Author |
Message |
terryc
Senior Member Username: terryc
Post Number: 936 Registered: 11-2004
| Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2009 - 3:35 pm: | |
Okay people, I am in a great salsa band and we also do some jazz to change the mood, we are using midi files to get the melodies etc and I use a old version of Cakewalk. The thing is I get my Eb & Bb mixed up when I am in hurry and the trumpet & sax player keep telling me off for giving them the wrong parts SO is there any software(free if possible) that will transpose C concert pitch to Eb & Bb instruments without me working out how many steps up or down I should go. You know, highlight or choose stave, click on drop down menu and chose Bb trumpet or Eb sax. I await your responses guys and gals. |
briant
Advanced Member Username: briant
Post Number: 352 Registered: 12-2004
| Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2009 - 10:43 pm: | |
Finale Notepad? I believe that can transpose auto-magically. Obviously the full version of Finale can. I've used Finale for a very long time and have always been extremely pleased with it. |
terryc
Senior Member Username: terryc
Post Number: 940 Registered: 11-2004
| Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - 3:31 pm: | |
cheers briant will check it out |
bob
Senior Member Username: bob
Post Number: 856 Registered: 11-2002
| Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - 6:07 pm: | |
I don't think Notepad will do what you want. The short answer, from their comparison chart (click on "Composing and Arranging Tools") is that Notepad supports transposition "By key sig. for entire piece only." (There's also a link to a pdf with all the gory details, though it's not as clear on this particular point.) In other words, it does not permit different key signatures per staff, and you would not only have to "know" how many steps to transpose (isn't that much obvious, or am I missing something?), but you would also have to express that by selecting a key signature, rather than number of steps or by somehow selecting an instrument name. Still, with a cheat sheet, and if you were willing to transpose once for each instrument and then print their part, it might be workable, and it is free. It also seems to do a decent job of importing from midi files, though it doesn't seem to give you any real control over the process. Notepad can be really frustrating. I tried it out a year ago when I was looking for transcription software, and ended up buying Finale Allegro - found it on sale for $150, and it had enough features to satisfy me. But I haven't used it for your purpose, so i can't speak to that offhand. |
terryc
Senior Member Username: terryc
Post Number: 941 Registered: 11-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 10:37 am: | |
thank you both..I am going to check these out at the week end and if they don't suit my needs I will just carry on getting it all wrong!!! |
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