Can flute play viola music without transposing it?

by admin on December 7, 2009

will it still sound nice? I have a few songs for viola and they look like within flute range just wondering

Yes, but usually viola plays in alto clef, not treble. You can read it, but you will feel like you are transposing. In alto clef, the third line is "C." In treble, the same line is "B." So when you read alto clef but play it on flute, you will need to be thinking up a line/space all the time. You can’t just read the music as is and play it like you would on treble clef, because it will not be in the correct key.

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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

datrod1 December 7, 2009 at 5:12 pm
florafall December 7, 2009 at 5:48 pm

Yes, but usually viola plays in alto clef, not treble. You can read it, but you will feel like you are transposing. In alto clef, the third line is "C." In treble, the same line is "B." So when you read alto clef but play it on flute, you will need to be thinking up a line/space all the time. You can’t just read the music as is and play it like you would on treble clef, because it will not be in the correct key.
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Adrienne M December 7, 2009 at 6:34 pm

I think it would sound fine, you’d just be in a different key. Not sure about that though. Give it a try!
References :

chiu_johnson December 7, 2009 at 7:21 pm

it’s in different clef music would sound weird, plus if you’re playing with band/orchestra everything would sound out of place.
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