Reverse of transposing music?
I think I may be attempting something impossible - but please tell me! I have a duet for two alto saxophones and I want to transpose it so that one part can be played by violin. So, it is not a piece in concert pitch that I want to transpose for sax - but the other way round. If I write in the key signature for sax (G major), the first part plays as it should. If I pull across the B flat major key for the violin and input the notes (as written for the sax) onto the second stave, Musescore, of course, has no way to know that these are still the G Major notes for the sax. However, If I now press 'concert pitch', it transposes everything on the first stave from G Major to an E major key ie all the notes on the stave are adjusted for sax only. Musescore seems to assume that concert pitch (and any concert pitch instrument) is the primary element and that the transposing instrument will be the one transposed. I can see the logic of this thinking! However, that is not what I need for this exercise. If I want the violin to be in Bflat key, do I have to work out the note for note transpositions myself and insert them manually onto the violin line? Is there any way to get Musescore to do a "reverse" transposition, automatically, for me?
I am sorry - I am a novice, so forgive me if this seems very naive!
Comments
Very simple. Right click the staff you want to change to violin, select staff properties then click the "Change instruments" button and select the violin. MuseScore will automatically do the transposition for you. Do it with the concert pitch button turned off and you will immediately see the results, though it doesn't matter if the button is pressed or not for this to work right.
In reply to Very simple. Right click the… by mike320
Thank you for taking the trouble to respond again Mike. I do appreciate your time. However, when I tried 'change instruments', it relabelled the line as violin but did not change the key signature or notes. I then retried Concert Pitch and it again changed the sax line to E Major.
There is something about transposing on the 'Stave Properties' drop down menu - but I had no idea what to input so left these unchanged initially. I then tried clicking the down button instead of up; changing to 1 octave (desperation!) instead of zero - nothing seemed to change the violin line.
As you say, the instructions you gave were very simple - I don't think I was doing anything incorrectly. I just can't seem to make it transpose in reverse! You were very kind to try to help me.
In reply to Thank you for taking the… by Sue Binks
Follow the suggestion of Mike320, but be sure that 'concert pitch' is deselected, by transcribing and changing the instrument - MuseScore will change the violin to the correct transposition (and key signature). If you've further question, best way is to attache the score.
In reply to Follow the suggestion of… by kuwitt
Thank you kuwitt. I have attached the (very simple) score. I have only input 2 bars of the violin score - until I know what I am doing! I have to have concert pitch turned off (otherwise the sax line changes to E Major key anyway). I must be doing something very silly!
In reply to Thank you kuwitt. I have… by Sue Binks
Sounds good for me ;-). But the concert pitch is still activated. By deactivating it it looks like this for me. Or do I miss something?
In reply to Sounds good for me ;-). But… by kuwitt
Thanks Kuwitt. When I open your attachment, I am seeing the sax line in E major and the violin line in G major. So, your attachment looks the same as mine - it has transposed the sax line, not the violin. However, what I am trying to achieve is the sax line remaining in G major and the violin line transposing to Bflat major. Am i seeing the same as you?
In reply to Thanks Kuwitt. When I open… by Sue Binks
See below (and ask if it's not clear for you).
In reply to Thank you kuwitt. I have… by Sue Binks
Or do you want to have the score in concert pitch Bb-Major? Then transpose it via tools->transpose...
In reply to Or do you want to have the… by kuwitt
Perfect - that is exactly what I was wanting. Please can you tell me exactly what you had to highlight to get it to change to Bflat major? I just keep transposing the wrong way but you have done it!!! Thank you
In reply to Perfect - that is exactly… by Sue Binks
I've used your attached score and deactivated the concert pitch (so that's E Major for Sax and G Major for Violin is shown). Nothing is selected. Select in the menu (MuseScore 3.0) tools->transpose..., then select by key "Bb Major" and press okay.
Note: But it doesn't matter, if concert pitch is activated or not by using this tool.
In reply to I've used your attached… by kuwitt
Thank you to both you and Mike. You are both very kind to take this trouble. I've now done that and it works (of course)!. I had been baffled by the extra step of allowing it to go to E major and then transposing from there. As ever, simple when you know. I am very grateful for your patience - and can now tackle this full score and other pieces. Thank you.