C, B♭, or E♭ instrument — How do they differ?”

Perhaps you’ve wanted to buy a songbook and saw “For Eb Instruments” on the cover.

The reason for this is that certain instruments are tuned differently.
In wind instruments, this means that the note you finger (e.g., a C) doesn’t necessarily correspond to the tone that actually sounds.

Transposing Instruments

We refer to these as transposing instruments.
If an Eb alto saxophone sees a notated C and plays that fingering, an Eb will sound.
With a Bb trumpet, a Bb sounds when a C is played.

Why does this exist?
The reasons for these different tunings are historical and related to the construction and playing style of the instruments.

C Instruments

C instruments include:

• Guitar
• Piano
• Violin, Viola
• Cello
• Trombone (mainly)

Bb Instruments

• Saxophone (Bass, Tenor, Soprano, Sopranissimo)
• Trumpet
• Clarinet (mainly)

Eb Instruments

• Saxophone (Alto)
• Clarinet (occasionally)
• Tuba (occasionally)

Important:

Many instruments come in different tunings.

For example, there are saxophones in Bb (Tenor, Soprano, etc.) and Eb (Alto), clarinets mainly in Bb, but also in Eb, and tubas in various tunings (Bb, C, Eb, F).

Trombones are also mainly played as C instruments, but there are also Bb trombones.