I now have absolutely no clue what key the instrument is playing in. When I used the tuner I have set for my Trumpet to transpose for a Bb pitch instrument, Position 1 gave me the C4 I was looking for. Using my trusty Trombone Slide Position Chart, I played what I though was going to be a C4 (or C3), still working out the range, using Position 1 and the tuner said I was playing an F. I used a tuner app on my phone and played a middle C (C4) on the piano so I knew the app was calibrated enough. Having said this, I have confused myself again. I have no idea if the Treble Clef bones, Soprano and Piccolo, play music notated for Trumpet and Piccolo Trumpet as Bb transposing instruments or are considered non-transposing because they are part of the Trombone Family and have the same key signature as a Flute. So, I thought, OK, if that is the case, Alto Trombone is supposed to be an Alto Clef instrument so it also plays in C with a fundamental of Eb. ![]() ![]() So even though a Tenor Trombone has a Fundamental of Bb, it plays a written A4 to get to 440hz, rather than the written B4. As I understood it, any instrument that plays in bass, tenor, alto clef or are pitched in C on the treble clef (eg flute, violin, oboe, piano etc) would play a written A4. So, in order to play a tuning note of Concert A4 at 440hz, on my Trumpet I would play a B4. One advertisement for a Piccolo Trombone actually says, pitched in Bb, same as Piccolo Trumpet. However, when I look at various websites or music store advertising, these Trombones are advertised as pitched in the key (Eb or Bb). My understanding is that even they are not bass clef instruments (Alto and Treble Clef), as part of the Trombone family, they are still pitched in Concert and the Eb, Bb and Bb respectively are just the fundamentals. Here is my confusion, courtesy of the accurate internet. In Bass Clef world, all the instruments are pitched in concert pitch, so a Bb Tenor Trombone is pitched differently to a Bb Trumpet because in the Trombone, Bb refers to the Fundamental not the key. I come from the treble clef world where the description of the instrument (eg Bb Trumpet) means the Trumpet is pitched in the key of Bb and is referred to as a transposing instrument. I have asked a similar question before, but now I’m confused, specifically around Alto, Soprano and Piccolo Trombones.
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