Hi PapaMikie,

The alto sax is in Eb. This means that when the alto sax player reads and plays the C major scale, s/he thinks of it as "C major" but the pitch we hear is Eb. Applying this principle (and not worrying about octaves) gives the rule that the pitch that the sax player reads is a minor third lower than the pitch we hear. So, if the song is written in E, a minor third lower is C# (enharmonically the same as Db) and this means that the sax player would need to play in C# or Db to be in tune with the backing in E.

To make it easier for the young guy, I encourage you to transpose your song to Eb rather than E because then your printout would be in C. Transposing is very easy in BIAB and I'm sure the young guy would find it much easier to read music in C than in Db (or C#).

Regards,
Noel

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2025