Can I make a double-flat into a normal note
I have transposed a piano piece to start a guitar arrangement but have somehow ended up with double-flats in the notation. Is there any way of making these into 'normal' notes?
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select it and press j until you like the way the note is spelled.
In reply to select it and press j until… by mike320
:-)
Select all the notes and press DownArrow then UpArrow (or vice versa depending upon situation).
Uh-oh...
Don't let any pianists see that wacky clef.
;-)
(We know what you're doing.)
In reply to Uh-oh... Don't let any… by Jm6stringer
Yeah, I think that horse dies a few days ago.
In reply to Uh-oh... Don't let any… by Jm6stringer
I should've cropped out that incriminating piece of evidence!
In reply to I should've cropped out that… by yonah_ag
Beside the jokes: try respell pitches https://musescore.org/en/handbook/accidentals#respell-pitches
In reply to Beside the jokes: try… by Mr Fox
Like mentioned in the 1st reply above
All fixed, thanks. I selected all notes and applied arrow up then down. All the flats disappeared, including the single flats, so a much cleaner starting point. (Are double flats a real thing?) Wouldn't have guessed that his was a "re-spelling" but I know now.
In reply to All fixed, thanks. I… by yonah_ag
"Are double flats a real thing?"
Yes, indeed they are: a double flat lowers the pitch of the note concerned by two semitones. See the Wikipedia article about Accidentals:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidental_(music)
In reply to "Are double flats a real… by DanielR
So they are – but why? It seems like an unnecessary complication when the next higher or lower note name could be used. I know well enough from previous posts that there will be a good musicological reason but I can't imagine what it is.
In reply to So they are – but why? It… by yonah_ag
In a key such as Db major (5 flats) if you want to lower the B a half step it makes more sense from the view of the key signature to use a Bbb rather than an A natural (which also would require an accidental). This makes the resulting chords make more sense. A natural indicates raising the A rather than lowering the Bb. It's not unusual to create a chord on the 4th note of the scale (Gb) and even make it a minor or some form of diminished chord. These would have Bbb in them rather than A natural.
I'm not sure what key you transposed your original score in the thread from, but the existence of the flats on the notes and the sharps in the key signature leads me to believe you incorrectly transposed the score. I could be wrong though.
In reply to In a key such as Db major (5… by mike320
That makes sense now.
I don't know what key I transposed the score from or to, I just kept applying a single semitone drop until the TAB fell somewhere chord friendly. The original score had F# and C#.
Update: It appears to still have those so I don't know what I did anymore!
In reply to That makes sense now. I don… by yonah_ag
I would suggest that you use the Transpose in the Tool menu in the future. In the second section you can transpose up or down by interval. I a minor second is 1/2 step and major second is 1 full step. If you end up with a key signature you don't like then you should be able to transpose it a minor second and the key signature will be much better. Make sure nothing is selected when you use and keep Transpose key signature checked. It will also transpose chord names if they were entered correctly.
In reply to I would suggest that you use… by mike320
The interval names are cryptic without showing number of semitones. I have made a score so that I can look them up (bottom of page)
https://musescore.com/user/28842914/scores/6260841
In reply to So they are – but why? It… by yonah_ag
Notes on a staff are more than "blobs of ink". They create recognizable 'patterns'. They allow for a quick visual interpretation of intervals:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_(music)
In the following image, compare the two differently notated Gbm chords. They sound the same, but for any experienced player who reads/performs the music, the lower notation would give them pause (probably in the literal sense too).
![Gb_minor.png]( "Gb_minor.png")
The lower notation destroys that series of nicely stacked thirds shown in the upper example.
In fact, the interval of a second (as in the lowest two notes of the bottom Gbm) is usually a tipoff for a seventh chord.
[That's one reason why that guy with the notation scheme of two middle C's plus that wacky 15vb clef - simply to force note names on the two piano staves to be the same - caused an uproar. Having two different lines for middle C (in a grand staff) would destroy any easily (visually) recognizable "stacking of thirds" in any chord spanning the two piano staves.]
In reply to Notes on a staff are more… by Jm6stringer
Good example. I've recently read the chapter on intervals in "Music Theory for Dummies" and I actually understood all that you just posted, so it must be going in. :-)
For me, the 15vb clef is like an early Christmas present!