changing concert pitch
Hi would it be possible to change the written pitch with the same concert pitch from the guitar?
eg: if one plays an a-minor fingering with a capo on the 5th it would sound as d-minor. So I would than like to be able to write am and play back dm...
I think it has to do with the "concert pitch" button but, searching the help I can not figure out how it works.
Thanks in advance! oNNo
Comments
The concert pitch and transposition functions are intended for band and orchestral instruments such as trumpet, sax, clarinet, etc. So the terminology that MuseScore uses may not be familiar to guitar players.
Right-click on an empty part of your guitar staff and choose "Staff Properties". In the Staff Properties dialog change "Play Transposition" to Perfect Fourth up (since d-minor is a perfect fourth above a-minor). You might find the main intervals chart from Wikipedia helpful. If you look at just the first two columns you will notice that 5 semitones (capo 5) matches up with Perfect Forth.
In your case the "concert pitch" button should be always switched off. You want the written pitch to be A minor. Concert pitch would display the music in the D minor (the "sounding pitch").
I have a guitar question for you (or any other guitar player reading). Classical guitars are usually tuned to E but guitars read in concert pitch (unless you are using a capo). When you tune the strings to a different tuning (such as D) do you read and play the same chords (same fingering, but sounds lower) or do you transpose the chords you read (different fingering, but sounds the same pitch)? Does that question make sense?
In reply to The concert pitch and by David Bolton
Hi David,
thanks for the help. The stave properties are indeed what I was looking for.
I am familiar with wind instruments and music theory in general :) In my case the "concert pitch" button would only be on if I write (string)harmonies to it.
Yes guitars are tuned e' b g d A E (from highest to lowest (1)>(6) string) Guitarists read an octave higher than concert pitch. Either there is an octaving trebble-clef or the octave sign underneath is made up.
There are lots of different possibilities for scordatura. In your exemple one would play as written(8va-bassa) but of course voicings are likely to be different because of the fingerings. If one uses a capo it is usualy written as if it were without. (eg. capo in III would make the guitar an Eb-instrument (written a' sounds as c' ))
If one would play in a very exotic scordatura eg: Carlo Domeniconi "koyunbaba" e' c# g# c# G# C#, I would personaly prefer tabulature but it is in print in "scordatura notes" ti. it is written as if the guitar were in a drop D tuning...
I hope this helps.
Luck & light, oNNo
In reply to The concert pitch and by David Bolton
My music theory isn't too strong so I can't explain it in theory terms like oNNo but I would expect a piece that requires the guitar to be tuned to a different pitch but with the same intervals to be written as if the guitar were in normal tuning but with an instruction at the start of the piece saying something like "Tuning DGCFAD" or "Capo 5". Sometimes in music originally written for lute you'll see "3=F#" meaning to tune the 3rd string to F# (as lute was) or "6=D" if only the 6th string is to be tuned to D (dropped D).
As for tunings requiring different intervals I would use TAB and expect a similar instruction saying "Tuning DADGAD" or whatever. Incidentally tunings are always expressed from bottom string to top string in case you're interested.
Hope that helps
In reply to My music theory isn't too by fatwarry
[quote]a piece that requires the guitar to be tuned to a different pitch but with the same intervals to be written as if the guitar were in normal tuning but with an instruction at the start of the piece saying something like "Tuning DGCFAD" or "Capo 5"[/quote]
yes, that is exactly what I meant
[quote]If one uses a capo it is usualy written as if it were without[/quote]
if one would want to score it together with other instruments it would, however, be very convenient to be able to display concert pitch.
[quote]Sometimes in music originally written for lute you'll see "3=F#" meaning to tune the 3rd string to F# (as lute was) or "6=D" if only the 6th string is to be tuned to D (dropped D)[/quote]true, but not very relevant imho.
[quote]As for tunings requiring different intervals I would use TAB and expect a similar instruction saying "Tuning DADGAD" or whatever.[/quote]
yes, that is exactly what I meant
[quote]If one would play in a very exotic scordatura eg: Carlo Domeniconi "koyunbaba" e' c# g# c# G# C#, I would personaly prefer tabulature but it is in print in "scordatura notes"[/quote]
[quote]Incidentally tunings are always expressed from bottom string to top string[/quote]
...well, not realy. Only d' a g d A D players do so by calling it "DADGAD". I do not know why. Normaly one calls the strings acording to their numbers (1) => ("how many are on")
In reply to [quote]a piece that requires by aeLiXihr
Hi oNNo,
I was trying to give David some helpful information rather than contradict you or open a debate on the subject but I have innumerable examples that are not DADGAD where the tunings are shown from the bottom up with no string numbers mentioned - it's much less cluttered than listing each string. In my experience people only call it DADGAD when theyr'e speaking as it's easier than naming each string - but try telling someone to tune in CDGGAC. Having said that most alternate tunings I've come across are not from the classical world so maybe things are different there
Thank you both for the information.