Difficulty transposing across instruments
Hi,
My wife plays the Violin and I play the Clarinet (Bb).
There are not a lot of duets available that are pre-arranged for these two instruments, so I'm trying to use MuseScore to transpose. I'm not particularly experienced with transposition.
I tried it out by downloading the midi of a violin duet, Ode to Joy, from 8notes. The site also has a clarinet duet of the same piece, so I expected that if I transposed the violin part with MuseScore I would end up with the same music for clarinet.
From the help guides, it seems that just changing the instrument for the particular part should do the trick.
Transposing the violin part (3 #'s) gives me 5 #'s, but also the notes aren't the same as the original. The first note in the transposed clarinet part is a B natural, but the original clarinet part is a C.
The issue might simply be that the clarinet / violin parts from 8 notes are not directly transposed (it does seem that the violin's A should be the clarinet's B).
In this case, does anyone have recommendations on what we should do to get music that we can play together?
Comments
surely easier if we can see the score !!! use under this post the "CHOOSE A FILE"
Yes. This is really easy. Choose violin and Bb clarinet. Now click the 'concert pitch' button, and just write the music. Before you print it, click that button again to turn it off, and magic! The clarinet will be in the key the clarinettist will expect. Read here: https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/transposition
Sounds like fun.
There are many ways to do this. If it were me, I'd print the violin duet. Then transpose the violin duet up one step. Or down a step, which ever works out key wise. Then print that. This way both instruments have both parts and you can switch off.
In reply to Sounds like fun. There are… by bobjp
Enter the violin duet. Change the violin part to Bb clarinet with "Staff Properties". It will appear exactly correctly transposed. DO NOT change the notes. Use the "concert pitch" button to see it one way or the other. This is exactly what MuseScore is designed to handle.
In reply to Enter the violin duet. … by [DELETED] 1831606
So doing this works, but comes out very "complicated" compared to the part downloaded for the clarinet duet. I'd rather not play with 5 sharps. Is there a way to adjust it after transposition that would still sound "correct" but without the complicated key signature?
In reply to Sounds like fun. There are… by bobjp
What exactly is "a step"? There are a lot of terms in the transpose dialog that I don't understand.
In reply to What exactly is "a step"?… by tomasmorton
Can you post .mscz? midi files are of no help.
A "step" is the distance between "two adjacent notes", which is subject to some qualifications. In some contexts, notes that are exactly adjacent on the piano, like C and Db, or C and C#, are "a half step" apart, which C and D are a "whole step". But in other contexts, C and Db are a (diatonic) step apart, as are C and D, but not C and C# (same name).
In reply to Can you post .mscz? midi… by [DELETED] 1831606
Would you use Transpose by Interval or Transpose Diatonically for this? Which option would I select in the dropdown box?
In reply to Would you use Transpose by… by tomasmorton
Transpose by interval. Transpose diatonically is arcane.
In reply to Transpose by interval. … by [DELETED] 1831606
Thank you!
Midi files / screenshots of score
In reply to Midi files / screenshots of… by tomasmorton
those to MIDI files are in different keys (and that is not due to one of them being for a transposing instrument)
If you want to combine them into one score, into a duett, you'd need to transpose (at least one of them) first (into the key of the other), so they are in the same key
In reply to those to MIDI files are in… by Jojo-Schmitz
Ah excellent, that makes sense.
Thank you :)
In reply to Ah excellent, that makes… by tomasmorton
Actually, there's another, clarinettistic solution. If your friend possesses an A clarinet in addition to a Bb clarinet, you can play the score of yours in A (with three sharps) and she can play the one in C! That will work.
Here's your clarinet duet:
Ode-Key_of_B_flat_clarinet.mscz
1. Open score
2. Pick a staff, right click an empty spot then choose 'Staff/Part Properties' in the drop down menu.
3. Click on the 'Change Instrument' button.
4. From 'Strings - Bowed' select 'Violin' then OK, then OK
Done.
Here's your violin duet:
Ode-Key_of_A_violin.mscz
1. Open score
2. Pick a staff, right click on an empty spot then choose 'Staff/Part Properties' in the drop down menu.
3. Click on the 'Change Instrument' button.
4. From 'Woodwinds' select 'Bb Clarinet' then OK, then OK
Done.
MuseScore takes care of the transposition.