If a band director were to say play Eb major to the saxaphones which scale would a clarinet play?

Question

If a band director were to say play Eb major to the saxaphones which scale would a clarinet play?

Answer 1

If the alto and baritone play Eb major then they are playing Gb concert scale.  Flutes (and C instruments will play Gb major), clarinets (and Bb instruments like trumpet, baritone TC, ...) will play Ab major.

If the tenor sax is playing Eb major then the clarinets will also play Eb major because the tenor sax is in Bb also.

To go from Eb to Bb scale transposition - add one flat or drop one sharp.

Remember, concert Eb scale and Eb major scale are not the same.  ÃƒÂ¢Ã‚˜Âº

Answer 2

Ok... so what the other poster said makes NO sense what-so-ever...

The sax and the clarinet are both transposing instruments.  The alto and bari sax are Eb instruments.  The clarinet and tenor sax are Bb instruments.  

So what this means is that when they play with a C instrument, like piano or flute, they have to change notes to SOUND the same.

For example, a piano, an alto sax, and a clarinet all finger their own "C"... the piano SOUNDS as a C, the alto SOUNDS as an Eb, and the clarinet SOUNDS as a Bb.  It's a mess... the alto and the clarinet have to transpose...

The alto, since it sounds a minor 3rd higher, has to play a note a minor 3rd lower than "C" to compensate... the alto would play an "A", but SOUND as a "C".

The clarinet sounds a whole step lower than "C", so it has to play everything UP a whole step... the clarinet would play a "D" to SOUND as a "C".

Now we take your question... if the saxes are playing Eb major, go a minor 3rd higher to find concert pitch... (Eb-E, E-F, F-Gb)... Gb is the concert pitch (what the piano or flute plays).  The clarinet then goes a whole step higher than concert pitch... (Gb-G, G-Ab)... clarinet plays an Ab scale.

So alto and bari are playing Eb (3bs)

Clarinet and tenor are playing Ab (4bs)

Concert pitch is Gb (6bs)

Hope this helped! :)

Answer 3

probably D flat on a B flat clarinet, but it depends on what key the saxaphone plays by- if it's in the key of C, then it will be a tone lower than the standard orchestral pitch.