A B flat clarinet is transposed a major second above the notes the composer wishes the listener to hear. An A clarinet is transposed a minor third above the composer’s intended notes. And the E flat clarinet is transposed down a minor third from the composer’s intentions. For the convenience of the player, you should also add the equivalent of two sharps to the key signature, regarding the B flat clarinet’s transposed part, or respectively add the equivalent of three flats to the A clarinet’s transposed part, or finally, add the equivalent of three sharps to the E flat clarinet’s transposed part.
B flat clarinet transposition example
Here is the beginning of a piece I wrote for clarinet and piano (Three Scenes for Clarinet & Piano). This is what I want the listener to hear:
To transpose the part to something the B flat clarinet can read, I pushed every note up a major second (two half-steps), and added the equivalent of two sharps to the key signature, which in this case was just subtracting out two flats:
This type of transposition also works when you have any instrument pitched in C, like a piano, flute, oboe, C trumpet, or viola, and want a clarinet in B flat to play their part. I reiterate this idea in my article about turning piano music into clarinet music.
What is the concert pitch of a clarinet?
The concert pitch of a clarinet is as follows: a standard B-flat clarinet’s written C note is ‘concert B flat’. Using this same logic, an A clarinet’s written C note is a ‘concert A’, and an E-flat clarinet’s written C note is a ‘concert E flat’. Basically the clarinet’s name tells you which concert pitch it will sound, when playing a C note written in it’s part.
What key are clarinets pitched in?
The key clarinets are commonly pitched in are either B-flat, A, or E-flat, depending on which clarinet you are referencing. The standard B-flat clarinet, the most common clarinet, is pitched in B flat. The A clarinet, which is used for orchestral classical music, is pitched in A, giving it the ability to easily play music which has a lot of sharps in its key signature, before it has been transposed for such clarinet. And the E-flat clarinet, or piccolo clarinet, is pitched in E flat.
What is C on a clarinet?
C on a standard B-flat clarinet sounds as a B flat. C on an A clarinet sounds as an A. And C on an E-flat clarinet sounds as an E-flat.
What is the difference in an A clarinet and a B flat clarinet?
The main difference between the A clarinet and B flat clarinet is that the A clarinet sounds a half step lower than the B flat clarinet relative to concert pitch, or a given written note in a part. This allows it to easily play passages that would otherwise require a plethora of sharps on the B flat clarinet part. Classical composers will therefore write passages or movements, where the clarinetist may need to switch between these two instruments for a given work, just to make the part easier.
However, the B flat clarinet is the dominant instrument when it comes to wind bands, and non-classical music.
The A clarinet may feel a bit darker or somber regarding timbre. And the B flat clarinet may feel a little brighter.
How do I know if my clarinet is A or B flat?
To know if your clarinet is an A or B flat clarinet, you will either need a piano (or instrument of which you know the tuning), or you will need to visit an online pitch detector site like Online Mic Test’s pitch detector. You would then just play a C on your clarinet. If the pitch detector says that it’s a B flat, then your clarinet is a B flat clarinet. If it says it’s an A, then you have an A clarinet. Or if your clarinet’s C correlates with the B flat on a piano then it’s a B flat clarinet, and if it correlates with an A on the piano, then its an A clarinet.
Transposing between clarinet parts
Outside the realm of the professional symphony orchestra, it’s often the case that a piece of music calls for an A clarinet or an E flat clarinet but the only clarinet you, or your clarinetist owns is a B flat clarinet. You must then transpose the part, so that your or the B flat clarinetist can read and perform it in their native notation. I’ll cover how to do such below, alongside all the other transposition scenarios clarinetists may find themselves in.
How do you transpose Eb (E flat) clarinet to Bb (B flat) clarinet?
To transpose a part originally for the E flat clarinet to one in which the B flat clarinet player can read, you need to transpose all the notes up a perfect fourth. For the convenience of the player you would also want to subtract one sharp from the key signature, or do the equivalent of such (i.e. add one flat).
Just remember the trick that because the E flat clarinet is a piccolo clarinet, your B flat clarinet must play higher notes to compensate for it being a bigger instrument. If you played an open G on the E flat clarinet, you would have to play a Clarion C (all fingers on deck!) on your B flat clarinet.
