Get rid of double sharps and use another spelling permanently.
I have a double sharp in a Harp part, and I know that Harp players in general don't like see double sharps. However, when I change the note either using the up/down key or the J key to a natural sign, it somehow returns back to a double sharp. Any help would be cool. Thanks.
Comments
Post the score, please.
Also be sure to use the latest version of MuseScore, 2.1. There were issues with the "J" common in some earlier versions (2.0.1, maybe?) that could in certain cases result in this sort of behavior.
Sometimes though double sharps are the correct notation. I'd say almost always for who would put in double sharps for fun? So the harpists just have to suck it up like the rest of us.
In reply to Sometimes though double by azumbrunn
Normally I'd agree with this, but I think I can see why harp might actually be special in this way. Not sure how familiar you are with the design of the harp, but the configuration of the levers is such that there is a physical relationship between the note spelling and the string you have to play the note on that is unlike how it works for pretty much any other instrument. There are a number of other concessions to this reality made for harp - like deliberately spelling a note as Fb even though it might really be an E, because the E string is set to the flat position and thus not available to play an E at that moment, so it has to be played on the F string with the pedal in the flat position. Double sharps would work similarly. If a note is to be played on the G string, it should probably be notated as a G regardless of the correct spelling of the pitch.
In reply to Normally I'd agree with this, by Marc Sabatella
I had a girl friend for many years who played the harp... Nonetheless I can see the reasons for sometimes giving a note an unusual name what with the double pedal mechanism. But on the other hand we non harpists have to deal with enharmonic changes too.
The key here is that for any pitch you have three strings on which you can play it (except at the very upper and lower end of course), depending on the pedal setting (which the player has to change as the piece moves through modulations). So calling a double sharp f a g presupposes a pedal setting; if the composer (or editor) gets the pedal setting wrong things are made worse by the unconventional notation.
Anyhow there is plenty of difficulty reading notes and translating into technique long before the double sharps and double flats come into play. Probably explains why my friend could not sight read.
In reply to I had a girl friend for many by azumbrunn
Unless I';m very much mistaken , it is *not* true that any note can be played on any of three strings. As far as I know, D, G, and A can be played on one string only - the D, G, and A strings respective. The rest - including all the "black keys" as well as C, B, E, and F can be played on two - and the standard way to notate this is with explicit notation of enharmonics. If you want a C played on the B string, you notate it as B#, even if it really is a C. That's just how it is done; you don't notate the C and hope the player figures out they need to play it on the B string. So similarly, if a Bx occurs, that's a notate that could be played as C# or Db and needs to be notated as one or the other explicitly. And Fx can only be played on the G string and needs to be notated as such.
Rather than using j to respell the pitch, why don't you enter the correct pitch and use accidentals to force it to what you want. If it's supposed to be a G- natural, type G then press the natural button on the note input toolbar.
As far as concessions to harps are concerned, giving harps a local key signature (often 7 flats) is common in orchestral music. Pedal changes are notated as needed, often in the form of text like D#, G# and so on. I realize there are other methods, but this seems to be the most common in orchestra music from what I've seen. If this is missing, then the harpist must preview the music and make such notations on the music since they do note have the ability to quickly change pitches in a run of notes like most all other instruments. This make sight reading, at best, very difficult for a harpist.