Why Do We Even Have Transposing Instruments?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- Transposing instruments are confusing and frustrating, and their very existence seems absurd. A few years ago, I made a video about how to deal with transposing instruments, but today we’re here to talk about why we have transposing instruments in the first place.
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Hey, I'm Jesse, a composer and music theorist. I believe that Music Theory is a practical and valuable artform for all musicians throughout their lifetime. On this channel, I am making videos to help all musicians grow in their understanding of music theory and how it can make them a better musician.
![The Wall Song ร้องข้ามกำแพง | EP.213 | กรีน อัษฎาพร | 3 ต.ค. 67 [1/5]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3KrlLbCsadI/mqdefault.jpg)
Finally I get an answer to this. It was bugging me. I think it’s high time to ditch transposing (especially brass).
My tone is just as developed on french Horn, trumpet(Bb and C), and Eb horn, and yet I stick to the Eb horn because I can't for the life of me transfer the fingerings
For what reason would you want to ditch it?
especially since horn players still need to read horn parts in G A Eb F D C E Ab H Gb Db , trumpets too;
Thank you so much. As a composer with drum set as my first instrument, this subject has always been so confusing, and this video made it click for me. I love your conclusion, too: "[There's our reasons, they may or not be good, but that's why we transpose.]"
This is by far the best explanation of transposing instruments I've been able to find. Very well presented. I don't think I will ever master the concept, but this substantially slowed the spinning. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
Recorder players though have two fingering sets to learn, F and C. I guess because it is just F and C that's not so awkward, and easier I think than keyboardists having to learn two clefs really fluently (with chords and simultaneous reading to factor in).
Thanks! Always puzzled me. Best and clearest explanation I have come across.
Very interesting! I played trumpet then switched to euphonium. Same fingerings, different written notes.
You could also read Euphonium in Treble Clef cause it's in the same Key as a Trumpet but an Octave down.
FINALLY AN ANSWER TO MY Question i've been looking for a week now
Great video! I not only understood how to write for transposing instruments from your other video, but now I also understand why they exist.
👌🏻
Excellent job. If you teach, your students are lucky to have you. 👍
Thanks a lot!
Some great points here! Thanks for the video. I think that transposing instruments make a lot of sense because of the practicality for the players, which also leads to practicality for composers and orchestras because you can have one player switching between multiple instruments during one piece and they aren't going to get confused with fingerings! As a composer myself though I must admit it does get confusing sometimes when you are reading scores with instruments in strange keys.
F harmonic series? Never heard that before... Googling it now... Hmmm... Fascinating subject... The images remind me of the way a guitar string's harmonics work... Neat... :)
Interesting subject. I think being able to transpose in your head is probably really useful, especially for composition and improvisation. With digital notation it is also easy these days to create a transposed part score yourself as a musician though, if you need it. Fingerings are relative 'by default' on key instruments, so musicians who play those don't get around thinking flexibly here, but I can understand that it is much more difficult if a musician doesn't play all members of a wind family regularly. The point at which transposing instruments become confusing is when there are communication issues among players of different instruments or between conductor and player.
Good explanation!
Just discovered your channel and I’m loving it! 👍👍👍
This is excellent!
I still don't get it. Surely the only way that someone can be said to playing middle C is if they are playing the note that corresponds to 262 Hz? So how it can it he said that a "C" on a clarinet is actually a "Bb"? What other metric can you use to say you are playing a certain note other than the frequency produced??
It’s more about the fingers of that clarinetist. If they switch from an A clarinet to a Bb clarinet, the fingerings are the same, but the sound is different on each.
'Surely the only way ..someone can ...play.. middle C is if they are playing.....262 Hz'
No - they are playing written (notated) middle C, which does not necessarily sound 262 if they are playing a transposing instrument.
So; written mid C, and mid C in Hz can be very different (though often the same!).
So, just distinguish between the two.
Have you ever used a keyboard with a transpose button? Imagine you play a C major scale on one, starting on middle C. Now, imagine you push the transpose up button twice and play the same keys. What will sound? A D Major scale, of course. However, you, the player, are still *thinking* in C Major. It’s just like that. Of course you’re right that we’re not *really* hearing middle C anymore…we’re hearing a D. But the player is still *thinking* of it as a C, and is still playing the white key to the left of two black keys. It’s just like that.
As a trumpet player, this means that if I pick up a Bb trumpet and play “open” (no valves pressed), we will hear a Bb. But if I pick up a C trumpet and play “open” we will hear a C. This is obviously very confusing for the player. Without transposing instruments, the player would need to learn that on each different trumpet, “open” relates to a different written note. Open on a C trumpet is C, but open on a Bb trumpet is Bb. This means a whole different set of fingering for each differently-sized trumpet, which is a lot to learn and remember. On the other hand, if the trumpet player simply *thinks* of open being a “C” on all trumpets, they have just one fingering system to learn. 😁
Nobody reads sheet music anymore. now I have to figure out how a tune goes, while getting feedback that I have to adjust in real time. So ftustrating.
Omg dude where have you been ?
Hahaha what a great video man!
Now I am not as upset about having to arrange for transposing instruments.
Transposing instruments really aren't very complicated once you've been involved with a wind ensemble or concert band for a few years
Still dumb. If pianists have to learn different fingering for different keys and guitarists have to adjust to different tunings then everyone should too. Call notes what they are. It’s not that hard.