Easier transposing
Transpostion of a score by interval (Augmened Unison, Major Fourth, Diminished Resposibilty etc.) works well for some people but I would like to request the following as simpler (IMHO) alternatives:
1] a "From" and "To" option (e.g From Concert Pitch to Bb instrument or from Bb instrument to Eb instrument).
2] Up/Down x number of semitones.
Comments
I'm not sure to be right but I think
1/ You can use the concert pitch button and copy paste from a non transposing instrument to a transposing one
2/ Semitone may be unprecise (if I understand the right "semitone" definition)
for example you have a F to transpose 5 semi tone it will either be Bb or A# (logically more Bb) but how musescore would know it , intervals here could be Augmented Third or Diminued Fourth and that would be easier to musescore to define it (and if then you have a Eb it could be Ab or G# and with the transposition interval no doubt....)
Other thinks the same as me ?
The problem with transposing by semitones is that it would not be clear how to spell the resulting pitches, but I guess the algorithm could be, just respell using the default spelling for the key.
As for transposing from Bb instrument to Eb instrument, doens't that already happen automatically when you change the isntrument itself from a Bb to an Eb instrument? Or am I misunderstanding something about the request?
In reply to The problem with transposing by Marc Sabatella
Transposing by semitone could have a favour flats/favour sharps/use fewest accidentals option. It makes life a bit easier when writing vocals and trying out different keys (vocalists don't always think of keys as you can tell when looking at the instrumental parts of some musicals). Granted, it isn't essential unless there was popular support for it.
As to the other ("From" and "To") I agree that we can already do that and have forgotten why I though it was a good idea to request it in the first place. If I remember I will re-post but I'll retract it for now if that's allowable!
In reply to Transposing by semitone could by underquark
FWIW, transposing by semitone (one at a time) is possible with F2 / Shift+F2, a feature I didn't know about until recently. Pretty cool, actually. No need to dialogs, just hit F@ as often as you need. Like "Up" on steroids, since it transposes the key signature and chord symbols too.
In reply to FWIW, transposing by semitone by Marc Sabatella
Q "FWIW". A IW a lot.
It even favours sharps on the way up, flats on the way down. Now, if it could be made to work on a selection instead of only on the whole score it would be ideal.
In reply to Q "FWIW". A IW a lot. It even by underquark
Good point. I am looking at this now.
But I wonder, does it *really* make sense to always spell with sharps on the way up / flats on the way down? After all, right now, if you have a diatonic piece in D, then hit F2 to transpose up a semitone, you get the notes spelled with sharps, but the key spelled Eb.
In reply to Good point. I am looking at by Marc Sabatella
There cannot be a single solution at this level - notes mean different things in different circumstances. So, there will always be uncertainties until the only act by a human is to turn on the machine.
Sharp up/Flat down is simple - if the chords and key sig. do not match, that's a result of software.
Best,
In reply to Good point. I am looking at by Marc Sabatella
I've been playing with the code, and it's actually pretty tricky to figure out what makes the most sense.
If there *is* a key signature included in the selection, I would think it makes sense to transpose "by key", so going up a semitone from the note D with a key signature of D would produce the note Eb with a key signature of Eb.
If there is *not* a key signature included in the selection, one might think it makes sense to transpose more or less exactly like the "Up" arrow does - sharps on the way up, flats on the way down - so F2 from D with no key signature included in the selection would produce D# unless Eb is in the key. Although on the other hand, maybe not - see below.
If F2 affects the whole score, there is always a key signature (even if C major, there is special casing for that). Otherwise, though, if F2 affects the selection, then there might not be a key signature included, so we see that second case whereas currently we never do.
Even though my first instinct was to say, F2 shoudl behave like "Up" arrow and favor sharps, I now think that would seem inconsistent with how it works if a key signature *is* included, plus, who needs a synonym for "Up" - why *not* do something different?
So I propose having F2 always act like the "transpose by key" option in the transpose dialog. Meaning it will transpose a selection as if you were actually intending to modulate to a key a half step above, whether that key is most naturally spelled using flats or sharps. If there happens to be a key signature in the selection, it will be transposed as well, but if not, the transposed notes will still be spelled *as if* there had been a key change. So if you have a piece in the key of D, and you select a D major triad D F# A and hit F2, the transposed triad gets spelled Eb G Bb - as if you had actually changed key to Eb.
Otherwise, again, it's just a synonym for "Up", and worse, it's inconsistent with the expected behavior if there is a key signature in the selection. As it is, my proposal makes it a synonym for going to Notes / Transpose and selecting the proper key for that would result from transposing a half step up, but it's a nice shortcut.
Does this make sense? Sorry, I know it's probably hard to wrap one's brains around these different cases if you haven't been dealing with this in depth as I was.
In reply to Transposing by semitone could by underquark
"It makes life a bit easier when writing vocals and trying out different keys (vocalists don't always think of keys as you can tell when looking at the instrumental parts of some musicals)"
There are human and can learn if they have time and someone that can take time to explain them... ;)