Transposing

2002-07-13 07:58 am

I do a lot of arranging for the bigband I play in; my preferred method is to sequence all the parts on my workstation, then import the midi file to NWC to score out the arrangement. This, of course, entails having to transpose many of the parts for trumpet, saxophone, and so forth, but generally speaking the transpose feature of NWC renders this a fairly easy task, (even though it entails a great deal of note-by-note editing, since NWC's idea of "enharmonic spelling" is rather strange - eg: pieces in C are far more liklely to show Bb than A#, and pieces in D minor need a C# far more than a Db.....)

However, I have encountered a problem whilst transposing by 9 semitones (eg for alto and baritone sax); I am currently working on a number in concert G minor, and found that NWC rendered the transposition up 9 semis as what can only be described as a nightmare; I have an A# in the middle of a chromatic rise, and the little box appears to warn of impending problems appeared at this note and every single note following it to warn that it could not be transposed correctly, and I had to transpose the whole part on my synth first and reimport the file before I could be satisfied NWC was showing all the right notes. When later (for reasons too long to explain) I needed to transpose the part back to concert pitch by transposing down 9 semis, the results can best be described as musical gibberish; for example, G was rendered as A#, even after "enharmonic spelling" - instead of Bb, whilst F# appeared as Ab - completely wrong - when transposed. I even tried transposing down a semi-tone at a time, 9 times, but NWC resolutely refuses to behave .... !

I have only noticed this problem occurring since the latest update (and so far, to be honest, only in minor keys); does it have something to do with NWC trying to keep the notes at the same (visible) interval when transpositions are carried out?

Re: Transposing

Reply #1 – 2002-07-13 08:07 pm

I'm not terribly conversant with minor keys and all the theory, but try this:

1/ Save the file under a new filename (in case this doesn't work)

2/ Select the staff you've transposed that has the problem (if you haven't transposed it already, do it now).

3/ Use F2 for staff properties, go to the midi tab, and select file transposition 0 semitones.

4/ Close the staff properties dialogue.

5/ Use the tools dropdown menu, select transpose staff, value 0, turn off the update staff playback, and select the key signature preference, select OK

6/ Use F2 again, and reset the file transposition to -9 for alto and -21 for bari.

I have no idea if this will solve your problem, but let us know if it does, please. I think that as long as it solves the display aspect, you've got what you need, but it may help with the playback too?

Re: Transposing

Reply #2 – 2002-07-20 08:10 pm

If you cannot figure this out, sending an example that demonstrates your problem would be very helpful.