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TranspositionbyChangingClef

byDerekRemes

Transpositionisavaluableskillinmanysituations:avocalistneedstheir

accompanimentplayeddownastep;anorganistwantstotransposethelastverseof
ahymnupastep;acomposerwantstoreadanorchestralscorewithtransposing
instruments.Alloftheseproblemscanbesolvedbychangingtheclefandkey
signatureofthemusiconthepagesothatitcanbereadinadifferentkey.

Thefollowingessaywillgivesomeguidelinesforlearningtotransposeusing

clefs,aswellassomegeneralsuggestionsforlearningtoreadnewclefs.Mythanks
toDr.MarkShapiro,whotaughtscorereading,andDr.TeddyNiedermaier,who
taughtmusicianshipattheEuropeanAmericanMusicalAllianceinParis,France.
Muchofthismaterialisbasedontheirclasses.

Part1:LearningtheSevenClefs

Learningtoreadthevariousclefsisusefulinitself,withouttryingto

transpose,sincemanyinstrumentsarecommonlywritteninthem.Forinstance,
violaiswritteninaltoclef;cello,trombone,bassoon,anddoublebassusetenorclef
intheupperpartoftheirrange;andoldervocalscoresoftenuseavarietyofCclefs.
Herearethesevenclefsindescendingorder,withmiddleCshownasawholenote:

InEnglish,clefsareidentifiedbythevocalpartsthatoriginallyusedthem,

(sopranoclef,tenorclef,etc.).TheycanalsobedescribedbytheumbrellatermsofG
clef,Cclefs,orFclefs,becausetheclefitselfcentersaroundthepositionofthat
particularnote,shownhereinparenthesis.

InFrench,clefsareidentifiedbytheseumbrellatermsandthelinetheyrefer

to,exceptinsolfge.Trebleclefistherefore"laclefdesoldeuxiemeligne,"or"the
clefofGsecondline."TheadvantageoftheFrenchsystemisintheCclefs,where
theyarelabeled"clefofCfirstline,""clefofCsecondline,"andsoon,ratherthan
beingnamedbasedonarbitraryvoiceparts,asinEnglish.

Hereareafewtipsthatmaymakelearningnewclefseasier.

1. UtilizeReferencePoints:Ratherthantryingtomemorizeeverylineandspace
onthestaff,usereferencepointstomeasureintervalsquickly.
a. OtherPitchesasReferencePoints

Allintervalsofa3rd,5th,and7tharealwaysoneithertwolinesortwo
spaces,regardlessoftheclef.Ofcoursethisistrueofsimultaneous
pitchesorconsecutivepitches.

Similarly,allintervalsofa2nd,4th,6th,oroctavearealwaysonalineanda
space.

b.ImaginaryReferencePoints

MiddleCisagoodchoicehere.Iliketoadda5thandanoctaveaswell,but
youshouldusewhateverworksbestforyou.

Anotheroptionforreferencepointsistousethecenterlineofeachclef
withtheoctaveaboveandtheoctavebelow,sincethesethreenoteswill
alwaysbethesamepitchforthatparticularclef.

2. Imaginingthe"BigClef":
Ausefulmentaltrickformeisto
imaginethatmiddleCisthexaxisofa
mathematicalgraph,withledgerlines
extendinginfinitelyaboveandbelow.

Thegrandstaffapproximates
thisideaalready.

Wecanseewhythegrandstaffusedatrebleandbassclef.Thetrebleclef

showsthegreatestnumberoflinesabovemiddleC,andthebassclefshowsthe
greatestnumberbelowit.Thisminimizestheneedforledgerlines.

ThewayIimagineit,middleCisalwaysstationaryandtheclefshowsjusta

fewofthelinesthatsurrounditonlya5linecrosssectionofthe"BigClef."Butthe
imaginaryledgerlinesextendinfinitelyaboveandbelow,showninthenextfigure
asdottedlines.Thisway,theclefcanchange,butthenoteswillremainfixedrelative
tothecentralmiddleCaxis(oranyotherreferencepitchthatyoumaychoose).

