support Tutorials CDs PPT mouthpieces

Alto to Tenor.

What

Well-Known Member
Messages
314
Locality
Pittsburgh P.A.
While I am not at the point were I can play a full song yet I do have songs that I want to play some day. There are a few select pieces that I can't find written for tenor, only for alto, or the tenor version is in some obscure book that's sold on a website that I don't trust. Is there a standard transposition from alto to tenor, or a guide book I should hunt down for doing things like this in the futrure if I have to?
 
The saxophone family are transposing instruments. Being able to transpose will become part of your playing.

A piece in concert Bb plays in C on tenor and in G on alto.

A piece in concert C plays in D on tenor and A on alto

Clarinet players already have the finger patterns for both instruments. Alto in the lower register tenor/sop in the upper.



Buy your music in concert pitch and learn to read a tone up for tenor. Surprising how quick you can pick it up with a little practice. A bit harder on alto. :-( It's easier on alto to learn the concert pitch of the fingerings.


Transposing music is a good mental execise that keeps your musical head working.

You can understand the place the melody C has in some peoples heart
 
Thanks, that link had exactly what I needed. It might be a while till I can play anything I transpose, but now I can get in the practice of doing it. :thumb:
 
Another easy way to work out what to transpose too, is using the cycle of 4th/5th. i.e. to change alto piece to tenor, move one key clockwise. To concert pitch move 3 keys clockwise. Included image of cycle.

Secondly if you enter the piece into a music score program, I use musecsore, enter chords as chords. In musescore ctrl-k or shift-k to list chords for you to select. Then when you use the transpose feature, the chords are transposed too.
 

Attachments

  • cycle of 4ths 5ths.jpg
    cycle of 4ths 5ths.jpg
    90.5 KB · Views: 76

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom