List of transposing instruments

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	D♭ piano accordion	D♭4
	Bass accordion	C2
Arpeggione		C2/C3
Bagpipe	Great Highland bagpipe	variable D♭4 - D4	A minority of bagpipes, made for playing with other instruments, are exactly D♭4 (referred to as B♭, relative to the tonic note A rather than C). Most bagpipes are sharper than this, between D♭4 and D4. [1] .
	Northumbrian smallpipes in F or F+	B♭4 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	C3
Bugle	Soprano bugle Mellophone bugle French horn bugle	G3
	Baritone bugle Euphonium 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. [2] 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. [3]
Celesta		C5
Clarinet	A♭ clarinet	A♭4
	E♭ clarinet	E♭4
	D clarinet	D4
	B soprano clarinet	B3
	B♭ clarinet	B♭3
	A soprano clarinet	A3
	Basset clarinet	A3
	A♭ soprano clarinet	A♭3
	Clarinet d’amour	G3
	G Basset clarinet	G3
	Basset horn	F3
	Alto clarinet	E♭3
	C bass clarinet	C3
	Bass clarinet	B♭2
	Contra-alto clarinet	E♭2
	Contrabass clarinet	B♭1
	Octocontra-alto clarinet	E♭1
	B♭ octocontrabass clarinet	B♭0
Cornet	Soprano cornet	E♭4
	Cornet	B♭3
Crotales		C6
Csakan		A♭4
Euphonium		B♭2	When notated in treble clef
fife	Folk B♭ fife	A♭4
Flute	D♭ piccolo	D♭5
	Piccolo	C5
	Treble flute	G4
	F soprano flute	F4
	Soprano flute	E♭4
	D♭ Flute	D♭4
	B♭ flûte d'amour	B♭3
	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		D4
Horn	Marching horn	B♭3
	Horn	F3
Mellophone	Mellophone	F3
Oboe	F piccolo oboe	F4
	E♭ piccolo oboe	E♭4
	Oboe d'amore	A3
	Cor anglais	F3
	Heckelphone and Bass oboe	C3
Oud		G2	Bolahenk tuning
Recorder	Garklein recorder	C6
	Sopranino recorder	C5/F5
	Soprano recorder	C5, formerly G4
	B♭ Soprano recorder	B♭4
	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	C2
	Contrabass recorder	C2
Saxhorns	Flugelhorn	B♭3
	Tenor horn	E♭3
	Baritone horn	B♭2	When notated in treble clef
Saxophone	Piccolo saxophone	B♭4
	Sopranino saxophone	E♭4
	Soprano saxophone	B♭3
	F alto saxophone	F3
	Alto saxophone	E♭3
	C Melody Saxophone	C3
	Tenor saxophone	B♭2
	Baritone saxophone	E♭2
	C bass saxophone	C2
	Bass saxophone	B♭1
	Contrabass saxophone	E♭1
	Subcontrabass saxophone	B♭0
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	C4	When noted in treble clef
		B♭3	When notated in treble clef in a British-style brass band
	Alto trombone	C4	Reads Alto Clef
	Soprano trombone	C4	May be B♭3 like a B♭ trumpet
	Bass Trombone	C4	The Bass Trombone is the same as the Tenor Trombone except it has a larger bore and an extra trigger
	Contrabass Trombone	C4	Plays the same notes as a tuba
Trumpet	C Piccolo Trumpet	C5
	Piccolo trumpet	B♭4
	Piccolo Trumpet in A	A4
	F trumpet	F4
	E trumpet	E4
	E♭ trumpet	E♭4
	D trumpet	D4
	Trumpet	B♭3
	A trumpet	A3
	E♭ bass trumpet	E♭3
	D bass trumpet	D3
	Bass trumpet	B♭2
Tuba	E♭ tuba	E♭2	When notated in treble clef
	B♭ tuba	B♭1	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	B♭3, formerly B♭2
	Bass Wagner tuba	F3, formerly F2
Xylophone		C5

See also

• Transposing instrument

References

1. Macpherson, Ewan. "The Pitch and Scale of the Great Highland Bagpipe". New Zealand Pipeband (Winter 1998). Retrieved 21 Sep 2024.
2. Lehr, André (2005). Campanology Textbook: The Musical and Technical Aspect of Swinging Bells and Carillons (in Dutch). Translated by Schafer, Kimberly. The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. p. 59. OCLC   154672090. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
3. Rombouts, Luc (2014). Singing Bronze: A History of Carillon Music. Translated by Communicationwise. Leuven University Press. p. 310. ISBN   978-90-5867-956-7. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2021-06-29.

Further reading

• Kennan, Kent Wheeler. The Technique of Orchestration, Second Edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970, 1952; ISBN   0-13-900316-9
• Del Mar, Norman. The Anatomy of the Orchestra. University of California Press, 1981