A Guide to Sight Transposition for the Saxophonist

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Lucas______Hopkins

______B.M., University of Minnesota

______M.M., Northwestern University

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of

______Doctor of Musical Arts

______2021

A Guide to Sight Transposition for the Saxophonist

______Thesis title

Lucas______Hopkins Written by

For a ______Doctorate Degree in ______Doctor of Musical Arts

Tom______Myer ______5/19/2021______Main Advisor Signature Date

Donald______McKinney ______5/27/2021______2nd Advisor Signature Date

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Abstract

Lucas______Hopkins Name & Title A Guide to Sight Transposition for the Saxophonist

______Thesis title

Tom______Myer A Directing Professor & Title

Sight transposition is a useful skill for saxophonists to possess for teaching and performance situations. This guide provides practice strategies for working on sight transposition and gives detailed descriptions on how to perform various transpositions that saxophonists may encounter.

A GUIDE TO SIGHT TRANSPOSITION FOR THE SAXOPHONIST PEDAGOGY PROJECT by LUCAS HOPKINS

B.M., University of Minnesota, 2012 M.M., Northwestern University, 2014 S.M., University of Michigan, 2016

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts – Saxophone Performance and Pedagogy College of Music 2021

A Guide to Sight Transposition for the Saxophonist By Lucas Hopkins

Transposition Basics The saxophone is a transposing instrument, meaning that the sounding pitch of a note on the saxophone will sound different than the written or played note. Oftentimes, non-saxophonists will ask why the saxophone needs to be a transposing instrument, or why can’t all instruments be in the key of C? Wouldn’t that make things easier, eliminating the need for transposing parts? Although this would simplify one issue, it would create new problems that the performer would have to deal with. If this were the case, you would have to learn multiple sets of fingerings for the different saxophones. This is the case with recorders, for example. Recorders are all C instruments, even though a family of recorders in various sizes exist. Therefore, fingerings for a soprano recorder are different from that of an alto recorder. Although a similar approach could theoretically be possible with saxophones, this would certainly make playing various saxophone sizes more of a challenge. Given that most saxophones are in Bb or Eb, saxophonists are constantly dealing with transposition. However, in most cases, this simply means they are reading a part that was already transposed for them. Although most saxophonists don’t deal with sight transposition on a regular basis, having the ability to transpose at sight without writing out a new part has many practical benefits in performance and teaching situations. This document will cover various methods for transposing at different intervals and discuss practical ways for going about practicing sight transposition. Most saxophones today are keyed in Bb and Eb, although a lesser-known family of saxophones in C and F exist and are rarely used. Let’s examine what it means for an instrument to be in a certain key. If a piano, flute, or any other C instrument plays a C, then it will in fact sound like a C. However, this is not the case for the saxophone and other transposing instruments. In essence, we can say that an alto or baritone saxophone is in Eb because when these instruments play a C, it sounds as if an Eb is being played. On the other hand, when Bb saxophones such as the soprano and tenor, play a C, it sounds as a Bb. Therefore, to figure out the concert (sounding) pitch for a Bb saxophone, you simply can think one whole step lower. Conversely, think one step higher when determining the played/written pitch from concert pitch. For Eb saxophones, you can think up a minor third or down a major 6th to determine the concert pitch from a played/written pitch. To go the other way, think up a major 6th, or down a minor third to determine the played/written pitch from concert pitch. Additionally, one should be aware of how to transpose to the correct octave. For example, the alto saxophone sounds a major 6th lower than written (A written A4 sounds as a C4), whereas the baritone saxophone sounds an octave plus a major 6th lower than written. The soprano saxophone sounds a major second lower than written, while the tenor saxophone sounds a major ninth lower than written. Saxophone transpositions from the sounding pitch Eb Sopranino: sounds a minor 3rd higher than written Bb Soprano: sounds a major 2nd lower than written Eb Alto: sounds a major 6th lower than written Bb Tenor: sounds a major 9th lower than written Eb Baritone: sounds an octave plus a major 6th (13th) lower than written Bb Bass: sounds an octave plus a major 9th lower than written 3

