Legend

Select an instrument from the left panel to see a detailed music stave on the right panel and a panel underneath laied out with the piano's 88 keys.

What do the colours blue, red, green and yellow mean? The music stave has the answers. Here is a summary.

Pedal notes
Brass pedal notes are coloured blue. They are outside (deeper than) the normal range of the instrument. Brass pedal notes have very little power so are used for effect rather than harmony. We have excluded from Musical Instruments those pedal notes of very poor or unreliable sound quality.

Notes not on some models
Some models of concert flute do not go as low as B. Concert flute, marimba and Bb bass clarinet each have notes coloured red. Red notes are unavailable on some models of the instrument.

Best / Most Effective
Notes in the best range of the instrument are coloured green.

Danger
Danger notes are coloured yellow. In brass instruments, where there is no definite highest and lowest note, yellow colours the extremes of the instruments range. On woodwind instruments yellow usually means the note is playable but weak. On a bass instrument yellow may signify an arranger's danger: When you write the instrument this high it is usually to the detriment to your harmony.

Talk to professional players and attend their performances. You will learn in time how to write for them well.