Trying to write for a Eb sax.

[OhulahanBass]

Yo, I'm trying to write in Eb for a sax in my band. I think in C. Would a C on my Bass be an A for alto sax? Is it 1 1/2 steps up or down from my bass note?

[UncleBalsamic]

An Eb (concert Eb) on your bass would be the Sax's C. It is a major sixth below the written note. I think.

[Nagrom]

Transpose it into C#. The horns will love you for it.

[JohnnyPustular]

Go on-line and find a music notation program such as Finale Notepad. Write in concert C and the software will transpose it for any instrument. I've done this ever since we added horns to my band and it works great.

[OhulahanBass]

Thanks guys for confirming the conversion for me.

Johnny, I'm confused, if I buy Finale Notepad can I write save and print?

[EADG mx]

Originally Posted by OhulahanBass

Yo, I'm trying to write in Eb for a sax in my band. I think in C. Would a C on my Bass be an A for alto sax? Is it 1 1/2 steps up or down from my bass note?

1 1/2 steps down (a minor 3rd), or 4 1/2 steps (a major sixth) up.

Try both and see which sounds better and is easier to read.

[seanm]

How good is your sax player? A lot of good ones can transpose on the fly, especially if you give them a good key. Hint: E is a bad key.

And it goes without saying, I sucked at transposing on the fly

[PJSShearer]

E flat instruments - they blow their "C" you hear an actual Eb.
B flat instruments - they blow their "C" you hear an actual Bb.
F instruments .... etc.

When I arranged stuff for my School Brass band, I wrote out a little table of all 12 notes for the Eb and Bb just to be safe - I once got the relationship between the Bb and Eb instrumnets the wrong way around - huge embarrasment and I didn't get it wrong twice!!

[EADG mx]

Originally Posted by seanm

How good is your sax player? A lot of good ones can transpose on the fly, especially if you give them a good key. Hint: E is a bad key.

And it goes without saying, I sucked at transposing on the fly

How much of that ability is out of necessity of reading sheets in concert?

Transposing is a good skill to have but if you're writing for an Eb instrument, write it accordingly. You wouldn't like it if someone handed you charts in the treble or tenor clef and said "Well, I was assuming you could just transpose."

[Tropic]

Originally Posted by EADG mx

How much of that ability is out of necessity of reading sheets in concert?

Transposing is a good skill to have but if you're writing for an Eb instrument, write it accordingly. You wouldn't like it if someone handed you charts in the treble or tenor clef and said "Well, I was assuming you could just transpose."

Well for Eb instruments you could if you had no other option, write in Bass Clef and have them add three sharps to the key signature and read it that way.

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by PJSShearer

E flat instruments - they blow their "C" you hear an actual Eb.
B flat instruments - they blow their "C" you hear an actual Bb.
F instruments .... etc.

Amen, amen and .... amen. This topic crops up on TB about once a month. Anyone who has the above information burned in their minds will not mess up on orchestral transposition. It's weird, but not that complicated.

[JohnnyPustular]

Originally Posted by OhulahanBass

Thanks guys for confirming the conversion for me.

Johnny, I'm confused, if I buy Finale Notepad can I write save and print?

Yep. There is a free trial that will give you a good idea of what it can do.