Instrument Tranposition Octave Issue?
I hope I am not just doing something incorrectly but...
First allow me to mention that I know how to transpose using other methods in MuseScore like Transpose under Notes, but I would l to use the Concert Pitch function and switching instruments when I want to transpose for different instruments.
I'll try and explain:
I take a score which I want to transpose for another instrument. In my example, it is a leadsheet in Concert Key of F, instrument is voice. First note is F5.
I select a measure, click Edit Staff/Part Properties and select change instrument. The instrument I change it to is Alto Sax which is a transposition of a Major 6th, meaning the transposed key will be D Major and the first note will be D.
If I have the + Octave at 0 and select DOWN, it transposes the score UP to D major with the first note being D6.
If I have the + Octave at 0 and select UP, it transposes the score DOWN to Ab major with the first note being Ab4, (a minor 3rd above concert key?)
Despite want I do with the +Octave selection (the numbers only go up), I can't get my score to transpose to D Major with the first note being D5 (to eliminate ledger lines).
The ONLY way I can get that to happen is if I select Alto Sax, change the interval to a minor 3rd (inversion of Major 6), leave + Octave at 0 and select UP.
Is something broken or am I just misunderstanding how the Concert Key & Instrument Transposition works?
I would assume you would choose the instrument, MuseScore would automatically figure the transposition interval, you could then select whether you also want an octave transposition up OR down for notation purposes and click apply, the way regular transposition works.
What I have experienced is confusing to say the least. The UP button seems to transpose down and the DOWN button seems to transpose up and transposition of the key to a minor 3rd above the concert key when the transposition interval is supposed to be a Major 6th is baffling to me.
While the normal method of score transposition works fine, you lose the Concert Key button function and you have to know the various instrument transposition intervals.
Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
Comments
I am not entirely certain I understand how or why you are trying to use the Concert Pitch/Instrument Pitch transposition tool in this manner, but as for the problem you are having with octaves, I would suggest you let the program put the notes in whatever octave it likes, and then select that section/staff and jump it up or down an octave using the appropriate keyboard shortcut.
I have changed those shortcuts in my system because I use a laptop with tiny and badly placed arrow keys, but if I remember correctly, I believe the default shortcut for "Pitch Octave Up" is SHIFT + Up Arrow, and for "Pitch Octave Down" it is SHIFT + Down Arrow. You had better check, though. If you are not familiar with these, look in the list of all keyboard shortcuts (Edit>Preferences>Shortcuts).
PS--You are aware, I presume, that the 'Concert Pitch' tool does not actually transpose the music itself--that is to say, it does not change the sound of the playback. This tool only toggles between concert pitch display and transposed notation for non-concert-pitch instruments.
The transpositionb you specify tells MuseScore how to transpose the *playback* given the printed pitch. Alto saxophones sound a major sixth lower than written, so that is why the play transposition is set to major sixth down. Notes for alto saxophone need to be written a major sixth higher than you want them to sound, so that is why the effect of setting the play transposition with concert pitch turned off is to moved the written pitches higher - so they will continue to *sound* at the originally-entered pitches.