I must say, I transpose by solfège (scale degree.) If I see a horn part, say
for F horn with no key signature, I see a C then I know it's the first scale
degree of the key I'm in, or F. If I see a D#, then I know it's the raised 2nd
degree of the key I'm in, so G#. No transposition can throw me this way! (if I
get the octave correct!)
While I read alto and tenor clefs almost as well as bass or treble, I have so
little experience with the other clefs that it would slow me down immeasurably.
I have nothing but respect for those among you who read them easily!
christopher
----- Original Message -----
From: John Howell <john.how...@vt.edu>
Date: Monday, November 22, 2010 1:17 pm
Subject: Re: {Spam} Re: [Finale] OT: historical use of C clefs for voice parts
To: "David H. Bailey" <dhbai...@davidbaileymusicstudio.com>, finale@shsu.edu
> At 6:46 AM -0500 11/22/10, David H. Bailey wrote:
> >
> >What I meant by "in reverse" is that if I'm looking at a
> written F
> >in an F horn part, I can use the mezzo-soprano clef to get the
> >concert pitch note (Bb). But what if I'm looking at a
> concert pitch
> >score, how do I figure out what note the F horn should play,
> using
> >clefs?
>
> Ahhh. Thanks! That makes good sense. I guess
> my confusion was
> because I almost never look at a concert pitch score if I have a
> choice!
>
> >So I'm looking at a printed Bb but need to find a clef that
> will
> >show me that as an F. I guess the baritone clef would do
> the trick.
>
> To avoid confusion, let's assume that you mean concert Bb4,
> which
> should be notated as an F5 (5th line) for horn in F. (Or
> to be
> perfectly clear, should be notated on the top line, since part
> of the
> confusion is in ASSUMING note values for the lines and spaces,
> and
> those CHANGE with each alternate clef.) So no, baritone
> clef (F3 on
> the 3rd line) wouldn't work, since the 5th line would then be
> C4, not
> Bb3. The problem is that both notes are on lines, so you
> can't use
> any C clef (since F will be on a space). In
> fact I can't make my
> mind work that way, so I'm not sure it CAN be done with the
> available
> clefs.
>
> >But along with all this clef stuff, one needs to also remember
> the
> >"add 1 flat when going from F-horn to concert pitch" and
> "remove 1
> >flat when going from concert pitch to F horn." That makes
> all the
> >various rules regarding the use of clefs pretty daunting to
> learn
> >and remember.
>
> LEARNING the system, and learning to THINK in the different
> clefs
> rather than having to stop and think and decode them, is indeed
> daunting. So is most everything in music, if you stop to
> think about
> it, until AFTER you've learned it. THEN, and only then, is
> it easy
> to work with. I'm about halfway there with the movable
> clefs, since
> I didn't learn them until grad school, and that's really much
> too
> late.
>
> >
> >I find it much easier to think of transposition in a more fixed
> >manner: F on an F horn equals Bb in concert pitch.
> Doesn't matter
> >which end of that statement I'm coming from, since the equality
> >works both ways. And it doesn't matter whether the Bb is
> because of
> >the key signature or because of an accidental, the equality
> still
> >applies.
>
> Yes, I think most of us think that way. But the clef
> system wasn't
> originated to make transposition easy. That's just a
> useful side
> effect. It was originated in order to keep most of the
> notes in
> Guido's system of chant notation within the staff, to make it
> easier
> for monks copying music with feathers!!!
>
> John
>
>
> --
> John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
> Virginia Tech Department of Music
> College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
> Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
> Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
> (mailto:john.how...@vt.edu)
> http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
>
> "We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's
> definitionof jazz musicians.
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