ThispictureshowshowIliketoimaginethevariousclefs,andisthemost

usefultoolformewhentryingtoswitchquicklybetweenclefs.Itworksespecially
wellifyouusemiddleCasanimaginaryreferencepoint.

3. TakeanActiveRole:

Ibelievethemoreactiveweareinourpracticing,themorewewillretain.

Ideally,thismeansweshouldpracticeclefreadingwhileplayingourinstruments.
Conceptualizingthenewclefwhencombinedwithphysicalmotionswillfacilitate
fasterprogressthanifyouaretakingamorepassiverole.Ifyouareavocalistor
don'thaveyourinstrumentathand,singaloudinsolfgeratherthansimplylooking
atthenotes.

4. ResourcesforPractice:

Inthepast,Ihavepurchasedtwomanualsonclefreadingandfoundthat

theywerenotveryuseful.Ibelievethereasonisthattheyjusthadrandomseriesof
pitches.Therewasnomusicalcontext.Whenreadingmusic,onecaninferalot
aboutwherethemusicmightgonext,especiallyformusicinthecommonpractice
style.Iprogressedfasterwhenreadingactualmusicthanjustexercises.

Therefore,Iwouldrecommendthatyouusetheresourcesatyourdisposal

already,andsimplychangetheclefandkeysignaturementally.Startwithmusic
thathasasinglelineonastaff(violin,flute,etc.)andmoveontosimplehomophonic
music,suchasinahymnal.AgoodbeginningresourceisMusicforSightSingingby
RobertW.OttmanandNancyRogers,sincemanyundergraduatesarerequiredto
buythisanyway.Ifyoudon'talreadyhaveit,don'tbothergettingthemostrecent
edition,sinceit'squiteexpensive.

Orchestralscoresareinvaluableasaresourcetopracticechanging

transposedmusicbacktoconcertpitch.Thescorewillsayonthefirstpagewhether
itisatransposedorconcertscore.Youwillwanttomakesureitisatransposed
score.(Some20thcenturyRussianscoresandmanybandscoresareconcertscores.)
Inthenextsectionwewillinvestigatewhyorchestralscoresaresouseful.


Part2:ReadingTransposedMusic

Transpositionrequiresthreesteps:
1. Changetheclef.
2. Addorsubtractaccidentalsfromtheoriginalkeysignature.
3. Correctsome,notall,ofaccidentalsintheoriginalmusicaftertheclefhas
beenchanged.

Isuggestthatyoureadthroughthefollowingthreesteps(pages57)and

immediatelycontinuetothemusicalexamples.Thethreestepswillbegreatly
clarifiedbyshowingtheirapplicationtoactualmusic.

1. ChangingtheClef:

Itisnotacoincidencethattherearesevenclefsandsevennotesinthe

diatonicscale.Eachclefisperfectlysuitedtotransposemusictoaparticularkey.
(Actuallytherearemorethansevenclefs,butthisisthereasononlysevenare
commonlyused.)

Herearethekeysthatareassociatedwitheachclefiftheoriginalmusicis

trebleclef.NoticethatthekeysbeginontheleftwithCMajorandproceeddownin
3rds.ThismakessensebecauseeachclefmovesmiddleCupbyoneline.

Iprefertothinkoftheclefsasarrangedinacircleratherthanaline(likethe

circleoffifths,butwithclefs),becausethepatternof3rdscancontinuebacktothe
beginning.Wewillseewhythisisausefulidealater.

Forexample,iftheoriginalmusicisforBbtrumpet,changethetrebleclefto

tenorclef(andreaduponeoctave).IftheoriginalmusicisforFhorn,changethe
treblecleftomezzosopranoclef.Iftheoriginalmusicisforaltoflute,changethe
treblecleftobaritoneclef(andreaduponeoctave).

