This is a list of transposing instruments and their transposition. Transposing instruments are instruments for which the convention is to write music notation transposed relative to concert pitch.
Instrument family Instrument name The note C4 written down produces: Comment Accordion Bass accordion C2 Arpeggione C2/C3 Bagpipe Great Highland bagpipe variable D4 - D4 A minority of bagpipes, made for playing with other instruments, are exactly D4 (referred to as B, relative to the tonic note A rather than C). Most bagpipes are sharper than this, between D4 and D4.Macpherson, Ewan. "The Pitch and Scale of the Great Highland Bagpipe". New Zealand Pipeband (Winter 1998). Retrieved 21 Sep 2024.. Northumbrian smallpipes in F or F+ B4 for F (~20 cents sharp for F+) Older and traditionally made instruments use a pitch sharp of F described as F+ (F-plus) Bajo Sexto (or Bajo Quinto) Bajo Sexto C2 - Banjo Banjo C3 Tenor banjo C3 Bassoon Tenoroon F4 Contrabassoon C3Bugle Soprano bugleMellophone bugleFrench horn bugle G3 Baritone bugleEuphonium bugle G2 Contrabass bugle G1 Carillon Various Since they are seldom played in concert with other instruments and carillonneurs need standardized sheet music, carillons often transpose to a variety of keys—whichever is advantageous for the particular installation; many transposing carillons weigh little, have many bells, or were constructed on limited funds. An increasing number of new carillons have been installed in concert pitch as a result of the desire to establish the carillon as a full-fledged concert instrument. Celesta C5 Clarinet A clarinet A4 G piccolo clarinet G4 E clarinet E4 D clarinet D4 B clarinet B3 A soprano clarinetBasset clarinet A3 G soprano clarinetClarinet d’amour G3 Basset horn F3 Alto clarinet E3 Bass clarinet B2 Contra-alto clarinet E2 Contrabass clarinet B1 Octocontra-alto clarinet E1 B octocontrabass clarinet B0 Cornet Soprano cornet E4 Cornet B3 Crotales C6 Csakan A4Euphonium B2 When notated in treble clef Fife Folk B fife A4 Flute D piccolo D5 Piccolo C5 Treble flute G4 F soprano flute F4 Soprano flute E4 D Flute D4 B flûte d'amour B3 A flûte d'amour A3 Alto flute G3 Bass flute C3 Contra-alto flute G2 Contrabass flute C2 Subcontrabass flute G1 F subcontrabass flute F1 Double contrabass flute C1 Hyperbass flute C0 Glockenspiel C6 Guitar Guitar C3 Handbells C5 Hardanger Fiddle D4Horn Marching horn B3 Horn F3 Mellophone Mellophone F3 Oboe F piccolo oboe F4 E piccolo oboe E4 Oboe d'amore A3 Cor anglais F3 Heckelphone and Bass oboe C3Oud G2 Bolahenk tuning Recorder Garklein recorder C6 Sopranino recorder C5/F5 Soprano recorder C5, formerly G4 B Soprano recorder B4 Alto recorder C5 sometimes Voice flute formerly A3 Tenor recorder formerly G3 Modern convention is to notate all recorders as transposed at the octave where necessary; in this case the tenor recorder sounds at pitch. Basset recorder C3 Bass recorder C3 When notated in treble clef Great bass recorder C2Contrabass recorderC2SaxhornsFlugelhornBTenor hornE3Baritone horn B2When notated in treble clef Saxophone Piccolo saxophone B4 Sopranino saxophone E4 Soprano saxophone B3 F alto saxophone F3 Alto saxophone E3 C melody saxophone C3 Tenor saxophone B2 Baritone saxophone E2 Bass saxophone B1 Contrabass saxophone E1 Subcontrabass saxophone B0 Tin whistle C5 Transposes at the octave. Some whistle players treat whistles pitched higher or lower than the "standard" D tin whistle as (additionally) transposing instruments. Trombone Tenor trombone B♭ When notated in treble clef in a British-style brass band Soprano trombone B♭ When notated like a B♭ trumpet; otherwise, in concert pitch Trumpet C Piccolo Trumpet C5 Piccolo trumpet B4 Piccolo Trumpet in A A4 F trumpet F4 E trumpet E4 E trumpet E4 D trumpet D4 Trumpet B3 A trumpet A3 E bass trumpet E3 D bass trumpet D3 Bass trumpet B2Tuba E tuba E2 When notated in treble clef B tuba B1 When notated in treble clef Venova Venova C5 Alto Venova F4 Violin Treble violin C5 Alto Violin C5 Octobass C2 C0 Viol Double bass C3 Wagner Tuba Tenor Wagner tuba B3, formerly B2 Bass Wagner tuba F3, formerly F2 Xylophone C5
See also Transposing instrument
Notes
Only clarinet types currently in production or planned for production are listed. Additional obsolete or experimental transposing members of the clarinet family are listed at clarinet family.
References
Further reading Kennan, Kent Wheeler. The Technique of Orchestration, Second Edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970, 1952; Del Mar, Norman. The Anatomy of the Orchestra. University of California Press, 1981