Simulating triple flats (or sharpts)

• Oct 2, 2013 - 08:57

Came across a piece of music that contains many double flats, but then came across one single note with a triple flat.
At first I thought is was a printing error, but, no.
In all 12 pages of score, that was the only note with the triple flat, (or triple sharp for that matter)

Is there any way of simulating a triple flat in musescore, can seem to find anything in the forums.

The score is in Db major (5 flats), the note is an Ab in a treble clef.

Thanks.


Comments

Any chance of posting a scan of a few bars of the original score?

Although a triple flat is theoretically necessary very occasionally, I fail to see how it would be necessary in the key of D flat?

There are a couple of remote minor keys in which it could theoretically occur, but most composers would use their enharmonic equivalents instead.

In reply to by ChurchOrganist

@ChurchOganist.
Here is a scan of the "offending" piece in the score.
It is taken from the conductors score of the musical Annie, It's The Hard Knock Life.
The staff, Reed 3 has been assigned to a clarinet, assuming Bb.
Through out this and 2 other pages, this segment is full of double flats for this instrument.

I am helping a group of young girls rehearse this song for an end of year concert.
Using MS to transcribe just the vocal part with piano accompanyment plus a rehearsal backing track for each girl, rather than photo copy the score proper.

I went ahead to add the other instruments for my own benefit, to learn more about MS.

Attachment Size
hard knock life.jpg 128.75 KB

In reply to by murray45a

Looks to me as though the composer is being deliberately arcane by writing that part of the score in C flat - which is of course B!

Consequently the clarinet part has ended up in E double flat because the composer has used the enharmonic D flat transposition for the B flat part rather than the more technically correct C#.

In reply to by ChurchOrganist

When composing a major piece such as a classical symphony or a musical score, where would the composer start, with the key signature first or the melody.
Assuming the melody first, with the score dictating the key, it may be that he has musically painted himself into a corner.

My knowledge of the technical side of music is severly lacking as I have just started learning, although at my advanced age, may find it hard to grasp some of the most obvious things.

In reply to by murray45a

Couldn't it not be the result of a poor handling of an early musicscore software ? (by someone trying to solve the challenge due to the necessity to add sharps for transposing instruments.

Take the 2 first bars of the vocal, and write them one position lower, letting them sharpened by the armature, and you get the same sound. Then follow without change.

In your position I'd use the notation easiest for the performers, presumably not a triple flat

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