transpose ??

• Feb 9, 2024 - 04:25

I guess I just don't understand enough music theory. I've played guitar for 10 yrs, understand my capo well, even figured out the clef with "sub 8" on it.

The attached has 2 sharps, most likely key D. In music jam circles we would call this key Dm. I know the chord diags (in this piece) don't change.

I want to see/have the attached (gotten from U guys) in what I would call key Am (written on C staff) wherein first four notes are A,A,C,E, and existing Em chords become Am (forget the chord images).

There is too damn many "transpose" choices. Why is anything other than the "to key xxx" needed?

Should I be counting semi-tones, and using tpose choices based on E>A, i.e. up
five semi-tones?

And most importantly, why does not "tpose to C/Am" work as I expect?
Ugg, ugg, grrr,grrr.

Attachment	Size
wayfaring_stranger_Ortielus_v0.mscz	20.43 KB

Comments

Jm6stringer

• Feb 9, 2024 - 07:08

You wrote:
And most importantly, why does not "tpose to C/Am" work as I expect?

Because your song is actually in the key of E minor, you need to:
!. Drag the Gmajor / Eminor key signature (one sharp) from the palette into the first measure.
2. Then use menu item: Tools > Transpose and select 'to Key', 'Closest', C major / A minor.
You will get the first four notes as A,A,C,E.
The chord names with fretboard diagrams will not change. Only those without the fretboard diagrams will transpose (meas. 10-16, meas. 28 to end).

dpenny

• Feb 9, 2024 - 18:28

Thank you so much. The 2# in original is what messed me up.

underquark

• Feb 9, 2024 - 07:13

I would call this E minor and use 1 sharp. This makes transposing it to what you want a bit difficult since I can't tell what you want. If you select everything and do Tools >Transpose >By interval, Down, Perfect fifth, this gives you A,A,C,E and going up Perfect fourth gives you a similar thing but an octave higher (but still with the wrong Key Signature)

rothers

• Feb 9, 2024 - 09:07

The tonality of your piece isn't Major or Minor but modal, the Dorian Mode in this case, E Dorian. Same as E Minor but with a sharpened 6th. Key signature of F# & C# is correct. Gives that glorious characteristic Major chord on the 4th.

Dorian is very common in folk music, one of my favourite examples is Drowsey Maggie, also in E Dorian.

Drowsey_Maggie in D.mscz

rothers

• Feb 9, 2024 - 10:40

And it modulates into C Major for the middle 8, love that B7 to take us back to E Dorian.

That Chord change from Em to A is very Star Wars, I can just see Luke Skywalker climbing out of his crashed spaceship to the rising sun :)

underquark

• Feb 9, 2024 - 11:35

Eh, late 70's, Luke Skywalker crashed a car, not a spaceship.

rothers

• Feb 9, 2024 - 12:01

You right ! I should pay more attention to the movie rather than the music :)