I hear horns in soo many songs.
If you are not familiar with the different types of horns how do you know which horn it is - trumpet, sax? Is there a difference in the sound and what is it?
Also, are the notes played on the horn the same that would be played on a keyboard? I have a horn sound on my keyboard but when I play the same notes on the keyboard with the horn sound it seems that it is wrong.
So is a keyboard G the same as a sax G?
Thanks,
If you don't know the difference between the way horns sound together, then you need to study each horn's sound separately. If you by Jeff Bradshaw (trombone), Miles Davis (trumpet), Gerald Albright (sax), you can listen to each instrument and hear what each one sounds like. Then when you listen to horn sections, you will be able to tell which sound is which instrument more easily.
In a horn section, the high piercing notes are usually a trumpet. The fatness usually comes from the saxes and the trombone adds a warm low end.
Now for your note question. . . Brass and woodwinds have what is called "Concert Notes." If I play a C on an alto sax, it will not be a C on the keyboard. As a matter of fact, a C on an alto will be different from a C on a tenor sax. The notes are played with the same fingering, but the
pitch will sound different. This is due to the difference in the lengths of the instruments. They are not the same length, so the pitch can not be the same.
Anyway, so that there will be some organization to the madness, each instrument has notes that are relative to the piano. These notes are called "Concert Notes." They are notes that match the pitch of the piano.
Ex. If I play a C on the piano, I would have to play an A on the alto sax. Therefore, A would be considered Concert C, because it is the alto sax note that gives me the same PITCH of the piano's C. Concert C on the tenor sax is D. Concert C on the trumpet is also D. Concert C on the clarinet is also D. Concert C on the flute would actually be C.
Remember, it's all about the length of the instruments. So go through whatever horn you play, play a note on the piano, then find the note on your instrument that matches the PITCH of the piano note, and you can find out all of your concert notes.
Once you find them, use them to play with other musicians. If the organist is playing in F, you wouldn't play in F on the alto sax. You would play in D on the alto sax.
Hope this helps.
