Saxophone Transposition Chart

What Is Saxophone Transposition?

Why your sax plays in a different key to the piano

The saxophone is what musicians call a transposing instrument. When you play a note on the saxophone, the pitch that comes out is different from the pitch of the same written note on a piano or guitar. Adolphe Sax designed his instrument family so that a player could use identical fingerings on every size of saxophone. The note written as C uses the same fingers whether you're holding a soprano, alto, tenor, or baritone. The trade-off is that each size produces a different sounding pitch for that fingering.

Alto and baritone saxophones are pitched in E♭. This means that when you play a written C on an alto or bari, the note that sounds is a concert E♭. Tenor and soprano saxophones are pitched in B♭ — a written C sounds as a concert B♭. When someone talks about "concert pitch," they mean the actual sounding pitch — the pitch a piano or guitar would play. Saxophone parts are written in a transposed key so that the player can use standard fingerings, and it's the job of the composer, arranger, or the player themselves to ensure the written notes will produce the correct sounding pitches.

Picture a real life scenario, like if a guitarist says "the song is in G," you can't just play in G on your saxophone and expect it to sound right. On alto sax, you'd need to play in E. On tenor, you'd need to play in A. The transposition chart and interactive tool below will make these conversions instant.

Interactive Transposition Tool

Convert any note between concert pitch and all four saxophones

Select a "from" and "to" instrument below. The chart will show you every note conversion at a glance. You can also use the swap button to reverse the direction instantly. This tool works for notes, keys, and any single-pitch conversion you need.

Alto Saxophone Transposition

E♭ instrument — concert pitch sounds a major sixth below written

The alto saxophone is in E♭. When you play a written C on the alto, the sounding pitch is a concert E♭ — a major sixth lower than what's written on the page. In practice, most players find it easiest to think of the transposition as a minor third (3 semitones) down from concert pitch to get the written alto note, or a minor third up from the written note to find the concert pitch.

For example, if a pianist or guitarist tells you the song is in concert C major, you need to play in A major on your alto sax. If the song is in concert G, you play in E. If it's in concert B♭, you play in G. The pattern is always the same: go down three semitones (or, equivalently, up nine semitones) from the concert note to find the alto note.

When transposing a key signature, add three sharps (or remove three flats) to the concert key signature to get the alto key signature. Concert C major (no sharps or flats) becomes A major (three sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯) on the alto. Concert E♭ major (three flats) becomes C major (no sharps or flats) — the three flats cancel out. Understanding the circle of fifths makes this much easier to visualise: alto transposition is three steps clockwise around the circle.

Tenor Saxophone Transposition

B♭ instrument — concert pitch sounds a major ninth below written

The tenor saxophone is in B♭. A written C on the tenor produces a concert B♭ — technically a major ninth lower (an octave plus a whole tone), though for practical purposes most players simply think of it as one whole tone (a major second, or 2 semitones). To go from concert pitch to the written tenor note, move up one whole tone. Concert C becomes D on tenor. Concert B♭ becomes C. Concert G becomes A.

For key signatures, add two sharps (or remove two flats) to the concert key to get the tenor key. Concert C major becomes D major (two sharps). Concert B♭ major (two flats) becomes C major. On the circle of fifths, tenor transposition is two steps clockwise.

One thing to bear in mind: the tenor sax sounds an octave lower than the soprano sax even though they're both B♭ instruments. The note transposition is the same (up a whole tone from concert), but the actual sounding octave is different. For arranging or voicing a saxophone section, this octave difference matters — but for working out which note name to play, the transposition is identical for tenor and soprano.

Soprano & Baritone Saxophone Transposition

Same rules, different octaves

The soprano saxophone is a B♭ instrument, just like the tenor. It transposes exactly the same way: up a whole tone from concert pitch. Concert C becomes D, concert G becomes A. The only difference is that the soprano sounds one octave higher than the tenor — the note names are identical.

The baritone saxophone is an E♭ instrument, just like the alto. It transposes the same way: down a minor third from concert pitch. Concert C becomes A, concert G becomes E. The baritone sounds one octave lower than the alto. If you already know how to transpose for the alto, you can transpose for the bari without learning anything new.

This symmetry is one of the great advantages of the saxophone family's design. A player who can transpose for one E♭ instrument can instantly transpose for the other, and the same goes for the B♭ instruments. For a complete reference to the fingerings themselves, see our saxophone fingering chart.

Transposing Between Saxophones

Alto to tenor, tenor to alto, and other combinations

One of the most common transposition tasks is converting a part written for one saxophone to another — typically alto to tenor or vice versa. The interval between an E♭ instrument (alto/bari) and a B♭ instrument (tenor/soprano) is a perfect fifth, or equivalently a perfect fourth in the other direction.

To convert an alto sax part to a tenor sax part, transpose down a perfect fifth (7 semitones), or equivalently up a perfect fourth (5 semitones). If the alto part is in C, the tenor part will be in F. If the alto part is in A, the tenor part will be in D. On the circle of fifths, this is one step anticlockwise. For key signatures, remove one sharp (or add one flat) when going from alto to tenor.

To go from tenor to alto, do the reverse: up a perfect fifth (or down a perfect fourth). Tenor C becomes alto G. Add one sharp (or remove one flat) from the key signature. The interactive tool above handles all these combinations — just set "From" and "To" to any pair of instruments and the chart will show you every note conversion.

Key Signature Conversion Chart

Concert key to written key for every saxophone

When transposing an entire piece, you need to change the key signature as well as the individual notes. The table below shows what key each saxophone plays in for every concert key. Use this when you're given a concert key by a band leader, worship team, or backing track and need to know your written key instantly.

Chord Transposition for Jazz Saxophone

Concert chord symbols to sax chord symbols

Jazz saxophonists reading from a concert pitch lead sheet or Real Book need to transpose chord symbols as well as melody notes. The transposition is exactly the same — only the root of the chord changes; the chord quality (major, minor, dominant, diminished, etc.) stays the same. A concert Cmaj7 becomes Amaj7 on alto, or Dmaj7 on tenor. A concert G7 becomes E7 on alto, or A7 on tenor.

Here are some of the most common jazz chord progressions transposed for quick reference:

The chord quality never changes — maj7 stays maj7, m7 stays m7, dominant 7 stays dominant 7, dim stays dim. Only the letter name (root) is transposed.

Practical Scenarios

Real-world transposition situations solved

Here are the most common situations where saxophone transposition comes up, with instant answers.

If you'd like to develop your transposition skills with personalised guidance, saxophone lessons are available in person in South East London and online. Book a lesson to get started.

Free Saxophone Transposition Chart PDF

Download for your music stand or practice room

Having a transposition chart to hand can make rehearsals or even jam sessions go much smoother, especially when you're still gaining familiarity with the concept. We've put together a free printable saxophone transposition chart PDF that includes note conversions for all four saxophones, key signature conversions, and a chord transposition quick reference — all on one page, ready to print at A4 or Letter size.

The PDF is completely free — no email sign-up required. If you find it useful, consider sharing this page with a fellow musician or student.