← All tools

Transposing Instrument Calculator

Turn a written note into concert pitch, or find the written note a transposing instrument needs in order to sound a given concert pitch.

the part the player reads
you enter the note printed in the part
as written in the part
scientific pitch, C4 = middle C
how accidentals are written

Concert pitch is what sounds; written pitch is what the player sees. A Bb instrument's written C sounds the Bb a major 2nd below, an Eb alto saxophone's written C sounds the Eb a major 6th below, and an F horn's written C sounds the F a perfect 5th below; octave-transposing instruments such as the piccolo, guitar and double bass move the pitch by whole octaves. Notes use scientific pitch notation, where C4 is middle C and A4 is 440 Hz, and frequencies assume 12-tone equal temperament at A4 = 440 Hz. Treble-clef written pitches are assumed for clarinets, saxophones, the horn and treble-clef euphonium; bass-clef parts for bass clarinet, euphonium, trombone and tuba are not modelled separately. The tool reports the transposition only — it does not rewrite key signatures, clefs, ranges, historical pitch standards, or instrument-specific notation such as horn basso. Everything runs locally in your browser.