Songwriting Cheat Sheet for Japan  

 
Transposing Instruments 
 
Instruments in the ​key of C​ (notes sound the same as the piano)  
● Trombone 
● Flute 
● Recorder 
● Tuba/Euphonium  
● Stringed instruments/guitar/ukulele  
Instruments ​in F​ (they play a C but it sounds F on the piano) 
● French Horn  
Instruments ​in Bb​ (they play a C but it sounds a Bb. Give them note names one 
note up) 
● Tenor Sax 
● Trumpet  
● Clarinet 
Instruments​ in Eb​ (they play a C but it sounds an Eb) 
● Alto sax 

Notation Methods 
Fixed Do 
Japan commonly uses the ‘Fixed Do’ solfa method which means that C will always 
be ‘Do’ no matter the key of the piece. Moveable Do is what we usually use in 
Western countries which is where the root of the key is Do; in G major, G would be 
Do.)  
For Japan, this means: 

C - Do  
D - Re  
E - Mi 
F - Fa 
G - So 
A - La 
B - Shi (in English, Ti) 
C - Do  
 
Sharps and flats are spelt ‘do sharp’ or ‘re flat’ etc.  
I made a chart thing to help.

German Letter Names / Deutsch 

If kids say ‘Deutsch’ it means they’ve learnt the German letter names. It’s similar to 
English although they seems to say the alphabet with the soft pronunciation:  

A - Ah  
B - Huh (this one is weird, thanks Bach) 
C - Kuh  
D - Duh  
E - Eh  
F - Effu 
G - Guh  

For sharps you add the suffix ‘is’ and for flats you add ‘es’, for everything except A 
and B. Here’s another somewhat handy chart brought to you by free programs 
on my macbook.  
Cheat Sheet for Piano 
Common Major Chords - kind of basic info but just in case! 

C Major 
 

 
D Major  

 
E Minor 

 
E Major  

 
F Major  

 
G Major    

A Major