Do you write in concert pitch when starting a piece?

it could be a dumb question, but i feel it

I write in concert pitch, but for the entire ensemble.

Then I transpose the entire thing with NWC.

Yes, I do.

I don't have a problem with transposing, but it's an unneeded pain.

Oh yes.

Maybe you'd call me lazy. But I think the process of transposing as you write gets in the way of the creative process.

The only instrument for which this is a true pain, I find, is for Horns in F. Their large transpositional leap causes them to hang out right on that fault line between bass and treble clef. You end up using ledger (or is it leger?) lines most of the time anyway.

Depends...if I'm sketching out a tune that's popped into my head impromptu and I don't have access to an instrument to check pitch, I'll pick an arbitrary key and write it like that. Otherwise, yes, I'll write in the pitch I hear it in first, and transpose only if the instrumentation I decide to use would be better suited for something else (like initial concert pitch of B for wind ensemble--moves so easily to Bb)...unless, of course, I'm LOOKING to get a muddier/emptier sound from the instruments in question.

interesting answers... i write in concert pitch and later on transpose but sometimes i just go straight to the transposition instead and it takes more time but i get more precise with ranges and stuff like that... sometimes when i write in concert C i do whatever I hear and later on the orchestration could be a pain in the donkey since i wrote things out of range and if i put them inside the range the sound wouldn

I usually do sketches in hand, with loose orchestration, or sometimes with exact specifications as notes, and all in concert pitch. These sketches are in 3 or 4 staffs, grouping similar range instruments together.

I then orchestrate into the computer from the sketch, and it gets transposed easily, so I don't need to worry about that.

But when I'm working with a smaller ensemble, not like a trio or something, but more like a chamber group, of around 9 or more instruments, I'll generally write everything transposed, in each instrument's key. This is how most conductors like to read a score, since they have spent much time learning transposition. This is mainly because I like to use bass clarinet and saxophones, and reading their parts in concert usually results in bass clef, with a bunch of ledger lines when the part comes out of the basement. It's easier just to read the line and think down a 9th, all in the middle or just below the treble clef.

I always write in concert pitch...

I only use concert scores, and just transpose parts. Other's don't really like it. I also only use bass and treble clef...it helps me see where it the register lies in the grand scheme of things, not just withn the range of the instrument...

Concert pitch, all clefs though... Traspose only the parts, and depending on the conductor the score or not, in the end.

The small problem lies when the conductor tells the clarinets that they should "start over from D", where the clarinets have no D anywhere but C in their parts...

I write in whatever key I hear the new piece during the first time in my head. I try to remember what key it was in when I heard it.

I suppose i'm the odd ball. I transpose while I write. John Galt calls it an unneeded pain and I suppose it is. Yet, it is my habit. When I look at a horn, I read it as the horn would read it. Thus I become confused if I don't transpose it. It is merely a habit and generally not recommaned, since we have programs do the grunt work for us!

interesting, so... if you are working on a piece, on a schedule... say that you need to have it by next week and they are going to pay you money, but, you have to send demos and other stuff every 2 days so they can tell you if it

I don't like writing in concert pitch. It's a pet peeve of mine. I don't mind if others do it, I just can't force myself to!

I ues Finale... so I just write it in concert and then have finale transpose it for me!!! I have a concert pitch range finder in my Music Theory Textbook so I don't have to worry about going out of range!!

Like aerlinndan, I usually don't write in concert pitch. Clarinet, Trumpet, and other B flat instruments are pretty easy, and I write a lot of alto sax stuff, so I'm pretty used to that. The only toughie is French Horn.

It porbably has a lot to do with what instrument you play. People who play only 1 or 2 instruments (esp. in concert pitch) probably write in concert pitch, while people who play 4 or 5 are probably used to reading music for various different instruments.

~Kal

I havent even tried composing for combinations of isntruments yet but I compose all my little keyboard pieces in whatever key they are in. I don't know why anyone would want to write at a standard pitch and then transpose unless there is a factor of isntrument pitch ranges that comes into play if you are composing for an orchestra. It's something I haven't looked into yet. Of course if you are using a software music writing program it does all that work for you but I don't use those.

I have always written in concert pitch, especially since I usually always write the first draft of my compositions out by hand. I find that the ideas simply don't "flow" as well if I have to be concerned with transposition. Besides, as John previously stated, with software available that can transpose an entire score in a mere second, it seems rather pointless to spend time and energy trying to transpose everything by myself.