> regarding the universalness of this. Is it ... like this everywhere or is it different in some parts of the world? Many parts of the world use a term called

> regarding the universalness of this. Is it ... like this everywhere or is it different in some parts of the world? Many parts of the world use a term called 'Modal Music' (greece, turkey, arabic,...) and it's rather unlike the western one. Although I've limited experience of it, you could say that they use the note names (do, re, me, fa, so, la, te) as absolute notes and the 'modes' are named scales that also incorporate music sequences. So you might have a song written in Rast, but the tuning of your instrument (which allows overtones and quarter notes) might be tuned to something else. As a musician you're expected to change instrument or transpose on the fly. > If I look at a score written for an alto sax, How can I tell which note is meant ? If it's for Alto sax it's already transposed for the instrument in the score (Eb, from memory). Looking at an orchestral score, you'll see various instruments appearing to play different notes, but due to tuning they'll come out sounding the same note. > In jazz, people learn a standard in a certain key... Is there something similar in classical music ? Typically not. Although the musicians themselves sometimes have the ability to do it, classical isn't transposed to suit vocalists.