Transposing instrument

A transposing instrument is a musical instrument whose music is usually written at a pitch different from the pitch that it sounds. The difference between a transposing instrument and a non-transposing instrument is only in whether or not the music is written at its sounding pitch; there is nothing about the physical construction of an instrument that makes the difference. Instruments whose music is written exactly as it sounds are said to play in "concert pitch".

Transposition at the octave

Many instruments whose ranges are extremely high or low transpose at the octave in order for their written music to be easier to read. While these are technically transposing instruments, they are sometimes not considered as such because of the great similarity of sound between a given note and the same note an octave apart.

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For example, the contrabassoon and the double bass both play in the extreme low ranges. Their music is written one octave higher than it sounds on the bass staff. The piccolo and the soprano recorder, which are extremely high-pitched, are written an octave lower than they sound so that their music can be written easily on the treble staff.

Related Topics:
Contrabassoon - Double bass - Octave - Piccolo - Recorder

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Some instruments which transpose at the octave:

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• Sounding pitch 1 octave higher:
• Celeste
• Piccolo
• Soprano recorder
• Tin whistle
• Xylophone
• Sounding pitch 2 octaves higher:
• Glockenspiel
• Sounding pitch 1 octave lower:
• Contrabassoon
• Double bass
• Guitar