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  4. transposing instruments

  • transposing instruments

    E
    E

    I need to notate trumpets in C as though they were in Bb as well as clarinets in Bb and horn in F at the proper notation for export to a notation program (Harmony Assistant) for a playing score. Trouble is it won't let me do anything except, mostly, transpose up.

    I don't seem to have Bb trumpets in VSL but it seems the orchestra in question uses them and the clarinets don't seem to work either. The horns will let me go down only three semitones although I would probably want to transpose up a 4th.

    I think I'm confused since I'm not used to tranposing instruments, being a pianist in another life.

    Thanks in advance, Ed
  • BillB
    BillB

    The Bb trupet is available as a single instrument download.

    Dorico, Notion, Sibelius, StudioOne, Cubase, Staffpad VE Pro, Synchon, VI, Kontakt Win11 x64, 64GB RAM, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, August Forster 190
  • J
    J

    You would probably be better off doing the transposition in your DAW, and then sending out the MIDI using standard pitch. That way it won't matter what instrument you use to actually play the notes.
  • E
    E

    Bill,

    Yes, I know! But it doesn't answer my main question about the lack of downward transposition! 

    But thanks anyway.
  • E
    E
    last edited
    last edited

    @johnstaf said:

    You would probably be better off doing the transposition in your DAW, and then sending out the MIDI using standard pitch. That way it won't matter what instrument you use to actually play the notes.

    It has occurred to me that perhaps HA could do this more efficiently. Though I might try other methods. 

    Thanks,

    Ed
  • M
    M

    You NEVER should use VIs transposing function to deal with transposing Instruments. It's not implementred for that purpose. Any good notation program (Sibelius, Finale, Notion...) can deal with transposing instruments: the music is internally stored in actual concert pitch, and by choosing the notation style for each individual staff (i.e. which instrument should play this staff) the program knows how the music is to be transposed, how the key has to be altered etc. You can choose between written and concert pitch with a button so that you can enter your music from your pianist/composer's perspective and only switch to written pitch before printout. So if you arrange your music first in your DAW just do so as you are used to, and do the transposing in the notation program

    If Harmony Assistant is not capable of doing so, it is not a good notation program and you should get another one.
  • J
    J

    I assume you can do this is Logic too.
  • M
    M

    Yes, you can, but not as simple as in a real notation program, as you cannot simply switch between views with a mouseclick, and anyway the OP wrote he wants to do the notation in Harmony Assistant.
  • E
    E

    I've downloaded the tutorial on transposing instruments in HA  and will try to work with it today. 

    Thanks for all the replies.

    Ed Gold
  • C
    C

    Glad to see a fellow HA user on here!  I might be misunderstanding the dilemma but I've never had transposing issues with HA, it seems to always let me do what I want to do.  HA transposes correctly for the selected instrument.  I click "Options", "Show Transposed Score" and it switches the notes properly to and from concert pitch, and that pitch is what gets exported to midi, so you always wind up with the correct sounding pitch.

    Add a new staff, select "Brass" - "Horn in F", and start adding notes.  They should, by default, sound a fourth lower than what you're adding.  Is that not what you're experiencing?
  • E
    E

    Yes, it does let me do what I want and I don't want to go on about this subject as it's not an HA forum. But I've found the black triangle to the left (after command T) has to be set up by choosing "apply transposing instrument".

    Now all I have to do is correct a "Myriad" of wrong notes in this, fortunately, brief file and I'm ready to go!!

    Thanks, Casiquire!
  • C
    C

    No problem--you can use that black triangle, or when you add new staves specify the instrument, they have the whole orchestra pre-set for you to save you that step!