 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2026-10-11 00:00
Does an easy-to-use computer program exist that will allow me to scan Eb alto sax parts and transpose to Bb so I can play the music on my Bb clarinet? My sax playing is much too remedial to play in the swing band I am in, and my Eb is a register too high. My on-the-fly skills at playing an octave lower are also rather remedial. It would be SO much easier if I could just play the music without having to transpose in any way shape or form. THANKS IN ADVANCE!
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Author: kurth83
Date: 2026-10-11 01:17
I use soundslice.com
it is an online music editor (I replaced printmusic with it).
It uses an AI scanning tool to read music, snap a pic with your phone, upload it to the scanner, and boom, the whole thing is there. Transposing is an easy to use feature. It can export as PDF and you print locally, done. :-)
I spent a little time to learn to use it because I had a quintet I wanted to transpose all the parts down a step.
Once learned, it is an easy tool to use, I had to google/look up how to get the transpose function to work though, it is buried pretty far down in the menus.
The AI reader is pretty good, not perfect though if you have a lot of grace notes and trills. The best part is after the scan it asks you everything it wasn't sure about so you can correct it right then. It's pretty slick like that.
Aging classical trumpet player learning clarinet as a second.
Post Edited (2026-10-11 04:08)
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Author: Bog_Roll
Date: 2026-10-13 14:22
The easiest solution would be to play the alto sax parts on alto clarinet -- no transposition, and no mental octave gymnastics either.
Otherwise, I'd put in a vote for pencil and paper. By the time you stuff around with software, you could just as easily have written it out by hand, down a fifth, with one less sharp, or one more flat.
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2026-10-15 19:47
That's what I am going to do...buy an alto! THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION.
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Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2026-10-15 21:16
Roxann,
Be advised that acquiring, setting up and learning to play an alto clarinet is not for the faint of heart. I did it for the same reason you are doing it, and went through more than a half dozen mouthpieces and as many different types of reeds before finding something that worked to my satisfaction. Still, I find it trickier to play than a bass clarinet, and my alto is a good one. Playing in a swing band there is the issue of a setup that will blend adequately with a sax section. It takes some experimentation to get an alto clarinet to pass as an alto sax. It can be done (although a local pro turned up his nose at the idea).
If your bandmates are amenable and depending on what type of charts you're playing off of, you could always try the Glenn Miller trick and have the Bb clarinet and tenor sax play the melody line with the alto saxes as harmony. Or pick up a bass clarinet rather than an alto and play the tenor line on bass clarinet. In general I have found much more use for my bass clarinet than for my alto.
Just transposing the parts would be a lot simpler and quicker than any of the above.
If you are still young (less than 60 - alot younger than me. LOL!), I would encourage you to keep working on learning the saxophone if you want to keep playing in swing and jazz bands.
I have deeply regretted that I did not learn sax when I had the chance and have been trying ever since to adapt in ways like you are. The saxophone is the standard for all types of jazz except Trad Jazz/Dixieland. It will give you more options.
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