Background on me: I am a classically trained trombonist who struggles with music theory.
I know that a trombone is in the key of Bb, but what does that mean? The key is determined by the piece your playing? Additionally, a trombone with an F trigger is shifted into the key of F when the trigger is depressed (same with the G trigger on bass trombone). What does that mean? For me it just means that first position is now 6th.
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Some people are kind of missing the boat here. The key the music is written in is related to, but not exactly the same as the “key” of the instrument.
A B-flat trumpet, trombone, tuba, baritone/euphonium are said to be “in B-flat” because that’s the fundamental pitch of the instrument with no valves pressed/slide in first position. You’re a trombonist, so you know what I mean when I say “pedal B-flat,” right? That is the fundamental pitch produced by the length of tubing that makes up a trombone. A euphonium is the same length. A B-flat trumpet is half the length. A B-flat tuba is twice the length.
There are also C trumpets and C tubas often played by professional musicians…they can still play the same music written for B-flat tuba or trumpet on their C instrument…they just have to adjust their fingerings accordingly.
Now, for woodwinds…what makes it an “E-flat alto saxophone?” I’m not as sure of this. If you cover all of the holes, you get a concert-pitch D-flat. If you don’t put down any fingers, you get …E natural? I think that’s right.
Anyway, my best guess is that the E-flat scale is the most natural one to play by just putting fingers down and not using the “accidental” keys (like the pinky G-sharp key, the C-sharp key, etc). I am not totally sure of that. Just an educated guess.
In any case…what “key” the instrument is in, is a property of the *instrument*. The music is written transposed to that key for the sake of convenience and making it easier to move between instruments while keeping similar fingerings.
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