# Total sheet music newb question.



## Studio E (May 27, 2022)

I'm studying a score. It has staffs (staves?) for Vcs 1 and 2, as well as Vbs 1 and 2. It seems like the basses should be playing an octave lower than where it shows on the staff, but I don't see that notated anywhere. For example, the celli are playing a double stop of D over F at a 6th interval, and the bass is playing a Bb, but the one in the midst of that 6th interval. Am I supposed to just assume the bass is an octave lower than shown? There's no "8va" or anything on it.

Again, sorry for the newb question, but I am totally a piano roll guy who sits here with sheet music saying "Every good boy does fi....", AH, F!"


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## ed buller (May 27, 2022)

Double basses sound an Octave lower than writen

best

e


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## JJP (May 27, 2022)

Studio E said:


> Am I supposed to just assume the bass is an octave lower than shown? There's no "8va" or anything on it.


As Ed said, that is correct. You should also assume the same about contrabassoon, if there is one. This is a safe assumption for most instruments with “contra“ in the title.

Piccolo and glockenspiel are an octave higher than notated.


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## Studio E (May 27, 2022)

ed buller said:


> Double basses sound an Octave lower than writen
> 
> best
> 
> e


Thank you!


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## cet34f (May 28, 2022)

This article will help:




__





Concert Pitch, Transposing and Octave-Displaced Instruments : A Prelude – OF NOTE






www.rpmseattle.com





The fisrt confusion comes from the fact that concert scores—very counter-intuitively—do not not notate "octave-displaced instruments" in concert pitch. A score that notates all notes in concert pitch is called "true concert score" by some people, and the common concert score you are familiar with should actually be called "concert score plus octave-displaced instruments".

The second confusion comes from the fact that "octave-displaced instruments" are sometimes called "octave-transposed instruments", and new learners confuse them with "transposed instruments" all the time.

Technically speaking, "octave-displaced instruments" are indeed "transposed instruments", but we should treat them differently for two reasons:
1. "Octave-displaced instruments" are transposed to reduce ledger lines, while "transposed instruments" are transposed for the ease of switching instruments (there're other reasons, but this is the main reason).
2. Concert scores treat them differently, and so should we.


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## Studio E (May 28, 2022)

cet34f said:


> This article will help:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is awesome, thank you so much!


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## tc9000 (May 28, 2022)

Jason Allen's _Orchestration Masterclass, Part 1: The Strings and The Winds_ course has a great section on transposition:



https://www.udemy.com/course/orchestration1/


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