Practical uses for sight transposition As a saxophonist, there are many performance and teaching situations in which the ability to sight transpose would prove useful. Several practical uses are listed below: • Playing transcriptions of solo repertoire by various instruments. • Playing missing parts in an ensemble. • Reading jazz lead sheets in C. • In doubling situations such as pit orchestras, to cover parts for instruments that you do not play. • Having the ability to play your part in a different key, if requested by a vocalist. • To demonstrate a part for an instrument in another key, in teaching situations. • Improved ability for reading and analyzing scores. • Ease of harmonizing melodies.

Tips for sight transposing There are various ways one can think about transposing, however, there are some basic skills one should possess to have success with sight transposition. Knowing your intervals, scales and scale degrees is extremely important. Without thought, you should be able to automatically name any interval above any given note. Additionally, having the ability to quickly visually recognize intervals, scales, patterns, and arpeggios in music is very important. Besides simply thinking a specific interval above every note of a piece of music while transposing, various strategies can make the task of sight transposing easier and more manageable to get started with. • Start simple! When starting to transpose, start with simple melodies such as out of a beginning method book. Gradually increase the difficulty. • Play melodies that you are familiar with. Even if you are in part relying on your ear to figure out which notes to play, be sure to make connections between the note you are seeing and the fingering you are using. • Play the music as written first, without transposing. This can help you become familiar with the music and its intervals before attempting to transpose. • Think about the new key signature that you will be playing in after transposing. • Think horizontally, not just vertically! If you see a scalar pattern, leap of a 3rd, arpeggio, etc., then just think of doing that from the note you start on. You don’t always have to think about every single note. • If something is above your ability to sight transpose, just practice as you would normally practice a difficult piece of music. The more you practice transposition, the better you will get at it!

Helpful Transpositions for the Saxophonist Methods for dealing with some of the most likely transpositions that a saxophonist may encounter are described below. Remember: no matter what transposition you are doing, think of the new key signature and think horizontally, not just vertically!

Reading C parts on Bb saxophones and reading F parts on Eb saxophones -Read up a major 2nd This transposition is fairly straightforward; simply think up a whole step from the written notes. With a bit of practice, this transposition should come without too much thought.

Reading C parts on Eb saxophones -Read up a major 6th/down a minor 3rd or -Think of your concert pitches

There are two basic ways of performing this transposition. You can think up a major 6th, or down a minor 3rd from the written notes, adjusting the octave as necessary. Alternatively, as an advanced saxophonist, hopefully you know the concert pitches of your instrument from memory and can think of them without thought. Using your knowledge of concert pitches is an effective way for going about this transposition. If you see a C, play a concert C (A on saxophone). Remember to think horizontally, as you don’t necessarily need to think of the transposition for every note you play.

Reading bass clef on Eb saxophones -Read in treble clef and adjust the key signature This is one of the easiest transpositions to do. To read bass clef on an Eb instrument, you essentially pretend it is in treble clef, change the key signature, and read as is. You can essentially ignore or cross out the first three flats, or add 3 sharps, to the printed key signature. In other words, raise the printed accidental by a half-step on notes that look like a G, C, and F in treble clef (B, E, A in bass clef). Example 1:

Pretend this is treble clef Play as C#

First, we pretend this is in treble clef. Then we change the key signature. This example has 4 flats, so the key signature for an Eb instrument would have 1 flat. So, if you see a note that looks 5 like a Gb, Cb, or Fb, you play these as naturals. In measure 3 of this example a E natural is printed, in treble clef, this looks like a C natural. However, as previously mentioned, we need to raise notes that look like a C in treble clef, therefore this should be played as a C sharp. Example 2:

This example has 1 sharp in the key signature (G major), therefore after changing to treble clef, this should be played with 4 sharps (E major). In other words, notes that look like F, C, and G natural in treble clef should be played as sharps.

