At 10:02 AM 1/9/2004, Christopher BJ Smith wrote: >Your last sentence illustrates my point. Why do trombones (and tubas) >get off easily, while trumpets have to transpose?
What? First of all, from the player's point of view, it's the trumpets who get off easily, because the way their part is notated is related to the physics of the instrument. Tenor trombone players have to re-orient themselves to a Bb harmonic series to have the same effect. Euphonium players read treble clef parts in Bb, the key of their instrument, but bass clef parts in C!
>natural trumpets to add valves to, because they liked the sound of it >better at the time, adn that trumpet players were used to always >seeing their parts notated in C up to that point,
No, this is wrong. Trumpet and horn parts were always notated in they key of the instrument (C trumpets in C, D trumpets in D, etc.). Unless you mean that the parts were notated with no key signature, which is correct and is the result of transposing the parts to the correct key.
>but the only reason >to write trumpets in Bb today is because of convention. There is no >other reason.
As I've pointed out, there is a very good reason based on the tradition of the instrument and its physics -- not for writing all trumpet parts in Bb, but for writing them in the key of the desired instrument. On the other hand, many orchestral players have developed a preference for a C trumpet, and as this becomes a standard, I would expect that composers will begin specifying C trumpet in their scores. There's no reason to write a part in Bb if you want the player to use a C instrument.
Why care about which instrument? I've just finished arranging a piece which requires the trumpet to go down to F below middle C. This means that the player has to use a Bb instrument, because that note is not available on the C trumpet.
>Understand me, I am not arguing IN FAVOUR of writing concert pitch >trumpets (or other instruments), I am explaining that the only reason >to do so is because it was done that way from the start, and now >everyone understands it and learns trumpet that way, and to change it >now would be an enormous and confusing pain.
But it was done that way from the start for an important reason, not just on a whim.
>but for now, we have them, and in the interest of >clear and efficient communication, I write Bb trumpet parts.
I hope you only write Bb parts if you expect a Bb instrument. If you are writing for a professional orchestra, where the players will probably use C trumpets, and if you don't actually care which instrument is used, you may as well write the parts (and score) in C.
Aaron.
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