key of Bb on saxophone

anyone know any sites that explain evertyhing about tenor sax beign in the key of B flat, and clarinet in the key of Bb, how it works, whats it all about. im gonna start playing sax, id like to know what its all about. is there a site where it explain EVERYTHING i need to know about that.

thanks in advance

What it means is that when you play a note on the staff written as a C, it comes out as a Bb. Thats really all it means.

You can have horns in different keys, like with trumpets, but the principle is the same-play whats written using the same fingering, and the intended note will come out.

so basically all it means is. if it says play a C play the fingerings for C btu a Bb will oem out or if it says play a G play the fingering for G but a F will cemo out?

if thats so why arent the notes called what they actually play. i heard its soemthign to do with their frequencies

When someone asks for the actual pitch of the note, they call for "concert pitch." So, when tuning, a band director may call for everyone to play "Concert F" or "Concert Bb."

I'm not sure how it works with woodwinds, but with brass the instrument's key is the harmonic series it plays in. So a Bb Trumpet plays the notes contained within the Bb harmonic series, which are a low pedal Bb, Bb below treble clef, F, Bb, D, F, Ab, Bb, C, D, and so on, all ascending. The pedal Bb is rarely played on trumpet.

Now, all of these are written a step higher, so it'd be C, C, G, C, E, G, etc. And when a trumpeter grabs a C trumpet, Eb trumpet, or even a piccolo trumpet, the music looks the same, but the sound that comes out is different.

Not that Harmony Central isn't great - but for sax - check out:

http://www.saxontheweb.net

They have a very massive forum site. You will find lots of friendly advice and help.

As far as the Bb thingy goes...if you're playing off of sheet music - you have nothing to worry about - just play the notes. It gets to be an issue if you are jamming with other musicians, and the guitarist says the song is in D - you need to know to play in E.

Saxes come in various sizes. It's much - MUCH easier to know how to finger a D (on Tenor) - then try to remember that it's also a C (on a C-Melody), or an A on Alto! Let the dude who writes out the sheet figure out how to transpose the notes. Then - regardless of which key sax you pick up - a D is always a D...

Definitely check that site out. HC's winds forum isn't that big yet, but some places have massive memberships.

Well, if the guitarist says the song is in D, I'm glad I have an A clarinet. Would hate to play in E on a Bb clarinet. I used to have a high pitch alto in my youth, so that was pitched in E. Came in useful in the silver band (where I normally played trombone) as all the instruments were high pitch.

Bryan

Actually - playing in guitar key of E on a tenor ain't so bad - after ya get used to it!

Funny - but I've jammed so often in a rock band envionment - that when I sit in with jazzers - they play in Bb (C ! on Tenor) - I don't know how to jam!

Playing in E on an alto is hell. E major concert is C# major on Alto and Bari (everything sharp).

It has to do with the size of the horn I think. An alto is in Eb while a Tenor is in Bb. When you finger a G on a tenor and a G on an alto, the alto is a fourth higher (I think..)

Don't ask me about non-transposing instruments...

Yes, its a difference of a fourth.

And a difference of an octave between Bari and Alto.

Non-transposers are easy. Whatever note you play, actually IS the note you play!

Originally posted by sunburstbasser Non-transposers are easy. Whatever note you play, actually IS the note you play!

Well what about like Bb non-transposing stuff like trombones (I think)....?

This actually came up a while back. On Bb Trombone, the "Bb" means that the lowest note is a Bb, but that it doesn't transpose IIRC. Anyone wanna shed some light on that?

I don't know why low brass instruments are non-transposing, but as a low brass specialist I'm very glad. I like to know that when I play a Bb I read a Bb instead of reading something else and trying to figure out concert pitch vs. written pitch.

As far as a Bb trombone, Bb euphonium, Bb F Eb or C tuba, that has to do with the lowest fundamental of the instrument. A Bb tuba plays a pedal Bb as it lowest open note wheras an Eb tuba plays a pedal Eb as it's lowest open note. Personally I prefer to do it this way instead of transposing instruments.