Making a key from accidentals
Hello,
when making a music, I put the notes and change the pitch accordingly, this obviously leads to a lot of accidentals.
Would it be possible to change the key in a simple way? So far I am thinking of writing a sharp/flat mode of every pitch (e.g. d sharp = e flat) and then find out a key which would fit best with it.
Is there any software which could do it simply? Especially when sometimes the accidentals are needed and cannot make it with only using key signatures.
Thanks a lot!
Comments
So you want a custom key signature with playback, right?
Without playback this is possible already, would create correct sheets to print, see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/key-signatures#custom-key-signatures
For playback there is #5819: add support for playback of custom key signature pending (and since quite long)
In reply to So you want a custom key… by Jojo-Schmitz
Actually, I'd prefer the standard key signatures (in order f,c,g,d,a,e,b), but I'm not sure which one to choose to limit the number of accidentals; is there a software that could think out any solution?
In reply to Actually, I'd prefer the… by Fera Mrkus
I'm not aware of software that will analyze this for you, but you can force all of the accidentals to sharps by selecting all of the notes then press down followed by up arrow. Likewise you can force flats by using up followed by down. This will make it much easier to determine which key signature would be the best fit.
In reply to I'm not aware of software… by mike320
Or by pressing J or Notes/Respell Pitches?
In reply to Or by pressing J by Jojo-Schmitz
I don't think pressing j will give good results since it cycles each note though its different spellings. A Bb and A# will never both be spelled the same using J, while down arrow followed by up arrow will always result in an A#. Having a # or flat on every note with an accidental will make it easier to find a key signature.
In reply to I don't think pressing j… by mike320
Don't worry pressing a down-up button is not a problem for changing sharp to flat pitch (musescore assds accidentals depending on the direction you are coming from)
In reply to Or by pressing J by Jojo-Schmitz
I see the OP is content with arrows, but I see a problem in version 2.3.2.
I did a quick test with the key of C (which should be used for this purpose) on Respell pitches and the accidentals did not change, which is strange. I would have expected the accidentals to follow the key signature, which in the case of the Key of C should have made B, E, A & D flats and F, C & G sharps, but the D# stayed sharp and Eb stayed flat. BTW, I was using version 2.3.2. If my expectation were correct, this wouldn't help. Seems it won't help anyway. If Repitch notes is supposed to do the same as pressing j, then there s still a problem.
I'm going to do some testing on the last nightly I have and see if this needs fixed.
In reply to I see the OP is content with… by mike320
Follow up:
After a quick test in a recent nightly, I found that the menu item Respell Pitches still doesn't work properly. I put in the following notes A#, Gb, B(b), D# in the key of Eb (3 flats so I didn't put an accidental on the B). After selecting the measure (or selecting nothing) the A# changed to a B(b) as expected but the rest of the notes, including the D# stayed the same.
What do you think Jojo? I'll submit a bug report if you agree. Tell me the expected results.
In reply to Follow up: After a quick… by mike320
As per Marc Sabatella:
"respell pitches" works on a whole select and tries to find the "right" spelling for each note based on some hueristics including key, direction of melodic line, etc. Every so often it does a good job 😊
In reply to As per Marc Sabatella: … by Jojo-Schmitz
Just select the whole score and press down to make all pitches go below their origin, then arrow up to make all sharps
In reply to Just select the whole score… by Fera Mrkus
I understand you realize that, I'm the one who suggested it. This was a side discussion which was inspired by your question. Sorry for any confusion.