Why do some instruments exist in Bb or Eb (or whatever) rather than in C?

The usual explanation is that it allows players to learn one set of fingerings for a variety of instruments, but identical fingerings on descant and treble recorders produce different notes, and both instruments use concert pitch notation. If recorder players can manage it, other woodwind players should be able to manage it..... So why did tranposing of instruments happen?

Why do some instruments exist in Bb or Eb (or whatever) rather than in C?
each instrument has a certain range and when the notes are written out it goes on the staff (im guessing you know this already). When instrument play really high (piccolo) or really low (tuba, french horn) you need to read lots of ledger lines if the instrument of written in C or concert pitch.





Now this does get very challenging reading all these lines so people decided to transpose (write music) into different keys to make most of the notes fall in the staff (where it is easy to read).





And lets take the french horn for example: In order for a composer to write music for the horn which falls into the notes which fit on the staff for it, they need to transpose music up five whole notes so a C becomes a G. So when I play an F on my French Horn It actually sounds like a B flat below the staff but is written as an F (treble clef) so I don't have to count so many ledger lines.





So its not fingerings - its ease of readability!





Hope this helps!
Reply:Basically, if you made an Eb instrument into a C instrument, it would need to be so long and huge to get the entire octave range in, that it would be physically impossible to play.





It's nothing to do with learning new fingerings - it's purely a practicality issue.