Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
Once you decide to work and think in concert pitch, these problems disappear. Think about what I play: My horns are pitched in C, Eb, F, G, A, and Bb. I don't have the slides for my Eb trumpet to play in D or I'd have that one covered, too. I think you see the problem. If my base song were not entered in concert pitch, I would really be sunk trying to keep track.

Is this making sense?


Thanks again, Matt. It's making sense, to some extent. I have always understood that, (using the circle of fifths), if I am to play a concert pitch tune on a Bb instrument, the backing tracking track needs to be 1 whole tone (-2 steps) lower. So, if I'm playing a sheet in C, the backing track needs to be in Bb, for example. For Eb, the difference is a minor-third (-3 steps) below.

So, yes, that bit makes sense and always did. The bit that's not so clear is that I had assumed the Bb Real Book had already transposed the chords down 1 tone (-2 steps), or else what's the point of it being a Bb book?

The only conclusion I can draw is that the lead sheets are written in the key that will cover the range of the Bb instrument. But, that's not actually the case for some of the songs, as they go to a low A, which is not possible to play on many tenors and sopranos.

Confused? I will be!