Instrumentation and Transposition AP Music Theory Mr. Silvagni

Instrumentation Instrumentation refers to which instruments are used in a piece of music It also can refer to categorization of instruments Musical range: not only how high/low they can play, but where they’re usually played in a group setting Timbre: what kind of sound it makes

Instrumentation: Musical Range Soprano instruments Flute, recorder, violin, trumpet Alto instruments Alto saxophone, oboe, alto flute, viola, French horn Tenor instruments Trombone, clarinet, tenor saxophone Baritone instruments Bassoon, English horn, baritone saxophone, baritone horn, bass clarinet, cello Bass instruments Contrabassoon, bass saxophone, double bass, tuba

Instrumentation: Timbre Strings Violin, viola, cello, bass Woodwinds Flute, recorder, alto saxophone, oboe, alto flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone, bassoon, English horn, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, bass saxophone Brass Trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone horn, tuba Percussion Snare drum, bass drum, timpani, bells, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, chimes

Other instrumentation terms Register – division of the range of an instrument or singing voice Tessitura – general range of a composition (usually vocal) or of a particular voice of a composition

Transposition Transposition – to sound a pitch different from the one written or to rewrite music from one key to another Not all instruments sound the pitch they read…those that do are said to be instruments in C or concert pitch The other common pitches for instruments to be in are Bb, F, and Eb (although others do exist)

Transposition Concert Pitch instruments (C instruments) When C is played, C is heard All strings, percussion, and keyboard instruments Flute, recorder, oboe, bassoon C Trumpet (orchestral trumpet), trombone, baritone horn, tuba

Transposition Bb Instruments – sound a major 2nd below the written pitch When C is played, Bb is heard Bass clarinet, Bb clarinet, Bb trumpet, flugelhorn, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone

Transposition Eb Instruments – sound a major 6th below the written pitch When C is played, Eb is heard Alto clarinet, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, Eb clarinet

Transposition F Instruments – sound a perfect 5th below the written pitch When C is played, F is heard English Horn and French Horn Octave displacements Bells (15va) Piccolo, Eb clarinet, Xylophone (8va) Bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, double bass (8vb)

Transposition If you are looking at the transposed part and you need to identify the concert pitch, then go down the appropriate interval to find concert pitch. If you are looking at concert pitch, then go up the appropriate interval to correctly transpose.