Concert Ab Scale Trumpet? The 78 New Answer

Concert tuning and transposition HEY!!! What kind of concert Bb or concert C major stuff is that anyway!? Did you know that not all instruments sound like a C on the piano when you play a C on the instrument? With instruments in so many different keys (meaning how does it sound when you play the instrument’s C), it helps to have a starting point. So we use the notes of the piano as the “piano tone”. Flutes, oboes, bassoons, trombones, tubas, bass clef-reading baritones and all stringed instruments are concert instruments: if they play a C, it sounds like a C on the piano. You don’t need to transpose. (All instruments that read primarily bass clef are in C, but some – like bass guitar and string bass – are written an octave higher to keep the music on staff). Clarinets, bass clarinets, trumpets, tenor saxophones, and baritones that play treble clefs are Bb instruments: when they play a C, it sounds like a Bb on the piano. So if you want to play a concert Bb scale, start on a C (you have to think of a whole step). Concert C is their D, Concert Ab is their Bb. Alto and baritone saxophones, alto clarinet, and most alto horns are Eb instruments: when you play a C, it sounds like an Eb on the piano. So if you want to play a concert Bb scale, start with a G (you have to think of six degrees up the scale – or a minor third down). Concerto C is their A, concerto Ab is their F. French horns and some alto horns and the cor anglais (which is related to the oboe) are F instruments: when they play a C it sounds like an F on the piano. So if you want to play a concert Bb scale, start on an F (you have to think of five scale steps). Concert C is their G, Concert Ab is their Eb. As an 8th grader, you should know your scales (right off the bat, without hesitation and without looking up keys or asking what note you start on or anything!) for the following concert tones: Concert C

concert f

concert b

concert

concert from

Concert G Click here if you need a cheat sheet to check if your transpositions are correct. And… you should be able to find your scale for any other concert pitch a conductor might request. You may wish to print out some of this information for reference, or you can obtain printouts from MsM. Back to the scale page

G-Sharp or As-Flat: Death, Doom and Pestilence – Maybe

Today’s chord is G sharp, better known by its enharmonic equivalent A flat. Since G sharp has eight sharps (meaning that one of the notes, F, has two sharps, making it actually a G), it is considered the theoretical key.

What is a theoretical key you ask? It’s a key that really exists – theoretically. In practice we prefer to use the enharmonic equivalent of G sharp, A flat, which has only four flat flats. The same set of notes, but a different name, notation, and key.

Because simplicity is a virtue, we’re going to look at the A major guitar chord, explore the key of the story of A major and its use in popular music, and talk about how hard it is to play the chord on guitar. We’ll also be jamming through some of the A major songs and chord progressions.

But before we leave the enharmonic equivalent of A flat, G sharp, in the dust, let us just mention that it was occasionally used in key passages in classical piano compositions, notably in Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier and in Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturnes in C sharp minor.

There. Now that we’ve got G sharp major right, let’s start talking about its enharmonic equivalent, A flat major.

The key of A flat major is known for being morose, morbid and melancholy, a key for death, judgement, condemnation, the grave, haunting and ghosts.

Beethoven sometimes used A flat major for movements within symphonies written in C minor, as did Anton Bruckner and Antonín Dvořák. Edward Elgar and Arnold Bax were among the very few who composed entire symphonies in A flat major.

Perhaps its bleak outlook didn’t really endear it to composers – unless they were going through the dark night of the soul.

A surprising exception is Scott Joplin’s ragtime piano piece Maple Leaf Rag, written in 1899, a musical cup of joie de vivre if ever there was one! So whatever you want to say about the key of A flat, you just can’t pigeonhole it.

The A flat major chord position on the guitar: get ready for a little extra effort

If you already know how to play the basic F major bar chord position, just move this baby to the fourth fret and, bingo, you’ve got the Ab major chord.

Yes, it’s a bit difficult to hold all those strings and make it sound good. It can also be a little difficult to switch between this chord and other chords in the key of A flat, chords that may not come close to this one on your fretboard.

But that’s exactly what we built the Uberchord app for! Just set up your smartphone and keep playing the chord (you can even program chord progressions) and let the app tell you how to improve. Also check out our blog for five great tips for learning new chords.

Theory and Practice: The pattern of the A flat major scale explained

The scale of the key of A flat major consists of A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F and G.

This is the A flat major scale, with A flat at the root and another A flat, an octave higher, at the top of the mountain. As you can see, the only notes that aren’t flat are C, F, and G.

The A flat major chord, which forms the root of the A flat major scale, consists of the notes Ab, C and Eb – the first, third and fifth notes of the key of A flat major. On the guitar, using the basic Ab chord position shown in the diagram above, these notes arrive in this order: Ab, Eb, Ab, C, Eb, and Ab.

Chords and common chord progressions in the key of Ab major

If you wanted to use every chord in the key of A flat major, the following chords you would play:

A flat, B minor, C minor, Db, Eb, F minor, G diminished

Below are a few chord progressions in the key of A flat major:

(All chords are major unless otherwise noted.)

