Theory & Impro Transposing software question

[MikeM70]

Hi all, long time no speak, so sorry about that. I have a question about using software to transpose notation, sorry if this has been asked before I did search honest.

I've been given a load of scores in digital format to learn on alto, but they are all in concert pitch i.e. C. However, I suck really hard at transposing in my head (basically it makes me head hurty) is there a software package out there that will allow me to import these scores and hit a button to transpose them to Eb or Bb?

 

[nigeld]

MuseScore will do this. It is free.
But whether you can import the scores into MuseScore depends on what format the scores are in.

How to change the instrument in MuseScore is not immediately obvious - you right-click on the first note and select "Stave/Part properties".

 

[MikeM70]

MuseScore will do this. It is free.
But whether you can import the scores into MuseScore depends on what format the scores are in.

How to change the instrument in MuseScore is not immediately obvious - you right-click on the first note and select "Stave/Part properties".

aha, thanks Nigel, I shall investigate that.

 

[Tenor Viol]

Most music notation software will do it, but as Nigel says it depends on if the software can read your file.

 

[Jimmymack]

Musescore has a PDF import option but the last time I looked it was still a work in progress, sometimes it works OKish sometimes not at all. It’s still worth a try but I usually end up just copying the piece out in a fresh file and then transposing that. Obviously if you have a long or complex piece it’s a less attractive option but you can get pretty fast when you get used to it and you only have to copy.

 

[MikeM70]

Musescore has a PDF import option but the last time I looked it was still a work in progress, sometimes it works OKish sometimes not at all. It’s still worth a try but I usually end up just copying the piece out in a fresh file and then transposing that. Obviously if you have a long or complex piece it’s a less attractive option but you can get pretty fast when you get used to it and you only have to copy.

yeah, that does seem to be preferred option from other people I've asked this of.

 

[Jimmymack]

It’s free and it’s good. There’s plenty of other online help available if you’re new to it. If you’ve used other software it will be easy.

 

[turf3]

Software will generally throw a few errors in the notation of accidentals, so you gotta watch out for that.

 

[MikeM70]

Software will generally throw a few errors in the notation of accidentals, so you gotta watch out for that.

worth bearing in mind, hopefully cos I know how they should sound on a C instrument then any errors should jump out.

I know long term I really should learn to transpose in my head, this is more of a quick fix really.

 

[nigeld]

What format are the scores in?

 

[turf3]

Whoever gave you these files, are they the author? Maybe they could do the transpose? Or is that a sensitive point?

 

[MikeM70]

Whoever gave you these files, are they the author? Maybe they could do the transpose? Or is that a sensitive point?

Well, it's not quite that easy. He's a melodeon player, and a good one, but when we got talking about saxophones and them being a transposing instrument, I could see his eyes glaze over a bit. He said he thought he could transpose the scores in sibellius, but I just wanted to get ahead of the game in case he struggles with it.

 

[MikeM70]

What format are the scores in?

having had a quick scan they seem to be PDF's, leastways that's what they look like on my PC once I've downloaded them from his server.

 

[Colin the Bear]

It may take a little time but learning the concert pitch of fingerings saves all that transposing nonsense. I've got to the point where a concert part is easier to read than an Eb or Bb part.

 

[nigeld]

having had a quick scan they seem to be PDF's, leastways that's what they look like on my PC once I've downloaded them from his server.

I suspect it may not be worth trying to scan PDF's into MuseScore - you may end up doing more work than if you enter the music by hand.

You could ask him if he can export the music as MIDI or (preferably) MusicXML files and then import these into MuseScore.

But if he has Sibelius, you can simply ask him to transpose the music 3 semitones down (add 3 sharps to key signature). So if, for example, the music is in C major, he should transpose it into A major. Then it will work for alto sax.

 

[Pete Thomas]

worth bearing in mind, hopefully cos I know how they should sound on a C instrument then any errors should jump out.

The errors will be in regard to enharmonic notation, so relevant to how it looks rather than how it sounds.

So you might get for example B♭ where there should be A# etc.