MIDI File Imported with Six Flats
I'm new to MuseScore, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question. (I did look in the manual. No help there.)
I've just imported a MIDI file generated in Reason 9. For some reason it imports with a key signature of six flats. I'd guess MuseScore is trying to interpret my track, which contains both chromatic notes and a few key changes, and just doing a poor job of it. I can easily get rid of the key signature -- but at that point I have a score with a whole big bunch of B-double-flats that have to be enharmonically respelled as A-naturals, one at a time. Among other enharmonic mishaps -- G-flats where F-sharps are wanted, etc.
Needless to say, Reason has no notion of key signatures. The spurious data is not coming from Reason, unless there's a bug in their MIDI file output, which is possible but not likely.
Is there a way to tell MuseScore, "When you import this MIDI file, import it in C major"? The key signature is not, as far as I can see, one of the settings in the MIDI import settings box along the bottom of the screen.
Thanks for any tips you can offer!
Comments
Worth a try:
1) Select the key-signature after importing and press the delete key
2) Where File, Edit, etc. are, click Notes → Respell Pitches
I wouldn't assume a program capable of generating MIDI files has no concept of a key signature. It's possible there is a setting in Reaper that caused *it* to attempt to guess the key and it output that to the MIDI file. Worth checking.
Anyhow, there are a number of ways to get MuseScore to respell things after a key change. Perhaps the simplest is to select all and then do Notes / Respell Pitches. This wasn't designed for that particular use case so it may or may not do what you want, but it's the first thing I'd try.
Another thing you could do is select all then hit Down followed by Up to respell everything as sharps, or vice versa to respell as flats. That's more useful if the key is one in which you'd expect most accidentals to be spelled the same way, but in C, realistically, it's probably pretty close to 50/50.
Unfortunately, in the end, MIDI just isn't a very good interchange format for notation precisely because of issues like this (and others) that force notation programs to guess.
If you post your MIDI file here, people will be able to take a look and offer more specific advice on how this particular file might best be handled.
In reply to I wouldn't assume a program by Marc Sabatella
Thanks -- the Respell Pitches command takes care of the problem.
I do think it's a safe assumption that Reason (not Reaper) has no concept of key signatures. It just doesn't.
Interestingly enough, there is some sort of MIDI meta 'instruction' code to signify a key-signature.
If you've extra time at hand:
http://kbd-infinity.com/kbd-infinity-blog/changing-the-key-signature-of… or
https://ccrma.stanford.edu/courses/220b-winter-2006/cm/doc/dict/midi-ke…
So even though it won't affect the 0-127 pitch spectrum, if this metadata is present, it can give an importing program (like Musescore) a heads-up as to the way it should be interpreted. It seems Marc's mentioning Reaper's functionality is akin to this; it wasn't a typo regarding Reason. For the most part, Reason could potentially allow the user to set the key-signature to have this information involved during MIDI-export, but it probably doesn't because it doesn't work with midi notes that way, although It's most definitely worth double-checking in case there's a midi-export option to include a key-sig.
In reply to Interestingly enough, there by worldwideweary
Right, MIDI files can and often do have key signatures. But actually, it *was* just a slip of the "tongue" that I wrote Reaper instead of Reason :-). Still, it is strange to me that any program would provide MIDI export without the ability to specify the key signature. Seems an odd omission to make.
In reply to Right, MIDI files can and by Marc Sabatella
Argh, Tongue Slips and Assumptions.
What a world....
In reply to Interestingly enough, there by worldwideweary
That first link is interesting -- I learned something today. Thanks! It's quite clear that Reason doesn't provide this metadata, however. I checked the Preferences box, but it would be shocking if they had included any such feature, since nothing else in the program is key-signature-aware.
My second export/import cycle worked as desired with respect to key signature: The piece is clearly in G major, and MuseScore analyzed it and produced a score with one sharp. So the difficulty I was having with the first piece was due to the fact that it uses a Phrygian scale with a major 3rd (and sometimes the minor 3rd as well), while going through various keys -- D Phrygian, F Phrygian, Bb Phrygian (the closest approximation to a standard 6-flat key signature), and probably some other tonal center too.
I would not expect MuseScore to be able to figure this out!