If A#m and Bbm keys are the same, why do the notes look so different?
Hi all. I need help with a music notation question. I apologize if it's been asked in the past (I couldn't find it).
In a score I'm working on, the key of A#m contains 7 sharps. The key of Bbm contains 5 flats. I am transposing a score played in the key of Bb, to Bbm. When I used the "Transpose" key in MuseScore to get the tone I wanted without lots of sharps and flats on the notes, it set the score to "A#m" using 7 sharps. Here is a screenshot:
Notice that none of the notes in the first 3 bars are notated with a sharp or flat, so the key of A#m seems to work OK. However, I wanted the key to be in Bbm, not A#m, so I entered the chord symbol as Bbm. It plays fine as Bbm.
Now to my confusion. When I change the key to Bbm, which is the key I prefer, the notes in those 1st three measures become heavily notated. Here is a screenshot:
That seems to me to be very confusing to musicians. I don't understand that although the notes played can be either in a key of A#m or Bbm, the notes become quite differently annotated by selecting one choice over another. So, here is my question: "Which key signature should I use in this case ... A#m or Bbm? Please remember that I have no formal musical training, so be patient with the question. Thanks
Comments
If you need less sharps or flats, why not transpose to Am instead of Bbm?
In reply to If you need less sharps or… by bobjp
Sorry for the confusion. I changed the key manually, but did not "transpose" per the MuseScore feature. Once I did, things got better. I fixed a few notes, and all is now good. Thanks.
In reply to Sorry for the confusion. I… by fsgregs
I know I didn't answer your question, either.
For me, I think I would let the software do all the work. Instead of looking at the notes in A#m and trying to enter them in Bbm, I would just enter them as I see them ( A#m ). Then have MS transpose them for me. Seems like less work to me.
In reply to If you need less sharps or… by bobjp
When you add the key signature you haven't changed the notes - neither their pitch (which is what you want), nor their name; G# is still G# and not Ab. In some cases that is what is wanted, but not in your case. Try this: select everything, then use the up arrow ket followed by down arrow. That will shift the pitch up by a semitone and force the notes to be "re-spelled" according to the new key signature and then back down again to their original pitch but now using spellings relevant to the new key signature.
Alternatively, instead of up arrow followed by down arrow you can try CTRL+J. That cycles through different note spellings if you press it more than once.
In reply to When you add the key… by SteveBlower
Steve and Bob: Thanks for the reply. I realized I had not actually transposed any notes when I manually changed the pitch, so I used the Transpose function in MuseScore again and transposed from "A#m" to "Bbm". The notes and Chord symbols did generally change except that some of them were now "labeled" as "Cbb", instead of "Bb". When I manually fixed those few instances, the score turned out fine.
That still leaves me with two general questions:
1. If I can score a song in a key of either "A#m" or "Bbm", which should I use? Is it always up to me, or is there a musical convention I should use?
In reply to Steve and Bob: Thanks for… by fsgregs
The convention is that the minor is a relative of the major. Use the one that relates to a commonly used major.
In response to your direct query, I would use Bb minor (Db Major). (Fewer accidentals).
In reply to The convention is that the… by xavierjazz
Great, Thanks. That's what the final song looks like. See https://musescore.com/user/725791/scores/9403663
In reply to Steve and Bob: Thanks for… by fsgregs
It's up to you. But if you have players lined up, ask them whether they prefer sharps or flats. There is no reason why you shouldn't use one key for one instrument and its enharmonic equivalent for another.
Horn in F is the most common instrument in modern usage.
The different keys (or rather transpositions} used historically were based on the use of "natural" horns without valves. The notes such a horn could play were limited to the harmonic series of the particular tube length of the instrument and different length crooks were swapped in or out to change that length and give a different set of notes (this is a bit of an oversimplification but conveys the important principle). Modern French horns have valves that in effect allow the tube length to be changed "on the fly". If no valve is being used they play like an unvalved horn in F. (Probably too kuch information there.)
A reasonably accomplished horn player will cope with whatever transposition you give them, but will probably prefer to see horn in F
In reply to It's up to you. But if you… by SteveBlower
Great advice. I will follow other advice given above and set the overall key to Bbm. I will have to change the horn to "F", but that is easy to do. Thanks as always for your kind advice. My finished song is here:
https://musescore.com/user/725791/scores/9403663
Frank
In reply to Great advice. I will follow… by fsgregs
Again, if you want to make your score accessible to more people, use Am. And horn in F. Always horn in F.