Reading tenor clef on Bb saxophones -Read in treble clef and adjust the key signature This transposition is very similar to reading bass clef of Eb instruments. The only difference is that instead of adjusting the key signature by removing 3 flats/adding 3 sharps, you only raise the key signature by 2 accidentals. In this case, you only play one accidental higher for notes that look like a C and F in treble clef. Example:

Pretend this is treble clef

Play F#

Reading Bb parts on Eb saxophones -Think up a perfect 5th or -Use the “pretend like you are playing clarinet method”

There are two primary ways you can go about thinking of this transposition. You can think of playing a perfect 5th above the written notes and adjust the octave as necessary. This transposition results in a key signature that has one less flat/one more sharp than the written part. Alternatively, if you play clarinet, there may be another approach to thinking of this transposition. For this transposition, you can essentially use clarinet fingerings on the saxophone. For example, a C (concert Bb) below the staff is played with fingers 1, 2, 3 on clarinet. To transpose that note on an alto saxophone, just finger a clarinet “C” which happens to be “G” on saxophone! Another example, Hot Crossed Buns on clarinet (E, D, C) is fingered exactly the same on alto saxophone, but the notes are B, A, G. So, if you are reading a Bb part on alto, just use clarinet fingerings. Note: because the clarinet does not have an octave key (rather a 12th key), it has different fingerings for notes of different octaves. It is therefore necessary to always pretend like you are playing the lower register of the clarinet and add the octave key if needed. For example, if you see a “B” in the middle of the staff, instead of using the clarinet fingering for a “B” in that octave, use the fingering for the low “B,” which is the same fingering as “F#” on saxophone. Then add the octave key to put it in the right octave (or don’t if you are reading a tenor sax part on alto and need the note to sound lower than written). The other thing you must be aware of are the notes “F” and “F#”. There is no clarinet equivalent fingering on saxophone of just the thumb (F) or first finger only without the thumb (F#). So “F” equates to “C” and “F#” to “C#” on saxophone. But you can just think of the fingerings for low “F and F#” on clarinet and play that on saxophone, which is the same fingering as low “C and C#” on saxophone, taking it up the octave if needed. Example 1:

The fingerings of the above example on clarinet are the exact same fingerings that would be used on saxophone with the bottom example. The sounding pitch is the same.

Example 2:

While using clarinet fingerings on the above example, there are a couple of things to be aware of. Remember to use lower register clarinet fingerings. For example, the G in m.2 should be fingered an octave lower as indicated in parenthesis. This has the same fingering as a D on saxophone. Add the octave key to play in the correct octave. Additionally, make sure to finger a middle C on saxophone for the F in m. 4 and not use the clarinet fingering for this octave.

Tenor clef on Eb instruments

-Read in treble clef, change the key signature, and transpose up a 5th or use the “pretend like you are playing clarinet method” Change the clef to treble clef and adjust the key signature by adding two sharps. Now we essentially have a part for Bb instruments. From here, transpose up a 5th or use clarinet fingerings as previously described. Although you essentially change the written part to have a key signature with two additional sharps (creating a part for Bb instruments), after transposition, the resulting key signature that is played has three additional sharps. Example:

Add two sharps and read in treble clef

Now transpose the same way you would transpose a Bb part on an Eb Instrument, going up a 5th, or using clarinet fingerings. After transposing, a Baritone saxophone wold play the upper notes in the following example and an alto saxophone would play the bottom notes.

Bass Clef on Bb Instruments -Read as is in bass clef and go up one step. or -Pretend it is in treble clef, change the key signature, and read up a perfect 4th.

