Transposition Techniques

Musicians have developed a number of techniques for handling transposition. All of them are useful in some circumstances, less so in other situations. A practical musician may find it helpful to know a number of transposition techniques, so as to have the tools available as needed. The most commonly-used transposition techniques are: Intervalic (horizontal) transposition: first one figures out the opening pitch and then reads interval by interval through the melody; up a perfect fifth, down a major third, etc. o Pros: great for single-line melodies, generally pretty easy to do. o Cons: doesnt work for homophonic or polyphonic textures; one mistake can snowball into many; overall its a bit mechanical. Analytic transposition: transposition by understanding a notes or a harmonys position within the scheme of things. For example, one might transpose a melody by thinking in terms of scale degrees: 5-3-6-5-1, etc. Or one can be thinking of harmonic analysis: Vwiit I. o Pros: good for harmonic progressions, in particular. o Cons: requires a lot of mental activity; doesnt work with non-tonal or highly chromatic music. Aural transposition: one reads the music in Key A, rehears it in Key B in ones head, then plays it back by ear. o Pros: can work with virtually anything. o Cons: requires a very high-caliber ear and also the ability to play by ear, which isnt necessarily a skill which can be learned. Clef transposition: one mentally changes clef in the notated music to a different clef, making mental adjustments for key signature and accidentals, and then proceeds to read the music in that imagined clef. o Pros: the only technique which will work adequately with multiple simultaneous transpositions (such as reading an orchestral score); can be effortless once mastered. o Cons: requires comfort in C clefs; changes of key signature can become daunting; accidentals can become confusing; an eye technique more than an ear technique.