- Jan 7, 2002
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So I never really understood what it meant by a Bb Clarinet - only that my son's clarinet didn't register the same notes as what he was supposedly playing. I had him play a note and see what it registered on my guitar tuner... Anyhow, here's what it I found out:
In order to make things run smoothly for composers, performers, piano tuners, and instrument makers, a standard has been developed that assigns a particular pitch to every written note. In other words, to save time and hassle, everybody has already agreed on what a C sounds like. This standard is called concert pitch. Most instruments are C instruments. The music for a C instrument is read and played at concert pitch.
A pianist, a cellist, a trombonist, and a flautist all see a C written in their parts. They may play the C in different octaves, but they will all play a note that the others recognize as a C. This may seem obvious, but a clarinetist who sees a C on the page will play a note that does not sound like a C to the other players. This is because the clarinet is a transposing instrument. The music for transposing instruments is not written or read at concert pitch. The clarinetist, for example, seeing a C on the page, will play a note that sounds like a Bb. The clarinet is therefore called a Bb instrument. A French horn player, seeing a C on his "horn in F" or "F horn" part, will play a note that sounds like an F. Obviously, not just the C but all the notes are different. For a Bb instrument, for example, not just the C sounds a whole step lower, but every note sounds a whole step lower than written. In order to be read correctly by most players, music for transposing instruments must be properly transposed.
http://cnx.org/content/m10672/latest/
In order to make things run smoothly for composers, performers, piano tuners, and instrument makers, a standard has been developed that assigns a particular pitch to every written note. In other words, to save time and hassle, everybody has already agreed on what a C sounds like. This standard is called concert pitch. Most instruments are C instruments. The music for a C instrument is read and played at concert pitch.
A pianist, a cellist, a trombonist, and a flautist all see a C written in their parts. They may play the C in different octaves, but they will all play a note that the others recognize as a C. This may seem obvious, but a clarinetist who sees a C on the page will play a note that does not sound like a C to the other players. This is because the clarinet is a transposing instrument. The music for transposing instruments is not written or read at concert pitch. The clarinetist, for example, seeing a C on the page, will play a note that sounds like a Bb. The clarinet is therefore called a Bb instrument. A French horn player, seeing a C on his "horn in F" or "F horn" part, will play a note that sounds like an F. Obviously, not just the C but all the notes are different. For a Bb instrument, for example, not just the C sounds a whole step lower, but every note sounds a whole step lower than written. In order to be read correctly by most players, music for transposing instruments must be properly transposed.
http://cnx.org/content/m10672/latest/
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