I don't think I understand what the problem is with writing your bass parts. If the correct transposition is set up in your template, then you simply write the part just as you would normally write it - as if you were doing it by hand. You write middle C, one ledger line above the bass clef staff, and that sounds one octave below that - absolutely normal for bass parts. Even "Concert" scores have certain octave transpositions built in (bass, guitar, piccolo, orchestra bells, xylophone). Without those, there'd be no room between staves for all the ledger lines that would be necessary. Am I missing something in what you are saying?
I do work directly in Finale. At the moment I'm using a 3 octave "Garage Key" keyboard, which is quite compact, neat, and elegant looking, but it does not do the trick for me. Even though it has octave transposition buttons, so you can enter music in any octave, I need a wider range to check sounds which are more spread than the 3 octave range it affords. I will be moving to a simple 61 note M-Audio (61es) in a couple of days. I hope that will suffice. If anyone needs the Garage Key, please let me know. Otherwise, it will likely go to one of my needy students.
I write transposed scores. I got used to them when I first started arranging/composing, and my NY copyists recommended it. There are some advantages, if you can adapt to them. Most instruments "look" as they sound - in their ranges, relative to the position in the staff, so that's a plus, and you don't run into so many ledger line problems. Of course, if you followed that logic all the way through, you'd write the trombones in the tenor clef a lot of the time, and I don't do that. And I still have to decipher the alto clef for the viola parts (shame on me for not getting used to that by now). If I wrote more string music, I'd probably get to the point where that was as transparent to me as the saxophone transpositions are.
Please do send me Chris' drum mapping post. I remember seeing it when he wrote it, but it seemed daunting at the time. I may be ready to tackle it now - get it set up on my templates, so that I can use it when I get the jazz version of GPO.
Bed now - follow up tomorrow, if there's something I misunderstood.
Chuck
On Jan 24, 2005, at 9:49 PM, Don Hart wrote:
I opened up one of finale's orchestra templates and saw that simplify keyChuck Israels
was checked on that bass part. That *fixed* it. Not as nice as entering
the pitch where I want it once and being done with it. Kinda busts the
groove.
So, do all you guys that use transpositions on piccolo and bass parts have
88 key midi keyboards? :-) Do any of you work directly into Finale? Do any
of you write concert scores?
I may have to go out and find a used Proteus 2 - they're pretty cheap, last
I checked. I wish I could use GPO all the way through a project but it
doesn't seem to be quite up to the task on the mac yet. Eventually (usually
after the computer has been idle for several hours) it craps out the sound
on my mac and I have to restart. Pretty good up 'til that point tho'. Big
sigh.....
BTW, Chuck, I saved a post from Christopher Smith last year that might help
you with that drum part. Let me know if you want it and I'll forward it to
you. June 29, 2004, 7:51 AM if you want to look it up in the archives.
Don Hart
on 1/24/05 9:41 PM, Don Hart at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Thanks, Chuck, but neither octave up or octave down (+7 or -7) is doing
anything to affect playback right now. Maybe it's my file. I'll experiment
and let you know if I can fix it.
Don
on 1/24/05 9:13 PM, Chuck Israels at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Hi Don,
This is so easy!
First, apply the correct transposition to the part using the staff
tool. (I believe that you can enter the number 7 in the transposition
box.) The notes will then appear one octave too high. so you then use
the mass edit tool to re transpose that entire staff one octave lower
and everything will look right, and sound right. A piece of cake.
Now, if anyone can tell me an easy way to get the drum sounds mapped to
a drum set part, I'll be flying high.
Good luck with this, Don.
Chuck
On Jan 24, 2005, at 7:02 PM, Don Hart wrote:
on 1/24/05 2:45 PM, A-NO-NE Music at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Chuck Israels
Don Hart / 05.1.24 / 03:31 PM wrote:
But when I score the pitches as they will be written in the part,
the notes
I hear back are an octave too high.
It's a transposed instrument. Have you set it that way?
I realize it's transposed, but no, I haven't set it up that way. I've
been
writing octave displaced parts (like piccolo and contrabass) in the
staff,
where the player will read the notes in their part.
It's not the factor it used to be in Finale, but in writing concert
scores I
never saw the sense in adding more transposed parts than I had to. It
just
meant more dynamics and articulations needing to be moved, or futzing
with
8va/8vb and notes out of the range of my keyboard, or all the above.
Up
until my Proteus 2 died not too long ago (which brought about this
need for
Finale's sounds), it played the correct octave when I notated these
parts in
the staff and saved me some mouse work.
It's not really that big a deal to use a transposition, I suppose, but
I
guess I just naturally thought of displacing the sound first.
So, is there any way to change the octave of Finale's contrabass sound?
Thanks,
Don Hart
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_______________________________________________
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230 North Garden Terrace
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phone (360) 671-3402
fax (360) 676-6055
www.chuckisraels.com
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