Ab – Db – Eb – Ab Ab – Eb – F minor – Db Ab – F minor – Db – Eb Ab – Eb – F minor – C minor – Db – Ab – Db – Eb (Blues) Ab – Ab – Ab – Ab – Db – Db – Ab – Ab – Es – Eb – Ab – Ab B minor – Db – Eb Ab – Db – Eb – Db Eb – Db – Ab F minor – Db – Ab – Eb

Songs in the key of Ab major: It’s complicated. . .

As we said at the beginning, the key of A flat major is often used in songs expressing the feeling of the darkness of a grave. But not always.

It can be a haunting voice of regret from the past, like Adele’s “Hello.”

Pharrell Williams – Happy

Coldplay clocks

Nirvana – Smells like Teen Spirit

Green Day – Boulevard of Shattered Dreams

A flat major is traditionally considered the “key of death,” but some of the happiest songs in history were written in this key. Embrace the irony! Learn the A major chord and key and do whatever you want with it. Once you learn them, they’re yours!

By the way, have you downloaded the Uberchord app yet? If not, here are five good reasons why you should!

The key to learning how to use such chords is to create chord progressions with them. Thankfully, there are plenty of free articles on songwriting and music theory here at Uberchord. Topics that may help you get started include easy solos to learn on electric guitar, guitar dgb 1st inversion, and wish opening chords.

Lesson Steps [1] 2 3 4 Home Top ^ Solution: 1 Lesson Steps: 1. Piano Key Note Names This step shows the white and black note names on a piano keyboard so the note names are familiar for later steps and to show that the note names change after 12 notes to repeat. The white keys are named with the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which is a pattern repeated on the piano keyboard. Any white or black key can have a flat (b) or sharp (#) accidental name, depending on how that note is used. In a later step, if sharp or flat notes are used, the exact accidental names are chosen. The audio files below play every note shown on top of the piano, so middle C (marked with an orange line below) is the 2nd note heard. Audio Downloads Bass Clef: Midi MP3 Treble Clef: Midi MP3

2 [3] 4 Home Top ^ Solution: 1 Lesson Steps: 1 3. Write a Bb key signature This step shows the order in which the symbols of a Bb key signature must be placed next to the treble and bass clefs. Order of B flat key symbols The key signature is a series of sharps or flats (never mixed) that appear after the treble or bass clef on the staff. The key symbols always appear in the same order, regardless of the order of the actual notes in the staff. In a Bb-base key (like this scale), an easy way to remember the order is to use the following phrase, whose initials indicate the note name to be diminished: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father So if the scale contains the note Bb , then this is always the first B flat key symbol that appears next to the treble or bass clef in the note B flat staff position (middle line). Then the same for Eb in the second position, and so on for all the words in the phrase. Flat Key Order Explanation The Battle Ends.. Order for the placement of the key symbols is not random and follows a variation of the music theory pattern of the circle of fifths called the circle of fourths. Taking the 1st letter of the 1st word in the phrase – B flat, the 4th note of the major scale with its name as the tonic – B flat major scale is the note E (the 2nd word of the phrase). Now take the 4th note of the major scale whose tonic is E – the E major scale – this is the note A (the 3rd word of the phrase). Now take the 4th note of the major scale whose tonic is A – the A major scale – this is the note D (the 4th word of the phrase) and so on. Bb Key Relationships The other interesting thing about this phrase/pattern is that for any Bb symbol in the key, the symbols before that symbol are always present. For example, if a key has the note Fb (word/symbol of the last phrase) then it always has the other 6 symbols before it. Another example – if a key has a Db (4th word/symbol) then it always has the first 3 symbols before it. In other words, if you see a key with 1 Bb symbol, that Bb is always Bb (the first phrase word). Or if a key has two levels, those levels are always Bb and Eb. To learn more about these patterns, take a look at Learning the Circle of Fifths. The above rules apply to Bb-based keys – sharp-based keys have a similar set of rules, with the above expression reversed. Look at the C# major key. The staff above is intended to demonstrate all possible flat symbol positions in a key signature. The next step uses only the flat positions in that particular scale. Difference between the key of treble clef and bass clef All the key signature rules on this page are the same for both treble clef and bass clef. The only difference between them is that the bass clef symbols are shifted down to the next line or space (and of course the pitches are lower on the bass clef). This is to reflect the fact that all note positions on the bass clef are a line or space lower than the treble clef. For example, on the treble clef the note E (note 2 shown) occupies the 1st gap from the top, while on the bass clef the same note is the 2nd gap from the top. Likewise, in the treble clef the note D (4th note shown) occupies the 2nd line from the top, while in the bass clef the same note is the 3rd line from the top. The bass clef symbols are shifted to the nearest position for sharp-based key signatures in exactly the same way. For more information, see C# Major Key. A key symbol covers the note on many octaves. The staff diagrams above show only one possible staff position for each note letter A through G on each clef. The specific note positions used to identify each note A..G above are just a convention used to neatly group the key symbols around the center of the staff, but each symbol actually applies to that note in all Octaves on a specific clef. This means that for the first sumbol, Bb, although the note and symbol are on the center line of the treble clef, the symbol really means that any B flat major note delivered on any octave in that clef flattens out ‘not just the B flat major pitch on this line’. In reality, each note could occur in multiple octaves, ie. appear more than once in treble or bass clef, with a higher or lower pitch. For example, in the last step below, you will see that the root/starting note appears twice in both treble and bass clef.

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