Above is a screenshot of my unfinished conductor’s score in transposed pitch; this passage is in F major, with the harmonies being Bm7b5 - E7 - Am7 - D7 - Gm7…
My first question – which I’m assuming the answer is “yes” – is: should the accidentals in the transposed conductor’s score match the harmonies? For example, should the oboe’s note on beat 3 of m. 43 be an F# since it’s the third of D7?
If so, my next question would be: should the accidentals in the transposed conductor’s score match the accidentals in the parts? I haven’t started working on the violin parts, but I changed the F# I just asked about to a Gb in the oboe’s part because it would simplify the music by getting rid of cautionary accidentals; I also justified it in my head since it reflects the melody moving down chromatically, plus the accidentals match F major being a “flat” key.
Do not do this. If your piece is tonal, the notation conventions for tonal music must be followed. For one, this is no simplification at all for any literate musician, since they will associate a remote spelling with a corresponding remote tonal context – so you are actually making it harder for them to feel at the right place.
Alright, so just to clarify: it’s not necessarily a bad thing if reflecting harmonies in parts creates more cautionary accidentals than if you were to respell them?
Not at all. The whole point of cautionary accidentals is to guide musicians through even mildly complicated lines. They are your friends, not annoyances to avoid.
I would urge you to study how the Greats notated their parts. Here are a couple of Wagnerian examples:
Both simply reflect the harmony. Lots of accidentals are not a problem!