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2. Addorsubtractaccidentalsfromtheoriginalkeysignature.

Hereisatableshowingthenumberofsharpsorflatsthatmustbeaddedto

thekeysignaturewhentransposing.Itisthesamenumberofaccidentalsasthekey
signatureofthetransposinginstrument.Noticethatthetotalnumberofaccidentals
forthetwokeysofanyclefalwaysaddsuptoseven.

Itmaybehelpfultothinkofthekeysignatureastheresultofturninga"key

signaturedial"turningthedialclockwiseaddssharps(orsubtractsflats)and
counterclockwiseaddsflats(orsubtractssharps),similartothecircleoffifths.

Forexample,iftheoriginalkeyisDMajor(2sharps)andmusicisforFHorn,

youwilladd1flattothekeysignature.Thatis,youwillturnthedialone"click"to
theleft,leaving1sharp,andthereforeakeyofGMajor.

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3. Correctsome,notall,oftheaccidentalsintheoriginalmusicafterthe
clefhasbeenchanged.

Thisisthemostdifficultsteptoconceptualize.Therefore,Iliketobreakit

intotwoparts.

a. First,determinewhichpitchesintheoriginalmusicwillbeaffected.

Ifyouadded3sharpsinthepreviousstep(perhapsforclarinetinA),the

affectedpitcheswillbeF,C,G.Ifyouadded3flatsinthepreviousstep(perhapsfor
Ebhorn),theaffectedpitcheswillbeB,E,andA.

Asarule:alwaysbeginoneitherForBFifyouareaddingsharps,andBif

youareaddingflatsandfollowthecircleoffifthstoincludeasmanypitchesasthe
accidentalsyouaddedinthepreviousstep.Thisstepreferstothepitchesafterthe
clefhasbeenchanged.

b. Then,usethefollowingboxtoshiftaccidentalsinfrontofthepitchesinthe
previousstepeitheroneboxtotherightoroneboxtotheleft:

Asarule:ifyouaddedsharpstothekeysignatureinstep2,shiftaccidentals

totheright.Ifyouaddedflatsinstep2,shiftaccidentalstotheleft.

Forexample,ifyouaretransposinganBbtrumpet,allaccidentalsinfrontof

BandEwillmovetotheleft:sharpsbecomenaturals,andnaturalsbecomeflats,etc.

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Let'sapplythethreestepstosomeactualmusictoseehowitworks.

1. ChangetheclefSincethemusicisforFHornandiswrittenintrebleclef,
wewillchangethetreblecleftomezzosopranoclef.
2. AddorsubtractaccidentalsfromtheoriginalkeysignatureThereare
noaccidentalsintheoriginalkeysignature,sowhenweadd1flat(turning
thedialcounterclockwise)theresultingkeyisFMajor.
3. Correctsome,notall,oftheaccidentalsintheoriginalmusicafterthe
clefhasbeenchangedFMajorhas1flat,sowechangeaccidentalsinfront
ofB(aftertheclefhasbeenchanged)oneboxtotheleft.Therefore,the
sharpsinthisexamplebecomenaturals.

Hereiswhatweimaginewhenwereadthepassageafterapplyingthethreesteps:

Thisisagoodexampleforanotherreason.Oftenthehornpartsinorchestral

musicwillbewrittenwithoutakeysignature,astheyareinBolero.Sincethepiece
isinCMajor,thehornpartshouldhavebeenwritteninGMajor.Don'tbefooledinto
thinkingitisaconcertscorethepartisstilltransposed.Notice,however,thatit
wouldn'tmattereitherway.Ifthehornparthad1sharpinthekeysignature,it
wouldn'trequireanyaccidentals.Adding1flattothekeysignaturewouldmakethe
partinC,andtheresultwouldsoundthesameasitwouldintheaboveexample.

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Let'stryanotherexample.

