Transposition is required!
All Horn Players Must Learn to Transpose!
Here's why:
- You're selected for the all state orchestra. You have never played in an
orchestra before (only in bands). At the first rehearsal you discover that the
"New World Symphony" is written for horns in E and C. You have two days to
learn it. The nationally recognized conductor is on the podium waiting to
begin rehearsal.
- You are hired to play in a church orchestra. They mail you the music a
week in advance and you have all of the parts worked out when you go to the
(only) rehearsal. When you get to rehearsal, you find additional music on your
stand. There are copies from the hymnal to be played and they are all in
concert pitch.
- You have been hired to play in the orchestra for a well known entertainer
in a big sports arena.
- You're on stage just before the show.
- The star is just off stage.
- The sound man is putting a mike right behind your bell.
- Thousands of people are filing into the arena.
- The director hands you a third trumpet part and asks you to play it. You
will sight read the part in Bb on the show.
Never let'em see you sweat!
All Horn Players Must Learn to Transpose!
There are various ways to transpose. With experience, you will probably
develop ways that work well for you.
First you must know intervals an
triad spellings. Everything you need to know is contained in the triad
spellings. Memorize them.
Next you must practice transposing. You'll get better as you do it more.
I prefer transposing the key signature and then a general interval. Like
this:
Horn in D is down a minor third (see the
transposition chart).
- Mentally change the key to A (up a fifth from D). That's three sharps.
- Read all of the music down a third. Notes on lines go to the next lower
line. Notes on spaces go to the next lower space.
- The key change you made will take care of the "minor" part of the
transposition. You just need to think of a third without concern for major
or minor.
If the music has a printed key signature (much of the music to be transposed
doesn't), it's a little more complex. Let's say the horn in D part has a key
signature of Eb. You will need to transpose the key down a minor third, in this
case to C. Then transpose up a fifth to get to the correct key, G in this
example. Once you have the correct key, you just transpose the general interval.
It sounds more complicated than it is. Just take time to think it through step
by step.
The weakness of this system is accidentals. They have to be transposed as an
exact rather than general interval. In most music this is unimportant but in
highly chromatic music (Richard Strauss for example) it becomes more
significant.
Transposition into E is usually easier if you just read it down a half step.
This transposition chart
gives exact details of each key.
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