It is generally believed that converting written pitch to sounding pitch in conventional Western music notation is simply a matter of transposition, and is always straightforward. In fact, there are many situations in which converting written pitch to sounding with confidence is difficult, and some in which it is virtually impossible. This article discusses a number of cases, with an eye toward both providing a practical guide for musicians and for raising awareness of the complexity of conventional notation, which is more often underestimated than not. The situations fall into three general categories: instrument-specific and related to clef; instrument-specific but regardless of clef; and more general. In most of the common situations, only the octave is ambiguous-a relatively minor p...
... 2), and in Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel (Boosey & Hawkes, Eulenburg, Kalmus editions), include cle...For example, the bass clarinets in the original version of Stravinsky's Le sacre d...