Sight-transposing
I learned this exceptionally useful skill early on, and sometimes I take it for granted. From ages 13-18, I’d roll out of bed every Sunday morning and play the church service cold, not even looking to see what the hymns were until the prelude was underway. Practice makes second nature, and that’s served me well at many a gig.
Several different people tried to teach me transposition by several different methods. For those not in the know, a standard Bb trumpet (or clarinet, tenor/soprano sax, treble clef baritone, etc) has to play a note one whole step above the note you want to hear; it’s just the way music is written (a topic for another day). Other instruments transpose different amounts or not at all.
One suggestion: read the treble clef parts as though they were tenor clef and adjust the key signature. That’s clever, except read more...
Several different people tried to teach me transposition by several different methods. For those not in the know, a standard Bb trumpet (or clarinet, tenor/soprano sax, treble clef baritone, etc) has to play a note one whole step above the note you want to hear; it’s just the way music is written (a topic for another day). Other instruments transpose different amounts or not at all.
One suggestion: read the treble clef parts as though they were tenor clef and adjust the key signature. That’s clever, except read more...