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How to Transpose a Trumpet to Play With a B Flat Piece

The trumpet is one of the oldest brass instruments. Its popularity remains high, as the instrument is widely used in several genres of music. Marching bands almost always have a trumpet section, as do big bands. Some of the most famous jazz personalities were trumpet players. The trumpet is tuned to the key of B flat, making it necessary to transpose all music not written in B flat to be played in the same key as others playing in the band.

Things You'll Need

  • Transposing chart
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Instructions

    • 1

      Start with sheet music written in the key of "C." The key of "C" is considered concert pitch and is most easily transposed to any other key.

    • 2

      Write out musical alphabet for both keys. Write out the key of "C" on top and "B flat" directly below it. The notes in the key of "C" are "C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C," and the notes in B flat are "Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G,A, Bb." Write out the B flat scale directly beneath the notes of the "C" scale.

    • 3

      Transpose notes. Using the transposition chart you made in Step 2, convert each note from the "C" scale to the "B flat" scale. For each note in the "C" scale, the corresponding note in "B flat" will be the note directly underneath it on the transposition chart. For example, "C" becomes "Bb," while "G" becomes "F."

    • 4

      Use the transposition chart to transpose the rest of the score. Using the same method used in Step 3, transpose the rest of the score into the key of B flat.

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