Transpose Alto to Tenor Sax

• Dec 1, 2024 - 12:34

Hi, I imported a song which is already at Alto Sax pitch. How do I tell Musescore that this is already at Alto Sax pitch, not Concert pitch? Once I have done this, I would like to transpose it from Alto (Eb) to Tenor (Bb). Thanks

Attachment Size
A Hard Day's Night - Alto 02.mscz 29.68 KB

Comments

That score is not in concert pitch, so nothing to change there
And it is (renamed to) Tenor Sax already too, but with wrong transposition settings, so just change to Tenor Sax (again?) via staff properties > Change instrument, then transpose down an octave (Ctrl+A, Ctrl+Down)

Attachment Size
A Hard Day's Night - Alto 02.mscz 31.05 KB

In reply to by Jojo-Schmitz

The original is set to instrument: Voice, which is concert pitch, but my score is already at Eb pitch. Shall I set Instrument to Alto Sax (which will transpose it) and then select all and manually transpose the pitch back so it still starts on D, then save as 'Alto'? Then change instrument to Tenor, select all and go down an octave, and Save As Tenor.

Please also post the PDF - for alto sax.

You have imported it and the instrument is "Voice", but it should be Alto Sax. And you changed it to tenor sax. But I would like to have the original "Voice" version as a starting point.

In reply to by HildeK

Thanks! Hope you've had as much fun as I've had! Interetsing software. When I bring the original Alto .mscz in I have to change the instrument from Voice to Alto Sax (which transposes it) and then select all bars, right click and transpose to 0 - Perfect Unison, so that the piece is still in perfect unison with the pdf. To get to the Tenor part I have to select all bars and go down a forth, (like on a piano from Eb to Bb) and then change the octave. To get to piano I have to select all bars and transpose a minor third down (from Eb to C). So - as per the Transposition Chart, the first note of the piece for Alto is D, for Tenor it's G and for Piano it's F. I've attached the files - do you think they are correct?

In reply to by hello385

> do you think they are correct
Not at all - sorry!

You must not change the transposition of the individual instruments in the "Staff/Part Properties"!
This will result in a completely different pitch.
It works as follows:

  • First select the correct instrument as it appears on the sheet, i.e. alto saxophone. The three then become six sharps.
  • Then select everything (or nothing) and go to Tools -> Transpose -> Transpose Chomatically -> To Key C maj -> Down.

Then you have the correct version for the alto saxophone.
Now you just have to change the alto saxophone to the tenor saxophone ("In Staff/Part Properties"), but you have to move all notes down an octave - Ctrl+A, Ctrl+Down Arrow.
You can do the same with the piano, but here you don't have to correct the octave.
The key is adjusted automatically.

In reply to by HildeK

Oh Right! This is much better - thank you. So when I import music from an alto sax pdf I need to know the main / piano key (in this case it was C major) using the Transposition Chart. I've followed your guidance for the next pdf - the 'Alto' file is the raw file converted from pdf, and the 'Alto 01' file is the file after transposing. Am I getting any closer?

In reply to by hello385

Yes, it's true, at least as far as the pitches are concerned. But you still need to correct the timing of a few measures. I don't have the PDF ...
And yes, you need the key signatur of the score. Piano, flute, trombone, tuba and a some others are the instruments which are written in concert key while trumpet, clarinet, saxophon, horn are transposing instruments.

Or use your transposition chart to see that the difference Eb alto and Bb tenor is up a forth or down a fifth. Use the Transpose function to transpose by that amount. I'd use down.
Why?
The PDF says Voice not because it is in C major but because that label is what got assigned by the PDF reader. It has no idea what the original instrument is. This is an Eb part.

OK, so you have sheet music written for an Alto Sax, so it;s already transposed. Just create a score with an Alto Sax instrument and copy directly. The attached score shows an Alto Sax (a transposing instrument) and piano (C) for comparison. Note that you have Concert Pitch turned off to enter the music when you have a sheet that is already written as transposed and you are entering the music into the instrument it is intended for.

Attachment Size
Hardy's Knight.mscz 27.81 KB

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