Background: I am using some sheet music I downloaded from Musescore. The piece I’m working on is Clair de Lune, with 10 instruments, none of which are piano. I’m putting it together on a Yamaha Keyboard.
So I wanted piano in the music, so I changed two of the instruments to piano. Part of my learning curve is that when using sheet music for other instruments to play on a piano, depending on the instrument written for, it may need to be transposed, which of course I discovered.
One of the instruments I changed is a B flat clarinet. I found it sounding just awful in certain places of the song. So, I need to transpose that one instrument, not everything.
My research (via videos on YT) says I should be able to use the Root Key setting to accomplish that. So the music is written in the key of D flat Major. ChatGPT told me I need to drop two semitones, to the key of B Major. So, I selected the track, clicked on the Root Key pull down and selected B. It indicates that is the key for that track, but it makes zero difference.
I also tried using the inspector, and selecting Midi Modifiers, and Transpose, and dropped it by 2. That also made no difference.
Actually Cubase doesn’t adjust this setting on Tracks, the setting is for MIDI Parts. So when you tried to change this it didn’t do anything to the Track. However somewhere in your Project you had one or more MIDI Parts selected and you likely did inadvertently transpose those.
Cubase let’s you Transpose MIDI in several different ways. Some of these are destructive, meaning the underlying MIDI data is modified, while others are non-destructive where the data doesn’t change but it is adjusted during playback.
Both of the methods you tried are non-destructive. So if you were looking at the MIDI in an Editor it wouldn’t change but it would sound different when played. MIDI Modifiers adjusts MIDI for the entire Track where adjusting the Root Key (and other parameters on the Info Line) changes it on a MIDI Part by Part basis.
To make sure I understand, and maybe clarify my statement:
I am working in a midi project, a midi file imported from a midi I recorded on a Yamaha keyboard. I am interpreting the first paragraph of your reply to mean that I cannot transpose the midi data in the track. Note, I have been doing some editing/correcting of timings etc in the key editor.
If my interpretation of that first paragraph is correct, it sounds like I need to learn midi events and data in order to do a transpose of this track of data. If so, I’m out of luck for a while.
But the last paragraph does sound promising. You said:
…if you were looking at the MIDI in an Editor
I’m new enough to this that I’m not sure if I am or not (I thought I was given I loaded a midi file, not audio). So, below is a screen capture of where I did this, which is in the imported midi file. Of course you will recognize the captured environment:
So the selected track (above the Midi Modifiers box in the screen capture) is the track I need to transpose. I did a minus 2 in the transpose box of the Midi Modifiers box. Not only did I see no changes (which I now understand I won’t) but I heard no difference. So I obviously I need to know a bit more than I do
It sounds like in my example I am not editing midi.
Any thoughts to further me in the right direction?
Someone suggested that to move down 2 semi tones to do this: I went into the key editor, and I selected all on the track and just pressed the down arrow key twice. It dropped it down two times.
So, it sounds much worse. So a couple options for the results. Either that is a wrong way to do it, or I’ve been misinformed how much the pitch should change for it to sound correct.
So, again the need is: used sheet music written for B flat clarinet, but recorded with piano. I was told I need to transpose it down two semi tones, which would be key of B flat. And actually, it sounds good through most of the song before doing that, but very bad at a certain area / few measures of the song, before transposing.
Well that is correct. For a Bb clarinet the actual pitches played are 2 half-steps below what is written. But if that doesn’t sound right perhaps whoever made it did it wrong to begin with. Maybe avoid pieces that use transposing instruments while you are starting off.
If you open it in the Key Editor and Select them all like you did before, you can move them up & down by half-steps. Loop play and adjust 'till it sounds right. If you know what Key it is in (and Chords too) you can put them on the Chord Track. Then in the Key Editor you can change how the Notes are colored from the default of Velocity to color code them based on the Scale & Chords.
Hej, to use that function you actually have to do TWO things:
go to the infoline and put in a root note for your track/event
and
put in a root note for your whole project (in the top bar where all the tools are)!
Also try to put it two semitones up - depending on how the notes were written YOUR file will end up to high or to low…
Cheers
