Mark your new key signature on your staff paper.
That's why we say that the alto sax is a transposing instrument in E-flat. Not all saxophones are in E-flat, though: The tenor and the soprano sax, for instance, are in B-flat. As you may already have guessed, on such an instrument the whole scale gets transposed: if a C sounds as an E-Flat, a D sounds as an F, an E sounds as a G and so on. Just remember to transpose any accompaniment in the same way. Take a look at the Singer Pro arrangement of “Let It Go,” as an example. Listen to the original song in the key of F Minor (4 flats). Now, choose the G Minor transposition available on the right-hand side of the product page.
Check your new key signature on your circle of fifths to figure out which notes should be sharp or flat. Mark these on your staff paper next to the treble clef.[8]- The circle of fifths will tell you which sharps and flats you need. For example, suppose your concert pitch music was in G. You transposed the music to E flat by moving the notes down a minor third. From the circle of fifths you can see that your new key signature is E major. E major has 4 sharps: F, C, G, and D.
- To work out which notes should be sharp or flat, you can use a mnemonic device. For sharps (the keys you find moving clockwise), remember the phrase Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle. The first letter of each word corresponds to a note. So if E major has 4 sharps, the notes that are sharp are the notes that correspond to the first 4 words in your mnemonic device.
- For flats (the keys you find moving counterclockwise), you can read the same mnemonic backwards: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father.