Kara-Moon Forum

Well, the subject provides a lot of info, but it should also be noted that I have very little knowledge about music theory. What has driven me to start using MMA, is that my saxophone teacher is trying to get me to use Windows and Band in a Box. However being a Linux and sometimes BSD user, I knew that there must be an alternative.

Currently, my major problem is that I am not sure if MMA only deals with notes relatively, and where that starts. My saxophone teacher has given me a Bebop scale to practice, with arpegios that I have written as follows:


While I am pretty confident with my code so far (all treble clef), I don't know where the notes are in the measure. The example that I have been given, has a low "e" (lowest measure line), while the highest note is "b" (above the highest measure line. Eventually, I will speed the tempo up, as this is for saxophone practice...

you are close. Very close :)

But ... when you play a "C" on your tenor sax you are playing a Bb "piano" note. So, what you what to transpose DOWN 2 semi-tones.

And, since tenor sax is a full octave lower as well, the more correct transposition is:

   transpose = down min 7

For an eflat instrument:
    transpose = up major 6
 or
    transpose = down  minor 3


Shout if this is not making sense.

I should add that this subject is covered in the manual which you can read online.
  https://mellowood.ca/mma/online-docs/html/ref/node30.html#SECTION0030250000000000000000

Thanks for the reply. OK, I didn't realize that was possible in MMA. I just copied the beginning of the Mexican Hat Dance (https://mellowood.ca/music/essays/mma/mma-practice-tool.html) However, that isn't what I meant. I was referring to the notes in braces, not the chords. As I understand it, an 8c+ is an 8th. note in "c", but which "c"? The "+" symbol moves the note an octave, but from where? Likewise, I assume that if I add a "-" sign the note would move down an octave, but from where?

I read the comment in your example:
   
// For a Bb instrument transpose up 2 semi-tones

to mean that you wanted to play sax with the generated midi from the file. And that will not work very well :)

The + and - refer to the default octave for the voice you have selected. Since you did not set the octave for the {} notes it is defaulting to octave 4 (see https://mellowood.ca/mma/online-docs/html/ref/node30.html#SECTION0030120000000000000000 ). You would get the same result by dropping the +s in your example and start off with something like:

    Begin Solo
       Voice Piano1
       Octave 5
    End

This is detailed, to some level, here: https://mellowood.ca/mma/online-docs/html/ref/node10.html#SECTION001020000000000000000

I hope it's all becoming clear :)

I think the example is wrong if you want to play along. :) I should fix that.

The example is also using a MELODY which works, but we really should use SOLO unless we want to save the track into a GROOVE. Yes, I need to fix the whole mess. Sorry.

Transpose in MMA applies equally to {} notes, notes in RIFFs and CHORDs.

I just want to add a quick clarification note (ha, ha) to this tread about transposing instruments for some future reader who is confused by transposing instruments :)

Instruments like saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, and many more are considered to be "transposing" because the notes they play don't sound the same pitch as the ones played by a piano or guitar. For the purpose of this short discussion, we will consider a piano and a tenor saxophone playing a "C" note from a sheet of music. The piano part is easy: see a "C", play a "C" and it sounds like a "C". However, for the tenor, if it sees a "C" on a piece of sheet music and plays it the resulting sound will be "Bb". (As an aside, the reason a tenor sax is often called a Bb sax is that when it plays a "C" it sounds a "Bb".)

To get around this problem, sheet music for transposing instruments is transposed so that what you see sounds right. For example, that "C" will appear on the tenor sax chart as a "D". The player fingers his "D" note and out comes a beautiful "C". An alto sax player would have a different sheet of music in which the "C" appears as an "A". A French Horn player has yet another piece of music on which that same note is notated as a "G". In this manner all the "hard work" is done by the sheet music engraver.

In most cases MMA really doesn't care about any of this. It generates MIDI files based on the chords and notes you specify in the source file. If you say play a "C", it plays a "C". No problems. And if you are a sax player your sheet music should be transposed into the correct notation for your instrument.

To further complicate life, I posted an essay a number of years ago at https://mellowood.ca/music/essays/mma/mma-practice-tool.html suggesting how to use MMA to generate a play-a-long file. In it I transposed the music up 2 semi-tones, assuming that the student only had one copy of the music, and not a concert-pitch sheet and a Bb-sheet. Hey, I'm entitled to make mistakes :) The transposing should be DOWN 2 semi-tones. This will soon be corrected in the example file.

Just one more thing: Nothing in the above discussion has anything to do with Key Signatures.

I think I was confused yesterday about the difference between notation (sheet music) and the sounds in a MIDI file. (Honestly, I had 2 gigs to play and I wasn't feeling all that well to start with.)

When you generate a MIDI file you should not be concerned (in most cases) about transposing for different instruments. You generate a MIDI for Piano/Guitar pitches (properly called "concert pitch"). The sheet music for the different instruments should be adjusted (transposed) to reflect the specific needs of the instrument.