Transposing from Alto sax to cello

• Nov 28, 2016 - 14:01

I am struggling to modify a piece originally written for saxophone. I successfully transpose the first 3 staves including one for cello which puts the C instrument parts into D and the Bflat instrument parts into E. All fine. However, when it transposed the cello it leaves the clef as treble - also fine - BUT the notes are way too low using uncountable numbers of ledger lines. If I then select the notes intending to transpose them up an octave the key for ALL the parts is modified: C instruments from D to E and bflat from E to F#. This can't be right - all I have done is select a stave of notes. I haven't even been able to make the transposition. Any suggestions for circumventing this? I am going to try changing the clef.

Anyway - brilliant product, wonderfully helpful community.

Many thanks,
Struggling arranger.

Comments

Jm6stringer

• Nov 28, 2016 - 14:52

Have you tried?...

For the cello staff (the one with all the ledger lines):
1. Select all the notes (only on the cello staff).
2. Press Ctrl + up arrow, to raise them one octave

Regards.

mrobinson

• Nov 28, 2016 - 15:28

It pays to remember that, internally, MuseScore retains an absolute value for each note entered: for instance, “this note is C3.”

If you change the clef, the notes will be re-drawn appropriately, but they will not change their value. (In playback, they sound the same as before.)
The same is true of key-signatures: the notes will be re-drawn with sharps and flats as called for by the new key, but they will not change value.
MuseScore does also have the capability to transpose notes to a new key, but this must be requested separately. (By design, merely changing the key-signature will not do it, as previously discussed.) Although the help-page somewhat implies that you must select “all notes in the score,” in fact you can select any desired range of notes.
See the following paragraphs about Concert Pitch ...

- - - - -

Merely selecting notes will not cause them to change key. But there is an easily-overlooked toggle on the Score page: Concert Pitch.

When Concert Pitch is off, the notes appear as instrumentalists expect.
When Concert Pitch is on, the notes appear as they sound.

MuseScore is aware of the customary notation conventions for different instruments. Therefore, if you are transposing from saxophone to cello, you should, probably first, highlight and copy the notes from the saxophone stave, then paste to a new one that you've created for cello, before adjusting them down by an octave or what-have-you. The default settings for a Cello stave will be those expected by cellists. Because the notes that are copied are absolute note-values (“C3”), they should copy-and-paste correctly, and be rendered correctly for that instrument. And, if Concert Pitch is off, they should now look as the instrumentalists will expect them to look.

I am not familiar enough with either instrument to say whether you will then additionally need to then transpose the Cello part to a new key, as noted earlier.

mike320

• Nov 28, 2016 - 16:43

It sounds to me that you are doing something other than what you are describing. If you could upload a before and after score of what you have done it will make correcting your problem possible. Currently we can only wildly speculate.