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Choosing an Alto Saxophone
How to Assemble a Saxophone
What are Saxophone Reeds?
How to Use the Saxophone Mouthpiece
Breathing Techniques for an Alto Saxophone
Note Articulation on an Alto Sax
Alto Saxophone Fingering
Maintaining Your Alto Saxophone
How to Transpose Notes on an Alto Sax
How to Play Octaves on an Alto Saxophone
Range of the Alto Sax
Disassembly of an Alto Saxophone
Playing the Alto Saxophone with Metronomes
Summary: Transpose saxophone notes on an alto sax using the proper techniques; learn how from our expert sax player in this free sax video music lesson.
Leslie Burnick graduated from Auburn University in Alabama with a degree in music education. She has studied with Anthony Gigliotti, former principal clarinetist with the Philadelphia...read more
" Hi! My name is Leslie Burnick and I’m speaking on behalf of Expertvillage.com. Today I am going to talk about how the alto saxophone is actually a transposing instrument. The instrument is actually built in the key of E flat, and what this means is when you play with the band and you are tuning up to a B flat contour, which is very typical, the alto saxophone actually needs to play the note G. When they go to play the B flat contoured scale, you’ll play a G major scale. The saxophone actually comes in several different sizes, the smaller saxophone is the soprano saxophone and that is almost in the shape of a clarinet and that’s in the key of D flat. Then moving to a larger instrument, there is a tenor saxophone, which is also in the key of D flat. Then we go to a berry sax, which is in the key of E flat and then there is also a bass sax, which is very, very large and the chances of you ever playing one or certainly even seeing one are rather slim. They are pretty rare may be because they are very, very expensive."
eHow Article: How to Transpose Notes on an Alto Sax
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Comments
tristantattoos said
on 8/2/2008 Just to clarify things for beginners... there are couple of transription errors here... first, the "B flat contoured scale" is actually the B FLAT CONCERT SCALE. The tenor saxophone stands in the key of B flat... NOT the key of D flat! This error in transcription is HUGE and will put the would-be student in a COMPLETELY different key... talk about discouraging!
tristantattoos said
on 8/2/2008 Oops... the "berry" sax should have been transcribed as the "bari sax"... an abbreviation for "baritone sax" (which stands in the key of E flat, like the alto sax). The soprano saxophone stands in the key of B flat (NOT D flat!!!).