Wrong (?) instrument transposition
I was checking the transposeDiatonic and transposeChromatic tags inside share/instruments/instruments.xml (because I am trying to implement transposing scores for capella files import) and I found some values which I think could be wrong:
- Mezzosoprano saxophone:
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/master/share/instruments/in…
according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezzo-soprano_saxophone it is an F instrument (like the F Horn), so I think that its transposeChromatic should be -7 (transposeChromatic = 8 is for an E instrument).
- Glockenspiel & Crotales:
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/master/share/instruments/in…
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/master/share/instruments/in…
I think that the transposeDiatonic should be 14, not 15. Indeed, all notes with a sharp are translated when switching to concert pitch as 1-step higher (+ 2 octaves) notes with a flat.
- Fife:
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/master/share/instruments/in…
https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/master/share/instruments/in…
according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fife_%28instrument%29 it is an Ab instrument, so transposeDiatonic should be 5 and transposeChromatic should be 8 (or transposeDiatonic -2 and transposeChromatic -4 if it transposes an octave down).
As it is written at the moment, it is an E instrument with a wrong transposeDiatonic value.
I am not an expert with these instruments.
What is the opinion of people playing them? Can you please confirm / contradict my thoughts?
I am using commit 7c37c6b under Windows 8.1.
Comments
For fife (German: Schwegel) I found sources claiming that it is available in several tunings, Ab not being among them:
http://members.yline.com/~arizona/
(Es -> Eb, B -> Bb, H -> B)
For Mezzosoprano saxophone: might have been confused with Alto saxophone, which seems to be in E?
Note that I don't play any of these, actually I don't play any instrument at all ;-)
In reply to For fife (German: Schwegel) I by Jojo-Schmitz
Thank you Jojo-Schmitz for the reference. It is confusing because the name does not seem to correspond to the transposing properties. This is described also in the wikipedia page under "Key and range" so that a "B flat fife" (B-Pfeife ?) plays an actual Bb when playing a written D, and therefore it is an actual Ab instrument. Indeed, if you set D-dur in the "Das Stück steht in:" part of the script, the corresponding value is the "transposing label" of the Pfeife. This "label" is one tone higher than the real transposing property of the fife, if I understood correctly.
The Alto Saxophone is in Eb, not E :-)
[ I have to deal with sight-transposing Eb scores, sometimes Alto sax ones, frequently, being an F Horn player in a concert band]
Maybe, as you are saying, the Mezzo-soprano sax got half-mixed between information for F Horn and information for Eb Alto Sax :-)
Is there an actual mezzo-soprano sax player in the forum (Or somehow who has seen scores for mezzo-soprano sax) ?
In reply to Thank you Jojo-Schmitz for by ABL
certainly I got mixed up now ;-)
I think when some call it a "B flat" fife they are referring to its lowest-sounding note rather than to its key, much as calling a flute a "B flute" refers to its lowest note (if it has a B foot). MuseScore refers to transposing instruments by their key so a B flat cornet playing a C will sound as a concert B flat, an F horn as an F etc. Anyway, you can always change the instrument name and its transposition from Stave Properties.
Seems to me I remembering noticing the glockenspiel & crotales transposition issues when I was adding the transposing clef tags and thought I fixed them, but I guess not. Looks I did fix xylophone and celesta, maybe that's what I remembering.
Anyhow, I'm sure you are right about those; it's the same basic error that existed in xylophone and celesta.
No idea about the others.