Transposing
I want to transpose a song, but I'm told that I can only do that using a smartphone and an app. But I want to do it right here on my computer. How can I do that? Or is it forbidden?
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Please give us some more details. What song? What format?
You need sheet music of some sort to transpose it with MuseScore.
In reply to Please give us some more… by bobjp
The songs are old Irish drinking songs, such as "All For Me Grog" and "The Irish Rover." All public domain. I want to put them into the key of D so my granddaughter can play them on the pennywhistle while I sing them and play the guitar. A year ago or so I could do that right on the open page on my computer. Now they want you to buy or pay for a membership. Everything is for pay. I tried to follow the instructions on my iPhone, but they want you to pay for a membership there too. I want to do this just for a few songs and then I'm off.
See https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/transposition
I think whoever told you that wasn't thinking about MuseScore itself - the free and open source music notation program you run on your computer - but about the score-sharing website musescore.com. It's true as far as I know that you can't transpose using the the website. But you certainly can using MuseScore itself. So be sure you have MuseScore installed on your computer, then see the links above for info on how to use it to transpose.
In reply to I think whoever told you… by Marc Sabatella
I have MuseScore on my computer, but how do I get hold of the songs I want and put them into my computer? Irish tunes in the public domain like "The Wild Rover" and "The Parting Glass." All I want is the melody line and chord names, and I want to put them into the keys (D, G, and A) that can be played on the pennywhistle. But every possibility is gated and they want you to take out a membership, which I don't want.
In reply to I have MuseScore on my… by frank14612
you find them on musescore.com, press the "download" button there, and open them in your musescore application on your computer. Do transposing and then print them on paper or display them on your computer screen or what ever you think is appropriate.
In reply to you find them on musescore… by AndreasKågedal
Thank you, Andreas! I have found another website that allows me to download the songs I want and to transpose them directly in the website window, and I can print it directly from there--so no need for MuseScore at all! It is www.8notes.com. Thank you and the other MuseScore members for your and their help. 😊 --Frank Dauenhauer
In reply to I have MuseScore on my… by frank14612
Yes, the tunes are public domain, but the arrangements are not. The persons who uploaded the arrangements set how they can be downloaded. I see there are almost 130 versions of The Parting Glass. I looked at about eight of them. I couldn't download them. But that's not MuseScore.com. That's what the arranger wants, for some reason.
In reply to I have MuseScore on my… by frank14612
You don't need a paid account to download scores unless someone else owns the copyright for them - in that case, yes, the copyright owner needs to be paid. But if these are public domain songs, all you need is a completely free account, not any sort of paid account. Skip anything you see about a trial, just create an account normally by clicking the "Log in" button (not the "Start free trial" button).
For further questions about the score-sharing website musescore.com, best to go over there to that site. But once you have your free account set up and the scores download to your computer, then if you still need help using the actual MuseScore notation software, this site here is the place to ask!
In reply to You don't need a paid… by Marc Sabatella
Thank you, Marc. I realize that the tunes are public domain, but the arrangements are not. But I did not realize that I could download a simple, melody line document, take it into my MuseScore program on my computer, and transpose it there. I will give that a try and see what happens.
In reply to Thank you, Marc. I realize… by frank14612
Even non-PD arrangements can be downloaded for free, if they were uploaded by the person who created them (and they didn't specifically choose to disable download completely). But if some random person posts a copyrighted arrangement created by someone else, then indeed, those are only downloadable if you have a Pro account, so the actual copyright owner can be paid
In reply to Even non-PD arrangements can… by Marc Sabatella
Marc, I have found a website that has virtually all the tunes that I am looking for (8notes.com). I can choose from many arrangements of tunes, and--best of all--I can transpose them directly into the key I want from the webpage. There is no need for me to use MuseScore. I am happy! Thank you and all the others for your help! --Frank Dauenhauer