1. ChangetheclefSincetheoriginalmusicisforBbtrumpetandiswrittenin
trebleclef,wewillchoosetenorclef.
2. AddorsubtractaccidentalsfromtheoriginalkeysignatureThereare
noaccidentalsintheoriginalkeysignature,sowejustadd2flatsbecausewe
aretransposingaBbtrumpetpart.
3. Correctsome,notall,oftheaccidentalsintheoriginalmusicafterthe
clefhasbeenchangedSinceweadded2flatsinthepreviousstep,our
affectedpitcheswillbeBandE.Accidentalsinfrontofthesepitches(after
theclefhasbeenchanged)willbemovedoneboxtothelefttherefore,
sharpsbecomenaturals,naturalsbecomeflats,etc.butonlythoseaccidentals
infrontofBandE.

Hereiswhatthepassagelookslikeafterapplyingthethreesteps:

Noticethatthereisaproblemwiththisexampleitisanoctavetoolow.This

isonedrawbackofusingtheclefsystemtotranspose.Sometimestheresulting
passagewillbeanoctavetoohighoranoctavetoolow.However,thisproblemcan
besolvedeasilywithpracticeandknowledgeoftheintervalsoftranspositionofthe
variousinstruments.Inthiscase,youjusthavetoknowthataBbtrumpet
transposesdownamajor2nd.IrecommendpurchasingSamuelAdler'sTheStudyof
Orchestration,whichisnowinitsthirdedition,tolearnmore.

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Let'stryamoredifficultexample.

1. ChangetheclefTheoriginalmusicisforAClarinetandiswrittenintreble
clef,sowechangethetreblecleftosopranoclef.
2. AddorsubtractaccidentalsfromtheoriginalkeysignatureSoprano
clefrequiresustoadd3sharps,weimagineturningourdial3clickstothe
right.Sincewestartedwith1flat,wehaveatotalof2sharpsleftover.
3. Correctsome,notall,oftheaccidentalsintheoriginalmusicafterthe
clefhasbeenchangedWeadded3sharpsinthepreviousstep,sothe
affectedaccidentalsareF,CandG.Accidentalsinfrontofthethesepitches
willbeshiftedoneboxtotheright.

Hereiswhatweimagineafterapplyingthethreesteps:

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Hereisonelastexamplefromorchestralmusic:

1. ChangetheclefAltofluteaGinstrument(transposingdownaperfect4th,
notupaperfect5th)andthispassageisintrebleclef,sowechangetheclefto
baritone.
2. AddorsubtractaccidentalsfromtheoriginalkeysignatureAltoflutein
Grequirestheadditionof1sharptothekeysignature,orturningthedial
clockwise1click.
3. Correctsome,notall,oftheaccidentalsintheoriginalmusicafterthe
clefhasbeenchangedSince1sharpwasadded,accidentalsinfrontofF
willbeshiftedrightonebox.

Hereisthesamepartafterapplyingthethreesteps:

AlloftheF'shavetheirsharpsturnedtonaturals.Again,thisexampleshows

theproblemofoctavedisplacement.Thepartmustbetransposedupanoctaveafter
itisputinbaritoneclefinordertosoundinthecorrectregister.

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PartIII:TransposingMusicfromConcertPitch

Thisprocessissimilartoprevioussectioninthatitinvolvesthesamethree

steps.Thedifferenceisthatthemusicyouarereadingisalreadyinconcertpitch
thatis,itisnotforatransposedinstrumentbutyouwanttoplayitinadifferent
keythanitiswritten.Thisproblemwouldarisewhenavocalistneedsan
accompanimentplayedinadifferentkey,oranorganistmusttransposeahymn.

Insomecases,transpositionbyhalfstepcanbedoneeasilybychangingthe

keysignature.Forinstance,ifapieceofmusicisinEMajor,changethekey
signaturetoEflatMajortotransposedownahalfstep.

