I want to change the key the music is in, but it won't let me. It just adds accidentals to keep it the same.
I want to change the key the music that I wrote is in. I don't just want to change the key signature, I want to change the actual KEY (which is what I would think is the point of the key signature... Why does it do that??).
I am having to go through and select every single accidental it added and delete them one-by-one. Please help!
Comments
You want to transpose the music, not just change the key signature. Use the "Transpose" menu item on the "Tools" menu: See here: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/transposition
In reply to You want to transpose the… by [DELETED] 1831606
I'm pretty sure I don't want to. I tried a variety of transposition options (like transpose by key). It changes all the tones, hops them up by some interval to keep the melody essentially the same. This is what I am trying to do: say I have a melody in D Major: A B C#. I want to change it into G Major: A B C(natural). But when I insert the G Major key signature, musescore doesn't get rid of the C naturals, it just moves them from the key signature into accidentals in front of every C. What purpose does this serve?
In reply to I'm pretty sure I don't want… by Stefni
Changing the key signature doesn't affect notes already entered, it only affects future notes. That's the purpose. For what you want, you should change the key signature, then click any note you want the pitch changed universally (like make all C# c-natural), right click the note and choose select>more. When the window pops up, choose note (for example C# rather than same pitch like C#5). When you click OK all C#s will be selected, you can then press the down arrow once to make them C-naturals. You should then look at the score and make sure the notes are now correct, especially since there may have previously been C-naturals already, what do you do with those?
In reply to Changing the key signature… by mike320
Hi Mike,
I don't think selecting all c to remove the sharp is necessary.
I would rather use diatonic transposition.
In reply to Hi Mike, I don't think… by frfancha
Diatonic transposition will remove accidentals on all notes, so if there a Bb in this case, the user will lose it.
In reply to Diatonic transposition will… by mike320
What on earth does it mean to preserve or fail to preserve an accidental when the score is undergoing a process of "change from D major to D minor" or whatever? Whether the process can be described as "change of mode", "diatonic transposition", or whatever, it remains "assisted recomposition", and the composer must think about the destiny of every note in terms of his or her plan.
In reply to What on earth does it mean… by [DELETED] 1831606
I don't argue with you at all. I just tell the user how to do what they want to do. If they don't like the results they can figure out how to make it sound right or ask here how to fix it. For all I know this user was copying a part for the English horn and accidentally put a key signature of 3 sharps rather than 2 sharps into the instrument and they now want to fix this mistake. In this context the question makes total sense, and my solution is the way to fix the mistake.
In reply to I'm pretty sure I don't want… by Stefni
Something difficult to understand : You have A B C# and you want A B C natural, you call that "change key signature". No, you change only a note pitch. You can change key signature for all the tones you want, your 3 notes remains the same, perhaps with another appearance (C# can become Db) but the pitches don' t change. If you take a simple mélody : G G G A B, in G major, and if you change the key signature for F# or Gb, you get the SAME note pithes with, of course , many accidents, the melody don't change.
In reply to Something difficult to… by Raymond Wicquart
I understand that that changes a note pitch, but if it changes the default note pitch for one specific tone throughout then I would consider the piece in a different key (or at the very least, tonal mode). And I am trying to change the 'key' of the music specifically, not the 'key signature.' It did seem plausible that changing the key signature might affect the score in this way, but since it didn't I was hoping do determine a way that it would. I understand your point though that a passage of music can be in D Major while the score itself is still in G Major, so I understand a little better why musescore would not want to disassemble the written pitches because of a change of key signature. That is why I had hoped to find a way to change the key, not just the key signature. Thanks for your thoughts!
In reply to I'm pretty sure I don't want… by Stefni
In version 3.2.3, I have a staff in D major with a,b,C#. The next measure the key changes to G major. The three notes are a,b,c natural. There is no natural sign drawn in front of the C.
My version is: OS: Windows 10 (10.0), Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore version (64-bit): 3.2.3.7635, revision: d2d863f
What version are you using?
In reply to In version 3.2.3, I have a… by [DELETED] 29378932
@stefni If the music was "A B C#" and you want to change it (everywhere) so that it's "A B C", that's not changing the key or the key signature or any other mechanical operation; it's "changing the song", re-composing it to be a different song. We don't have tools for that. (Although with right-click on the C# note, you can "Select " -> More -> Select all same pitch/note-name" and move them down with down-arrow, but I'd recommend just recomposing by hand).
In reply to If the music was "A B C#"… by [DELETED] 1831606
@BSG not it isn't "changing the song", it is diatonic transposing and we have the tool for that.
In reply to @BSG not it isn't "changing… by frfancha
No it's not. A B C# to A B C is a diatonic distance of 0. The song was whole step, whole step, and now it's whole step, half step. That happens all the time in real music, of course (tune changes to tonic minor), but it certainly is changing the melody, and it's not transposition. If, in D major, you wanted to move the A B C# to B C# D, that would be diatonic transposition (which is still "changing the song", even if it happens in almost every fugue).
In reply to No it's not. A B C# to A B C… by [DELETED] 1831606
On the other hand, if you "diatonically transposed" from D major to "E" (generic) by a diatonic transposition of a second up, you would get something very similar- A B C# would become B C# D, which you could then regular-transpose from D major/B minor [sic] to C major/A minor the usual way (or start with a fourth down to E diatonic) you would get A B C, but this is an arcane thing to do, and not really equivalent to "removing a sharp or flat". And it doesn't quite give you a "melody in the minor", because you still have to think about where the sixths and sevenths should be sharp and where not. Thanks @frfancha for bring Diatonic Transpose into the discussion.
In reply to On the other hand, if you … by [DELETED] 1831606
@BSG indeed this what I implied, it is diatonic transpo followed by a regular one again to come back to the orginal base note
In reply to @BSG indeed this what I… by frfancha
Although I would hardly recommend this to someone not fully versed in the concepts and terminology....
In reply to Although I would hardly… by [DELETED] 1831606
Yes, thank you both- that is the solution I was looking for! A little bit circumspect, but it will accomplish what I want. It would have taken me forever to fix this score otherwise. I was trying to work out the order and combination of types of transpositions I would need to do to arrive at this, but the way you suggest makes sense. Just for a little background: I wrote a beginning violin method. I wanted to turn it into a viola method, but since it is for beginners wanted it to be a fifth down. I transposed by interval and then had the problem of it all being in the wrong keys by 1 sharp so I was putting in key signatures to try to fix it. Basically I chose the wrong transposition function to begin with but got a little confused about how to put it right again. Thank you for your input.
In reply to Yes, thank you both- that is… by Stefni
I'm guessing the original violin part has ceased to exist so you now must fix your error. Otherwise copying the original and doing the proper transposition would be the way to go.