Depending on how comfortable you are with bass clef, you can use a similar approach as described for reading C (treble clef) parts on Eb instruments. For example, if you see an F, play a concert F, or think up one whole step. Given that most saxophonists are not accustomed to reading bass clef on their instruments, the thought process required to think of the letter name you see, in addition to thinking a step a above that may make playing faster music difficult. Remember to think horizontally and of your new key signature (with two additional sharps). Alternatively, you can think up a 4th from what the notes look like in treble clef. To do this, pretend the part is in treble clef and add three sharps to the key signature. Now you would have a part for an Eb instrument. From here, you can think up a perfect 4th.

Example:

If using the think up a 4th method, change to treble clef and adjust the key signature by removing 3 flats/adding sharps.

This is now essentially a part for Eb saxophones, so going up a 4th from each note results in a key signature that is only raised by 2 accidentals from the original. Adjust octave as necessary.

Alto Clef on Bb Instruments Pretend like it is in treble clef and read up a third, in accordance with the new key signature. To do this transposition, change the clef to treble clef and adjust the key signature by removing two flats/adding two sharps. This will dictate whether to play a minor or major third up from what it looks like in treble clef. Example:

Read in treble clef. Given that our new key signature has three sharps, let this determine whether you play a minor 3rd or major 3rd above the note you see. 10

Alto Clef on Eb Instruments Pretend like it is in treble clef and read a ½ step lower (with exceptions).

To do this transposition, change the clef to treble clef. Play down a ½ step for most notes. Because of the half steps between “C and B” and “F and E”, when you have these notes in alto clef (or notes that look like a “E and B” in treble clef), you actually have to read down a whole step for these. Think about your new adjusted key signature as this will also help.

Example: Whole step down Whole step down

Read down a ½ step from how the notes would appear in treble clef. For example, the first note looks like an F, so play and E. In the second measure, when taking the printed key signature in to account, this note looks like and E# in treble clef. Notes that look like E’s are exceptions to the ½ step rule, and need to be played a whole step lower. As a result, this should be played as a D#. Additionally, the note that looks like a B in measure 3 should also be played a whole step lower, as an A natural. Alternatively, you could think about this a different way and let your new key signature determine whether you play down a ½ step or whole step.

Transposition by any other interval It is possible that you may come across a situation that requires you to perform a transposition that differs from one of the previously described intervals. No matter what interval you transpose by, remember to think horizontally in addition to vertical intervals. It will also be helpful to think of your new key signature. For example, if you were playing a piece of music written in E major (4 sharps) and you needed to transpose up a minor third, you could simply think a minor third above E and this would be your new key signature. In this case, after transposing, you would think of playing in G major (1 sharp) 11

Extra Transposition Practice

Schumann. Dichterliebe, “Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome” C part:

1. To familiarize yourself with this melody, try playing it as written first, without transposing. Identify scalar passages and simple intervals such as thirds. 2. Think of your new key signature. If you are playing a Bb instrument, add two sharps; add three sharps if you are playing an Eb instrument. 3. It may be helpful to play the scale for the key that you will be playing in. F# natural minor (A major) if transposing on a Bb instrument, and C# natural minor (E major) if transposing on an Eb instrument. 4. Sight transpose! Think up one whole step for Bb instruments. Think of your concert pitches for Eb instruments, or try to visualize the notes one line or space below the written note (adjust octave as necessary). 5. Remember, you don’t have to necessarily think of the transposed note name for every single note if you can visually recognize scalar passages and certain intervals. a. This particular example is very scalar. For example, if you were transposing on an Eb instrument, think of your starting note which is C# (concert E), then just go up the scale without much thought to each note name. When there is a larger leap, as in m.4, think of what note a concert C is on your instrument, then go down the scale.

Bb part:

Eb Part:

Transposition up a 5th, as if you were playing a Bb part on an Eb saxophone:

Follow the same steps as mentioned above and think up a 5th, or use the “pretend like you are playing clarinet method.” This transposition results in a key signature with one additional sharp. 13

Schumann, Dichterliebe, “Im wunderschönen Monat Mai” C part:

Bb part

Eb part