On Mon, 9 Jun 2003, Mark D. Lew wrote:
> At 8:42 PM 06/08/03, Earl Price wrote:
>
> >I can see no reason why anyone would want to hear the
> >wrong concert pitch when entering notes in Simple note
> >entry. It just doesn't make sense. If I'm entering a
> >third-space C in a transposed tenor sax staff, I want
> >to hear [...]
[snip]
> The obvious solution to the question of playback on a transposing staff is
> to have either way be possible, with an option that the user can change at
> will.
Most of my (infrequent) use of Finale (2003) involves non-transposing
instruments. In cases when I *do* have a need to input (say) a clarinet
part, I probably do it differently, depending on the circumstance:
1. If I'm just writing (composing) something from scratch, I input the
clarinet in "C" (i.e., non-transposing), so I can hear it with the other
instruments. When I'm satisfied, I transpose the part.
2. If I'm copying existing music, I input it "transposed," and hope that
it will play back transposed (i.e., as it will sound, so that my midi
playback "spellchecker" will help catch typos). (Actually, I think this
just "works"--I've never paid much attention to problems ...)
It seems to me that there are three factors to consider when working with
transposing instruments in Finale:
1. Which note to play on the input device (in my case, a midi keyboard,
using speedy entry): the concert ("C") note or the transposed note
2. Which note will display on the screen (concert or transposed)
3. Which note will sound (concert or transposed). My midi keyboard's
speakers (if I have them turned up) will correspond to the actual keys
pressed (it probably has a setting somewhere to change that?); the
computer's speaker could sound either the transposed or non-transposed.
There are 8 possible combinations of the above three factors (I think:
2**3 or 2^3--two to the third power)
I can't think of cases where I would want to use all 8 combinations, but I
*can* think of maybe three or four:
1. Where I play the concert-pitch notes on the midi keyboard, and the
notes sound in concert pitch, but appear on the screen in the transposed
key
2. Where I play the transposed notes on the midi keyboard, and the notes
sound in concert pitch, but appear transposed (as I played them on the
keyboard.)
Hmmm... Maybe I can think of only two at the moment. (Maybe the third
scenario is the non-transposing case--for "c" instruments: What I play,
see and hear are all the same.)
... So maybe what is needed is more than a single two-state toggle.
Instead maybe it is a two-state toggle for each of:
1. Input (what is played on the midi keyboard)
2. What is heard
3. What is seen/displayed
If I were more of a full-time engraver, perhaps I would know that the
above already exist. As it is, whenever I need to engrave transposing
instruments, I just "shoot from the hip" (so to speak) and always succeed,
one way or the other.
Weldon
(P.S. My software usage profile probably matches that of a typical
Sibelius user, more than that of a Finale user. In fact, I took advantage
of the Sibelius trade-up offer last year, sent in the title page of an old
Finale manual, etc. However, I found Sibelius' lack of flexibility too
limiting, so I've stuck with Finale--and am *very* satisfied with it! :-)
--
Weldon Whipple
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.whipple.org
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