Definition of transposition Transposition

trans•po•si•tion

We found 16 definitions of transposition from 6 different sources.

What does transposition mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: transpositions
transposition - (music) playing in a different key from the key intended; moving the pitch of a piece of music upwards or downwards
		playing the action of taking part in a game or sport or other recreation
		music musical activity (singing or whistling etc.); "his music was his central interest"
transposition - (mathematics) the transfer of a quantity from one side of an equation to the other along with a change of sign
		computation, computing, calculation the procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical or logical methods
		algebra the mathematics of generalized arithmetical operations
transposition - the act of reversing the order or place of
		reversal
		reordering a rearrangement in a different order
transposition - (electricity) a rearrangement of the relative positions of power lines in order to minimize the effects of mutual capacitance and inductance; "he wrote a textbook on the electrical effects of transposition"
		rearrangement changing an arrangement
transposition - (genetics) a kind of mutation in which a chromosomal segment is transfered to a new position on the same or another chromosome
		chromosomal mutation, genetic mutation, mutation a change or alteration in form or qualities
transposition - any abnormal position of the organs of the body
		heterotaxy
transposition - an event in which one thing is substituted for another; "the replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood"
		substitution, permutation, replacement, switch
		fluctuation, variation the quality of being unsteady and subject to changes; "he kept a record of price fluctuations"

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Wiktionary

transposition (Noun)
A shift of a piece of music to a different musical key by adjusting all the notes of the work equally either up or down in pitch.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

transposition (n.)
The act of transposing, or the state of being transposed.
transposition (n.)
The bringing of any term of an equation from one side over to the other without destroying the equation.
transposition (n.)
A change of the natural order of words in a sentence; as, the Latin and Greek languages admit transposition, without inconvenience, to a much greater extent than the English.
transposition (n.)
A change of a composition into another key.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

transposition
The act or process of transposing or interchanging.
transposition
(Music) the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes (pitches or pitch classes) up or down in pitch by a constant interval.

Wikipedia

music
Transposition or transposing in music means playing or writing music in a different key. Transposing music means making it sound higher or lower.

Transposing is a useful skill for people who play an instrument, especially the piano or organ. If a pianist is accompanying a singer and the song is a little too high for the singer’s voice it is very useful if he is able to transpose it down so that the music sounds in a lower key. For example: if the music is written in the key of C major it could be transposed down a whole tone so that it sounds in B flat major.

1) Transpose each note. For example: when transposing from C to B flat each note has to be one tone lower: an A becomes a G, a G becomes an F, an F becomes an E flat etc.

2) By watching the shape of the music and thinking in the new key. For example: when a note leaps up a major third the same needs to happen in the new key. This is a better way of transposing.

3) By hearing what the music should sound like and thinking in the new key.

When people transpose they probably use a mixture of all three of these ways.

There is a fourth possibility which sometimes works: by thinking in a different clef. For example: someone who is good at reading alto clef (viola clef) can transpose up a tone from music written in the treble clef by imagining it was written in the alto clef and playing an octave lower (a note on the middle line in the treble clef is a B, but in the alto clef it is a C, or - imagine the new key signature of 2 sh