What is a transposing instrument?

A transposing instrument is a musical instrument that sounds different from the written pitch in the sheet music. When a musician plays a note on a transposing instrument, the pitch heard is not the same as the pitch notated; for example, a B-flat Trumpet sounds a concert pitch a whole step lower than written. This requires musicians to transpose music to match the concert pitch used by other instruments. Common transposing instruments include the Clarinet, trumpet, and Saxophone.