transposing instrument

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noun

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

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Origin of transposing instrument

First recorded in 1880–85

Words nearby transposing instrument

transport maximum, transport medium, transposal, transposase, transpose, transposing instrument, transposition, transposition cipher, transposition of great vessels, transposon, transputer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use transposing instrument in a sentence

Law has been rebuilt in the last 50 years to be an instrument of control, not a framework for human responsibility.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the chord structure, for those of you who play an instrument, is unexpected and worth checking out.
Yes, I Like Christmas Music. Stop Laughing.|Michael Tomasky|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even his signature instrument, Auto-Tune, has become as accepted an ingredient in hip-hop as the drum machine.
Future Makes Us Rethink Everything We Thought We Knew About Rap Artists|Luke Hopping|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No matter how admirable or inspiring his message appears to be, it often hits you over the head like a blunt instrument.
Catch Him If You Can: Reliving Banksy’s New York Invasion|Alex Suskind|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Sisler is described as a “Medical/Surgical instrument technician” in his own court declaration.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’|The Center for Investigative Reporting|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I called it a spinet, because it somewhat resembled that instrument, and was played upon in the same manner.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
A fancy came into my head that I would entertain the king and queen with an English tune upon this instrument.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Where these overtones are interfered with by any imperfection in the instrument the result is a harsh or imperfect sound.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The sun when he appeareth shewing forth at his rising, an admirable instrument, the work of the most High.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The von Fleischl has long been the standard instrument, but has lately fallen into some disfavor.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for transposing instrument

transposing instrument

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012