At sounding pitch

What it means

“At sounding pitch” (German klingend) designates the actually sounding pitch in contrast to the written one. With many instruments the two diverge: what the player reads is not what the ear hears. A score notated at sounding pitch dispenses with this shift and writes every note as it sounds — even for instruments whose parts are otherwise notated transposing.

In the notation

Transposing instruments carry their tuning in the name: a clarinet in B♭ sounds a whole tone lower than notated, a horn in F a fifth lower, a trumpet in B♭ likewise a whole tone lower. Octave displacements are added — double bass and guitar sound an octave lower than written, the piccolo an octave higher. In the score either the transposed spelling is kept, in which case the tuning stands with every instrument, or notation is done throughout at sounding pitch, often with the note “in C” or “sounding.” An octave clef with a lowered eight is an abbreviated way of writing the same thing.

Musical use

The reason for transposed notation is historical and practical: the player keeps the same fingering with the same notation for all instruments of their family and does not have to relearn anything when changing from the B♭ to the A clarinet. For the conductor and the analyst this is inconvenient, because notes standing next to one another in the score do not mean the same thing. Scores at sounding pitch ease the overview here but have not become the standard; both procedures stand side by side.

“At sounding pitch” is to be distinguished from transposition as a process: the latter deliberately shifts music into another key, the former merely describes the relation of notation and sound.

Performance practice

When working with a score, first check whether it is notated at sounding pitch or transposing — the note usually stands on the first page or in the instrument list. When you create transposing parts or compare notes with fellow players, always state whether you mean written or sounding. When tuning in the ensemble, only the sounding pitch counts.