Music Composition DUMmIES

Alto flute ..............................................................................................

This is the only flute that is a transposing instrument. Although every other

flute is tuned to concert pitch, or the key of C, the alto flute is tuned to a G nat-

ural. This means that in order to write music for the alto flute, you need to

transpose the music up a fourth from concert pitch. To hear a concert C, for

example, your flutist would have to see an F on his or her sheet music.

The reason people pick up an alto flute to begin with is partly because the

somewhat quieter instrument can play much lower notes than the concert

flute, and partly because its very cool shape is irresistible to instrument con-

noisseurs — alto flutes (and bass flutes) are the ones that look like the end

was bent in half by Superman.

Flute tones are sweet in character and blend well with other instruments. The

flute’s timbre (the distinct quality of its sound), pitch, and attack (how quickly

an instrument sounds after playing a key, string, or what have you) are flexi-

ble, allowing a very high degree of instantaneous expressive control. This

also makes the flute a great lead “singer” in an ensemble, as it’s able to follow

the lead lines you write quickly and distinctively.

The range of the alto flute is C4 (the G below middle C) through C7.

To hear Write

CF

C#/D% F#/G%

DG

D#/E% G#/A%

EA

FA#/B%

F#/G% B

GC

G#/A% C#/D%

AD

A#/B% D#/E%

BE

B flat trumpet ......................................................................................

When you’re writing parts for a B flat trumpet, you have to transpose the

music a whole step up from concert. So if the composer wants the trumpet to

166 Part IV: Orchestration and Arrangement