I see as much pops rep as any pro horn player, and almost all of it has key sigs, so you are certainly going with the flow. Nevertheless I greatly appreciate when the parts don't. Key sigs are not a problem except when the (often just momentary) key of the piece is different than the key signature. That's when they turn into a pain. That's when I wish users of computers would follow the old practice of adding courtesy accis when notes are chromatic to the momentary key. For example, if the piece is in F but has momentarily modulated to C, any B-flats should have courtesy accis, even though they are in the key sig. Or if the momentary key is Ab, then D-natural should have a courtesy acci.
The other thing that drives me crazy in pops charts is gross mis-spellings of notes. These are the result of working at lightspeed with Fin/Sib, etc., and not always the result of a flatly illiterate arranger. At least I'd like to think so. (I can't tell you how many times I've seen F# in the key of G spelled as G-flat!) Ironically, this is a hazard mainly of providing parts with no key sig, so pops arrangers just can't win. :-P On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 5:37 PM, Christopher Smith < [email protected]> wrote: > They're professionals, they do what they have to to get the right note > out. I can deal with the pencil marks, but I am bemused that they find them > necessary. The freelancers have no problems; it's a couple of older tenured > guys who play 95% pre-20th century repertoire that complain, and they > mostly sub out for the pops concerts that I arrange for. > > I pick my battles, as I am not TRYING to put up barriers, but I'm not > pandering either. You know what a pain it can be to deal with only 4 > instruments in a score that don't use key signatures while everyone else > does. I can't copy music in or out of those staves, I have to set key > signatures separately (that's one operation for the entire score, then one > more operation for EACH non-key staff), and I have check each and every > accidental because of the buggy way Finale deals with non-key-signature > staves. For a project due last week, I had a week to do three pieces for > full pops orchestra with 6 singers and rhythm section, of which one was an > 500 measure, 18-tune medley with modulations. If I had to work with all the > horns staves as non-key-signature, it would have prevented me from meeting > the deadline, most likely. > > Christopher > > > On Sat Jun 9, at SaturdayJun 9 6:16 PM, Robert Patterson wrote: > > > About the key sigs, I guess I am confused. Are you saying you would > rather > > them play the wrong notes than pencil in the accis? Because that's your > > choice given one rehearsal (which is how many most of my gigs with key > sigs > > have). > > > > On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 3:48 PM, Christopher Smith < > > [email protected]> wrote: > > > >> Yes, because horn players still regularly play the repertoire where that > >> terrible convention was used, and might assume that the composer meant > it > >> that way. > >> > >> Heck, I get complaints from horn players who play mostly Classical > >> repertoire because I write with key signatures! Sheesh, get with it, > guys, > >> I say to them. I get the parts back with EVERY alteration pencilled in. > >> > >> Christopher > >> > >> > >> On Sat Jun 9, at SaturdayJun 9 4:34 PM, Paul Hayden wrote: > >> > >>> How many years has it been since any composer wrote a horn part in the > >> bass clef intending it to sound up a fourth? I still write a note about > how > >> "the horn part sounds down a fifth regardless of clef". But do you think > >> this is _really_ necessary in 2012? > >>> > >>> Paul Hayden > >>> > >>> > >>> Magnolia Music Press > >>> <www.paulhayden.com> > >>> Voice & Pre-arranged fax: 225-769-9604 > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Finale mailing list > >> [email protected] > >> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > >> > > _______________________________________________ > > Finale mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
