 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Shreety
Date: 2023-09-26 05:55
Hi I need help on figuring out how to transpose BBb contrabass clarinet to tuba i have recently switched from EEb contra alto and I know how to transpose that but need help transposing BBb.
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-26 07:22
I assume you mean transpose tuba to clarinet, not the other way around. It's just one whole step up. I also assume you didn't transpose contra alto by reading bass clef as if it were treble and adding 3 sharps.
If you can't actually read bass clef, then it's more complicated. In that case, pretending you're reading treble clef, add 2 sharps and move up a space and a line (from a space), or a line and a space (from a line). This will be difficult to do on sight. It would be easier to learn bass clef and the whole step transposition. This is what I do to read tuba parts on Bb bass sax. For best results, just write out the transposed parts.
If you meant what you said, transpose contrabass to tuba, then lower a whole step.
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Author: Shreety
Date: 2023-09-28 03:57
can you go more in depth explain how to transpose tuba music to BBb because ur actually alot more help than online and I need to learn by next week
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Author: moma4faith
Date: 2023-09-28 04:37
Tuba is pitched in C. Your contra is pitched in Bb, so you are one step away from tuba. For me, I would get some staff paper and rewrite the part in treble clef. First, figure out the bass clef notes for tuba. Move them all two half steps up, then write that note on the staff paper for your contra part.
If the tuba not is Eb, you would go up one half step to E natural, then another half step to F. Write the F on your part. Everything the tuba is playing has to be moved up two half steps and then written in treble clef. If the tuba is playing a Bb, you would play a C on your contra. Also, you will need to change the key. If the tuba is playing in Eb (three flats), you need to play in the key of F (one flat).
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-28 06:20
Doesnât matter. All tuba music is written in concert pitch (C), but the fingerings are different for BBb and C tubas, something you donât need to worry about.
Can you read bass clef?
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Author: ebonite
Date: 2023-09-28 12:10
You also have to put it in the correct octave. If the tuba note is Eb one ledger line below the bass staff, then the BBb contra clarinet note will be first space F on the treble staff.
Tuba parts are written at the sounding pitch, while BBb contra-clarinet parts are written 2 octaves above the sounding pitch
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-28 16:02
Then youâll have to do what I said above in the paragraph that starts, âIf you canât actually read bass clefâŚ.â, or learn how to read bass clef.
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Author: davyd
Date: 2023-09-28 16:23
"All tuba music is written in concert pitch" - in US publications, that's true. But some European publishers provide tuba parts in treble and/or bass clefs, in Bb and/or Eb transpositions. In the case of the US publishing company Alfred, these are examples of what they call "world parts". Perhaps that's what Shreety has?
Shreety: have you asked your band director for help? They should have an understanding of transpositions. That might be more productive than trying to get us to understand what you're up against.
What you might consider doing, if you haven't tried it already: either scan, or key in, your part into software, and let the software do the thinking. You don't have to be able to read bass clef; you just have to key in the part accurately, or verify that it was scanned properly.
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Author: Shreety
Date: 2023-09-28 16:50
so if the tuba part was in treble clef i wouldnât have to transpose it any further?
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Author: ebonite
Date: 2023-09-28 17:06
If it's BBb tuba in treble clef then you could just read it directly.
If it's EEb tuba in treble clef, then transpose it up a 4th. For example, if it shows middle C (one ledger line below treble staff), then it would be first space F in the transposed part for BBb contrabass clarinet. Also, add one flat or delete one sharp from the key signature.
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-09-28 18:12
I agree with ebonite if youâre talking about the original part. If youâre talking about simply transposing a bass clef tuba part to treble, then youâd still have to raise a whole step.
I also agree that you need some in person assistance since youâre having a lot of difficulty grasping this subject. Surely your director or bandmates could assist.
Post Edited (2023-09-30 23:39)
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Author: donald
Date: 2023-09-29 11:45
I suppose you COULD attach a pdf of the tuba part so we can see- also useful to know the key of the piece in either the clarinet or flute parts so we can double check if the Tuba part is concert pitch ("in C").
Are you using a music program like Sibelius for doing the part? If so, there is a way you could just enter the Tuba part then cut and paste it to a contra part and let Sib do the transposing (you then have to check the octaves etc)
(that's NOT helpful if you're planning on doing it by hand)
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