The trumpet transposition is so that a trumpet player doesn't have to learn different fingerings for A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G trumpets -- one set of fingerings works for all (with some adjustments for intonation, but that happens even between different trumpets of the same pitch.)
If they were all written in concert pitch it would make trumpet playing a lot more complicated.
All quite true, for trumpets and other families of instruments. However, one of the differences between orchestral trumpeters (and students in training for orchestra work) and band trumpeters is that orchestral players have to deal with transpositions all the time. First, there is the music, which may specify trumpet in F or Eb as well as Bb, A, or C. Then there is the player's decision as to which of his half-dozen instruments has the best sound for each piece of music. And the combination of those two factors determines how the player must transpose in order to make the right notes come out in the right octave!
Band players, on the other hand, are not called on to transpose, do not learn to transpose, and will rebel if asked to transpose! And it's pretty safe to say that the same is true of jazz players. On the other hand, they never play anything but Bb parts on Bb trumpets. (Cornet? That's just a funny way to spell trumpet, isn't it?)
John
-- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
