Key signature changes for me
This is not a bug, I'm sure, just something I don't know about music.
My son plays B-flat and his music given to him by the band director is set in E-flat Major, C minor (three flats on the staff).
However, if I choose that key signature in MuseScore it sets it to F Major, D Minor (one flat).
Why does it do that?
I'm putting the music into MuseScore because he's having a hard time figuring out the tempo(s) and stuff and separating his music from the rest of the band so I put his into his own to separate it.
Comments
What instrument are we talking about? When you say "my son plays B-flat", I guess you mean, he plays an instrument like clarinet or trumpet or tenor saxophone that is considered a Bb instrument. That actually means, everything sounds a whole step lower than written. So, his "C" actually sounds like "Bb", his "F" sounds like "Eb", and his "Eb" sounds like "Db".
The reason MuseScore is setting the key signature to F is that it knows how this works and expects you too also :-). If your son's printed music appears to be in Eb, you have to remember that since everything he plays on his instruments sounds a whole step lower, that means the music is *really* in Db (have him play the music while someone else plays along on a piano or other "normal" instrument and you'll see what I mean).
So because the music your son is playing is *really* in Db, that's what you need to tell MuseScore when you create your score (or at any time after). Then it will show you a key signature of three flats. The button labelled "Concert Pitch" at top left will then toggle between showing you the music in Eb (as it needs to be written for your son) and Db (as it actually sounds).
The fact that many band instruments transpose in this way has been a constant source of confusion for, well, as long as people have been writing music for these instruments - a few centuries. If it helps, you could try reading the Wikipedia entry for Transposing Instrument .
In reply to What instrument are we by Marc Sabatella
Ah, yes, trumpet, sorry.
So, what I'm trying to do for him is put the music in MuseScore and then play it for him so he can understand what it should sound like. So, by having it decide for me, is what is audibly playing the correct pitch or should I be pressing the concert pitch button to make it sound the way it should? I don't care what the score looks like in MuseScore because he has the music from his band director.
In reply to Yes, Trumpet, sorry. by Tomnibus
When you first create a score, concert pitch is normally *off*, meaning, notes will display at *written* pitch as opposed to sounding pitch. In your case, the *written* pitch is key of Eb, the *sounding* pitch is key of Db. So assuming you are copying his trumpet part, you should leave concert pitch *off* and enter the notes in the key of Eb just as they look in his music. When you hit the Play button, they will *sound* in Db, which is exactly how it will sound when your son plays the trumpet too.
In other words, if you tell MuseScore the score is in Db, then everything should just work perfectly. The key signature will show three flats, you enter the notes just as you see them, but it will play them back in Db just as it will sound when your son plays it on the trumpet. There will be no reason to turn the concert pitch button on in your case. You'd do that only if you wanted to play along on the piano - you could turn on concert pitch to see what notes you'd need to play.