Difficulty in the higher register
The main point of difficulty in using a B flat clarinet for a part written for the piccolo clarinet is that you’re not going to have as much agility in the upper range. Things that can be done on the E flat clarinet in the upper Clarion range have to be done in the Altissimo range on the B flat clarinet. And simply cheating by playing them down an octave likely will destroy the orchestral timbre the composer was going for. You may have to ask the conductor if a flute (or maybe an oboe) can take a few bars of music off your hands for a technically difficult Altissimo run.
| E flat clarinet’s notes | Concert pitch equivalent | B flat clarinet equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| A | C (higher) | D (higher) |
| A# or Bb | C# or Db | D# or Eb |
| B | D | E |
| C | D# or Eb | F |
| C# or Db | E | F# or Gb |
| D | F | G |
| D# or Eb | F# or Gb | G# or Ab |
| E | G | A |
| F | G# or Ab | A# or Bb |
| F# or Gb | A | B |
| G | A# or Bb | C |
| G# or Ab | B | C# or Db |
How do you transpose Bb (B flat) clarinet to Eb (E flat) clarinet?
To transpose a part originally for the B flat clarinet to one in which the E flat clarinet player can read, you will need to transpose the part down a perfect fourth. For the convenience of the player you will also need to add one sharp, or the equivalent of such, like subtracting one flat, to the key signature.
Just remember that because the Eb clarinet is a much smaller clarinet than the Bb clarinet, it will need to play notes relatively lower down. Also keep in mind you’re Eb clarinet won’t be able to play notes lower than a low A in the Bb clarinet part.
| B flat clarinet’s notes (original part) | E flat clarinet’s equivalent notes |
|---|---|
| C | G (lower) |
| C# or Db | G# or Ab |
| D | A |
| D# or Eb | A# or Bb |
| E | B |
| F | C |
| F# or Gb | C# or Db |
| G | D |
| G# or Ab | D# or Eb |
| A | E |
| A# or Bb | F |
| C# or Db | F# or Gb |
How do you transpose A clarinet to Bb (B flat) clarinet?
To transpose a part originally for the A clarinet to one in which the B flat clarinet player can read, you will need to rewrite the part a half step lower, and unfortunately add the equivalent of five sharps to the key signature. For example if the original A clarinet part was in the key of C major, then transpose your notes down a half-step and make the new key B major.
The composer will utilize the A clarinet when the intended key for the listener involves several sharps, like B major, or F sharp major. This is because when the part is transposed, the equivalent of three flats is added to the key signature (which often involves just subtracting three sharps from the original key). In this manner the A clarinet can easily play passages the B flat clarinet would struggle with, as less ancillary keys on the instrument would need to be activated in a coordinated fashion.
This is certainly not ideal as it creates situations where a professional concert clarinetist that owns both the A and B flat clarinet has a significant advantage of the the amateur orchestra clarinetist, which may only own a standard B flat clarinet.
How do you transpose Bb (B flat) clarinet to A clarinet?
To transpose a part originally for the B flat clarinet to one in which the A clarinet player can read, you will need to rewrite the part a half step higher and add the equivalent of five flats to the new key signature (which may involve subtracting out five sharps). For example if the B flat clarinet’s part were in D major, then you would need to push each note up a half step and make the new key signature E flat major.
However, as explained above, a composer will call for a specific clarinet with the design of minimizing the number of flats or sharps in its part’s transposed key signature, simply to make it easier to play for the clarinetist. Music whose key signature originally has lots of flats will have two less flats when transposed to the B flat clarinet part. And music whose key signature originally has a lot of sharps will have three less sharps when transposed for the A clarinet.
Thus again it’s not an ideal situation to try to utilize an A clarinet for a B flat clarinet part, or vice versa, as it can overly complicate the transposed key signature, making the part harder to play than if it were played on the instrument the composer originally intended.
Clarinet Transposition Chart
To summarize the clarinet transpositions discussed above, I’ve created this all in one clarinet transposition chart:
