transposing instrument

American  

noun

1. a musical instrument played at a pitch different from that indicated in the score.

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transposing instrument British  

noun

1. a musical instrument, esp a horn or clarinet, pitched in a key other than C major, but whose music is written down as if its basic scale were C major. A piece of music in the key of F intended to be played on a horn pitched in F is therefore written down a fourth lower than an ordinary part in that key and has the same key signature as a part written in C

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Etymology

Origin of transposing instrument

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

If the harpsichord was not intended to be tuned to this standard and used for this purpose, it must have been tuned to choir pitch and treated as a transposing instrument.

From Italian Harpsichord-Building in the 16th and 17th Centuries by Shortridge, John D.

For this reason the clarinet is called a transposing instrument.

From Music Notation and Terminology by Gehrkens, Karl Wilson

It sounds an octave lower than the music written for it, being what is called a transposing instrument of sixteen-foot tone.

From How to Listen to Music, 7th ed. Hints and Suggestions to Untaught Lovers of the Art by Krehbiel, Henry Edward

Although the double bassoon is not a transposing instrument the music for it is written an octave higher than the real sounds in order to avoid the ledger lines.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 2 "Constantine Pavlovich" to "Convention" by Various

Like the clarinet, the basset horn is a transposing instrument, its music being written a fifth higher than the actual sounds.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various