How to Transpose Clarinet Music

B flat clarinet is played a step below concert pitch.

Transposing music is the process of taking one piece of music and shifting it to another key. This becomes necessary for instruments whose notes are not read at concert pitch (the standard pitch by which most instruments are keyed around). The clarinet is such an instrument. The clarinet, referred to as a B flat clarinet, is tuned to play lower than concert pitch. This means music written for the B flat clarinet must be transposed up to play in tune with other instruments.

Things You'll Need

• Blank staff paper

Instructions

1. Examine the sheet music you wish to transpose. Determine the key the song is in and change the key signature by a whole note name. If the piece is in the key of C, change the key signature for the clarinet music to D, etc. If you know key signatures and the order of sharps and flats, this is the easiest way.

2. Read and transpose your music note for note. Every note in the clarinet piece needs to be raised by one whole tone (two half steps). This means if the note written in clarinet is an A, you need to play an B on your clarinet. If you encounter an F, you need to play a G. To keep it clear, it's best to start with blank music paper and go through and raise every note by a whole step, writing it on a new sheet as you go.

3. Look for accidentals. An accidentals is a sharp or flat written in a key that doesn't belong in the key. For instance, the key of C has no sharps or flats. If you have a piece of music in the key of C that contains a D sharp, this note will need to be raised a whole step as well, from D sharp to E sharp.

Tips & Warnings

• Just remember that every note in the clarinet sheet music is raised a whole step. Nothing is altered for the C instruments.

• Avoid changing any note rhythms. The duration of the notes remain the same. You're only concerned with pitch.

References

• FluteTunes: How to Transpose B Flat Clarinet