neirocca sound-first music theory

Transposition and Transposing Instruments

What is tested

Rewrite a passage a given interval higher or lower with the correct key signature and accidentals, and work out the sounding pitch for instruments in B♭, A, F and E♭. Accidentals, not the notes themselves, are what go wrong.

Common mistakes

The key signature gets transposed and the accidentals get copied unchanged. Every accidental has to be recalculated relative to the new key signature, and this is where nearly all transposition marks are lost.

Practice with

The tool below checks your answer against the theory engine, so you get the same verdict a marker would.

Open the tool: Transpose Tool →

Read the lesson

Related reading

All topics in this exam