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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
New to me way to transpose written music into any
New to me way to transpose written music into any
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Michael Rubin
1191 posts
May 04, 2018
9:43 AM
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I have tried many methods to be able to transpose to any key while reading in another. ALthough theoretically sound, all of the methods I have tried have been so much work that I put them on the far back burner of maybe someday.
Last night, just before bed, I had a vision. I wanted to sleep and am a bit of an insomniac, so one thing I do is write it down and that enables me to sleep, trusting that my notes will be clear enough for me to make sense of it the next day.
I tried it this morning. Not only does it work, it is super easy. This does not mean I don't have a year's worth of practice before I am all there,but I can do this.
Now, when I say it is super easy, it relies on a base of prior theory.
The C major scale is C D E F G A B C.
If you were to number these notes,
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
But these aren't all the notes on the keyboard. The C chromatic scale is:
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C
1 b2 2 b3 3 4 b5 5 b6 6 b7 7 8
Notice there is no flat one, four or eight. That is because when you flat these notes, you get the seven, three and seven, respectively.
You could learn the scale numbers for any key simply by writing the chromatic scale of the key and cutting and pasting the chromatic number line written underneath the C chromatic scale above.
For example:
G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb E F F# G
1 b2 2 b3 3 4 b5 5 b6 6 b7 7 8
This enables you to transpose one kye to another. If you play an E in the key of C, E is the three in the C chromatic scale. What is the three in the G chromatic scale? B. Every time you play an E in the key of C, play the B in the key of G.
Take either the C diatonic or chromatic layout.
Let's do the chromatic:
Blow buttonC#/Db F/E# G#/Ab C#/Db
Blow C E G C
Holes 1 2 3 4
Draw D F A B
Draw button D#/Eb F#/Gb A#/Bb C/B#
This pattern repeats for three octaves. To find a repeated note, add or subtract four holes or multiples of four holes. In the final hole on some models, the draw button note is D.
If you substitute the scale numbers based on the C chromatic scale you get:
Blow button b2 4 b6 b2
Blow 1 3 5 1
Holes 1 2 3 1
Draw 2 4 6 7
Draw button b3 b5 b7 1
But if you substitute the sale numbers based on the G chromatic scale you get:
Blow button b5 b7 b2 b5
Blow 4 6 1 4
Holes 1 2 3 4
Draw 5 b7 2 3
Draw button b6 7 b3 4
Each key has its own numbers template. Memorize all 12.
Then I base the actual reading of the music on a system similar to immovable do.
In movable Do, in the key of C, the note C is Do, the note D is re.
In movable Do, in the key of G, the note G is Do, the note A is Re.
In immovable Do, in the key of C, the note C is Do.
In immovable Do, in the key of G, the note C is Do. The note G is Sol. (So, depending on how you spell it)
Treat the written music as though it is always in the key of C. If you see a C, think one. If you see a Db, think flat two. If you see a D, think 2.
Look at the key signature. For example, the keys of G major and E minor have an F#. Another name for F# is Gb. In the key of C, that is the flat 5th (or sharp fourth). Whenever you see an F on the staff, barring accidentals, think of it as a flat five.
For this argument, let's say the song is written in G major.
Decide what key you want to play in. Let's say A.
Since you are reading "in" the key of C in order to sound in the concert pitch of G, you have to account for how much higher C is from G. In the G chromatic scale, C is a four.
Therefore, in order to play in the key of A, you must use the numbers template that has the root that is the same note as the four in the A chromatic scale. This is the note D.
Another way to think of it is the key of G major is to the key of C the same way the key of A major is to the key of D.
Read the notes on the page as if you were in the key of C. Transpose them in to the numbers representing those notes from the C chromatic scale. Find the location of those numbers for the key of D's numbers template, allowing for the ascending and descending nature of the song.
Play the song in the concert pitch of A major.
I am not saying I invented this. I just discovered it. I hope this helps.
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nacoran
9831 posts
May 04, 2018
6:55 PM
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I keep meaning to learn to sight read for harmonica. I can do it for the baritone tuba and, in theory, for the trumpet, and when I was in practice I could sort of figure out melodies singing in the bass clef.
I think we are getting to a point electronically where hopefully we can get computers to do the heavy lifting for transcription. It looks like there is some software out there that will let you take a picture or scan of sheet music. Presumably if it turns that into a file you could get it to transpose automatically, I think.
I don't play the chromatic so I usually just transpose by grabbing a different harp.
I've actually wanted to work out a version of moveable Do with a bit of shape note singing thrown in. My idea is to have sheet music where each line or space is always the same blow or draw on a harp, and then use shape note heads to indicate the different flavors of bends. Of course you'd still have to do something akin to transposition for anyone who played any alternate tuning.
Or scale degrees... there are so many different ways to tackle the problem.
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Nate
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