Hereisthesamesetofclefsasbefore,butarrangedinascendingorderofthe

intervalsyouwillmodulatebyiftheoriginalmusicisintrebleclef.Ileftthekeyareas
therejustforreference.Ofcoursetheydonotindicatethatyouwillalways
modulatetothatkey.

Forinstance,ifyouarereadingapieceofmusicthatisinAMajor,intreble

clef,andyouwanttotransposeittoFMajor,firstidentifytheintervalbetweenthe
twotonicpitches.Inthiscaseitwouldbeaminor6thsinceweareonlydealingwith
ascendingintervals.Sopranoclefallowsmodulationupa6th,anditwillbeaminor
6thifyouaddthecorrectnumberofaccidentalsinthiscase,youwouldmovethe
accidentaldial4clickstotheleft,leavingatotalof1flat,orFMajor.

Ifyouaccidentallyadded3sharpsinsteadof4flats,thekeysignaturewould

have6sharpstotalandyouwouldbeinF#MajorinsteadofFMajor.

Analternatewayofthinkingaboutthisistothinkofwhichtransposing

instrumentwouldplaythepitchFwhenevertheplayerreadthepitchAaclarinet
inAwould.Thenfindthekeyofthattransposinginstrumentinthetableabove,
applytheclef,andaddtheassociatedaccidentalstothesignature.

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Let'stryapplyingthisprincipletoagrandstaff,sincemanykeyboardplayers

arerequiredtotransposeonsight.

Theimmediateproblemwefaceisthatthetableofclefsaboveisonlyvalidif

theoriginalmusicisintrebleclef.Weneedanothertableiftheoriginalmusicisin
bassclef:

Nowwearereadytotransposethefollowinghymn,Nicea,fromDMajortoEMajor.

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Weneedtoapplythethreestepstoeachofthestavesseparately.Firstwe

identifytheintervalbywhichthetwotonicpitchesarerelatedamajor2nd.The
clefthatallowstranspositionupamajor2ndfromtrebleclefisaltoclef.Altoclef
requirestheadditionof2sharpstothekeysignature,andashiftrightall
accidentalsinfrontofFandC.

Forthebassclef,transpositionupamajor2ndisaccomplishedbychangingto

mezzosopranoclef.Thenexttwostepsarethesameasfortrebleclefadd2sharps
tothekeysignatureandshiftrightallaccidentalsinfrontofFandC.

Hereiswhatweimaginewhenwechangetheclefandkeysignature:

Bothstavesrequireonoctavetransposition.Thetopstaffneedstobean

octavehigher,andthebottomstaffanoctavelower.Withenoughpracticethiscan
bedoneeasily.Therearenoaccidentalsthatarechangedinthetransposition.

ThereasonIliketoimaginethevariousclefsarrangedinacircleratherthan

alineisbecauseatransposedgrandstaffwillalwayshavetwoadjacentclefsifwe
areusingthefigureonpage1.Forme,thisiseasiertovisualizeifIthinkofacircle.

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Conclusion

Learningtotransposebychangingtheclefandkeysignatureisaprocessthat

takesmanyyearstomaster.Tome,theappealoftheclefsystemisthatthereisno
guessworkinvolved.Allaspectsofthetranspositionareaccountedforbyfollowing
thethreestepsandaddingtherequiredoctaveadjustments.

Pleasecontactmewithanycommentsorsuggestionsyoumayhaveabout

thematerial.Therearemoreessaysaboutvariousmusictheorytopicsavailableon
mywebsite,shownbelow.Iappreciateyourfeedback,bothpositiveand
constructive.Ihopeyouhavefoundthisintroductiontobeuseful,andthatthey
skillsyougainwillopennewavenuesforgrowthinwhateveryourfieldmaybe.
Goodlucktransposing!

DerekRemes
Organist,Pianist,Composer
derekremes@gmail.com
www.derekremes.com