an instrument the whole scale gets transposed: if a C sounds as an E-Flat, a D sounds as an F, an E sounds as a G and so on. That's why we say that the alto sax is a transposing instrument in E-flat. When an alto sax player plays a written C, his/her sax sounds an E-flat.When a flute player plays a written C, his/her flute sounds a C.The reason behind this is that the saxophone is a transposing instrument, while the flute is not. If the duet is scored for two flutes, trying to play it as it is would simply not work.
Suppose you want to play a duet with your friend, who plays the alto saxophone. How to Transpose for an E-flat Instrument
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