Transposing Key Signatures

Dorico
1

If you want Dorico to transpose the Key Signature and chords along with the notes, you must be sure to select both the existing key signature and the selected chords.

  1. Dorico will not allow you to select the Key Signature unless you select it at the start of the score. If you try to select bars 8 through 15 (for example) you can only select the notes and chords. The key signature will not select.

  2. If you want to select from the beginning of the score through bar 4 (for example), Dorico will allow that, but then will transpose the notes and chords through bar 4, but will transpose the key signature for the entire score.

How do you select notes, chords and key signature to be transposed only for a selected section of the score.

This happens if you have an arrangement and want a female singer to sing the head and a male singer to sing the bridge. You have to transpose selected regions.

2

I think I’m probably misunderstanding something. You want to insert key changes? Meaning for all instruments in the score you want one section to be in one key, and the bridge in another? For that you’d just select the section you want to change as the previous key is irrelevant (except for however you’re choosing to modulate.) The choice to transpose to a new key or by certain interval , to use accidentals or a new key signature are all options in the transposing dialog.

3

Thank you for the reply. Several things you said got me to thinking, so I went back.

I think this is the answer.

You have to select whatever it is you want to transpose. The best way to do this selection is to click the mouse and draw a rectangle around everything you want transposed.

This works fine for notes and chords, but key signatures are another problem.

Assume you have a 32 bar leadsheet in F. You want to use it for a duet. Your male singer will sing it in F, but you want a female to sing the bridge in Bb. The bridge starts at bar 17 and runs through bar 24.

The key signature, though, starts at bar 1 and runs through bar 32.

If you select bars 17 through 24 to be transposed to Bb, you have selected the notes and chords, but NOT the key signature.

The key signature resides at bar 1.

Therefore, to transpose the key signature only in bars 17 through 24, you must manually define bar 17 to begin a new key signature in the key of F, and you must manually define bar 25 to begin a new key signature in the key of F as well.

Then the Transpose Dialogue Box will transpose notes, chords AND key signature from bar 17 through bar 24.

You could, I suppose, let the Transpose Dialogue Box transpose only the notes and chords, then manually change bar 17 to Bb and bar 25 back to F, but that would render the Transpose Key Signature selection in the Transpose Dialogue box superfluous.

We can’t have that.

4

Think of it as added flexibility. One can transpose the notes, and everything will sound just as one wishes. In the case of a transposition from F to Bb, one can simply go with an added accidental or else one can change the key signature separately.

I realize Finale allowed one to do everything in one step, but having to do this in two steps is not the end of the world.

5

Thank you. I can live with that.