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Snowy

Question for musicians ...

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Is there anywhere on line where I can transpose sheet music? I've just got my clarinet out again but it is years since I played and we have some new songs to learn. At one time i could transpose in my head, but I'm a bit rusty for that, and keep getting confused when swapping between transposed and non transposed music :oops: I used to have some software that wuld do it for me, but it means installing it on my laptop again. I suppose I could do that, but it would be quicker if there were already something there! :lol: Otherwise I'll have to write it out by hand! :roll::D

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I find the whole transposition thing a pain. We have a house containing trumpets, sax, clarinet and piano! I have downloaded a free copy of Sibelus that I thoght would make it easier here: http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/download/get.pl?com=sh&prod=scorch but ended up transposing by hand as I couldn't quite get my head around the programme.

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I use Music Publisher http://www.braeburn.co.uk/mp.htm. It has an add-on Optical recognition package so that you can scan in music and then transpose. Also of course, the ordinary programme transposes, so you can just type in what you've got and then transpose it.

 

I have to say, I have never bought the OCR bit because for the number of times it would be useful, it has really not been worth it. I just do it myself as I can get my head around the transposition!

 

I'm willing to do it for you Snowy, if you want to post it to me or email me a copy. I can email it back as a Word document, which seems to work fine for everyone I work with. Because I know the programme, it's just like typing and fairly quick to do so don't worry about asking. I'm always happy to help!

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Thanks all! I've managed to get scorewriter up and running and done the ones I need on that. As you said, I think once I get back into it again the head transposing will come back. I can still do it, but I don't feel confident enough to do it smoothly and quickly enough for a performance!

 

I've really surprised myself as when I first picked up the clarinet after the 7 year break I tried practising some scales but I couldn't remember what the notes were and what the fingerings were. But once a piece of music was in front of me, I could just play it!! Amazing how it all came back then 8)

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What is transposing? Is it like converting bass music up into the usual notes? Like how I do from Descant to treble recorder and vice versa?

Yes thats right. The clarinet is a B flat instrument, so you have to transpose up one. Great when the music has lots of flats as you get two less, but not so good when there are loads of sharps cos then you get two more! Thats when I get really confuzzled! :lol:

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[smug git moment]

At the risk of gloating, I have it much easier. I play the blues harp, and if I want to transpose to a different key, I pick up a harmonica in a different key and play it in just the same way.

[/smug git]

:lol: Oh very good! It would be nice to have a clarinet in each key. But prohibitively expensive I think! :wink:

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Just having an A clarinet as well as a Bb solves all those 'too many sharps' pieces. I have only known one clarinettist who had one though :-(

 

Ubereglu - some instruments are pitched differently so that when they play a C it sounds like a different note, Bb on clarinets, Tenor sax and trumpets for example. So in order to play a C, those instruments have to play a D. If they were playing your descant recorder music with you, they would have to play it all a tone higher to make it sound right. So if a piece is in C major, the clarinet music would actually be written in D major. As with all music, it is basically very simple but complicated to explain. I hope that helps a bit!

 

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[smug git moment]

At the risk of gloating, I have it much easier. I play the blues harp, and if I want to transpose to a different key, I pick up a harmonica in a different key and play it in just the same way.

[/smug git]

:lol: Oh very good! It would be nice to have a clarinet in each key. But prohibitively expensive I think! :wink:

 

Not to mention heavy. Harmonicas fit in your pocket.

 

I used to play cello. I don't think I could fit 'one in every key' into the house!

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Oh the delights of having to play stuff in many many sharps or flats. I remember from playing in orchestras, a lot of Gilbert and Sullivan and Holst had an inordinate amount them in, especially in the super-fast movements, which is a nightmare on a C instrument because you have to use all the faffy side keys rather than just cover the main holes.

 

I stick to folk these days. CDGA - who needs more than three sharps anyways?! :D

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