Topic: Transposing from Db Major to Key of F

[YammyFan]

I like playing songs in F.  The  only sheet music for "The Lorelei" I have has 5 Flats, with a starting note Ab  and the last note is Db.   I am not sure how many times I have to press the Transpose button on my SX 900 . if I want to be in F.

[DrakeM]

Db to F is 4 half steps. So hit the + sign 4 times.

[Jeff_M]

I play mostly by ear, but on the occasion that I can't figure out a chord change, I use musicnotes.com  They have The Lorelei in F...or in any key you want, actually.   

[pjd]

Change from key root X to key root Y:

Put your finger on the key for X.
Count the half-steps (black and white keys) from X and Y.
If you go up, it's plus. If you go down, it's minus.

Db -> D -> Eb -> E -> F
 0    1     2    3    4

+4

-- pj

[mikf]

Yammyfan
Your question doesn’t seem to make sense. If you want to play in F, you just play in F. That doesn’t require the transpose button. In an earlier post you said you play by ear.
If you want to play from the sheet music you have in Db, but want to pitch it in F i.e. sound as if it’s in F, then you need the transpose function. And you are moving it up 4 semi tones ie 4 in plus direction. Just count the notes from Db to F.
Not sure why you would want to do that though, unless you have someone singing or playing along with you in F. If you are not doing that, and are reading the sheet music you have, why not just play it in Db? There is nothing magic about F. If you want to play from sheet music in F, you have to find different sheet music, the transpose button won’t achieve that.
As I say, I really don’t know from your post what you are trying to do.
And why is someone with enough musical knowledge to identify that a five flat key signature is Db, need to be told how far it is from Db to F……….. that didn’t make sense to me either.
Mike

[RayClem]

If your are playing by yourself, you can play in any key with which you are comfortable. However, if you are playing with other musicians or singers, transposing a piece from one key to another might have serious consequences for the other musicians.

I was in a church whose music was led by a bass. He always wanted to transpose the music down a few steps to make it comfortable for his voice. In doing so, the music was too low for others to sing. Transposing upward can have similar issues.

[YammyFan]

Thank you everyone for helping me understand how transposing on my yamaha  keyboard works. I have tried to use the transpose button  quite a few times in past years, and had given up. [deciding that it is all too hard]. Mikf's reply was very helpful. He knew that I was  able to play by ear and suggested that I  use the score that I had , and use the 5 flats. Well, I had already tried that but was  stumbling.  I thought  I would try playing it in F because I recalled that  a lady on this forum  once said that she played many of her songs in F.
pjd has answered my post with a lovely equation, which I think would be very helpful to any member struggling with Transposing.

[overover]

I like playing songs in F.  The  only sheet music for "The Lorelei" I have has 5 Flats, with a starting note Ab  and the last note is Db.   I am not sure how many times I have to press the Transpose button on my SX 900 . if I want to be in F.

Hi Yammyfan,

If I understand you correctly, you want to play in F on the keyboard, but you want it to sound in Db. Then in my opinion you wouldn't have to transpose the keyboard "+ 4" (plus 4) but "- 4" (minus 4) because it should sound 4 semitones lower (Db) when you play in F.


Best regards,
Chris

[Denn]

Do as I told you. Ignore the key signature and play the notes as written but in the key of Cmaj. There is only one accidental in the piece and that will stand out like a sore thumb. The piece starts in Ab so start on A and carry on.
Add to that, C# or Db is a very easy key to play, lots of country music is played in that scale - pentatonic.

Denn

[Toril S]

I played it in D. Can be found on my Performers  page if interested. I play only by ear😀

[Oxford1035]

If you want to play it the key of F, you need to get the dots for the tune in the key of F. As Mike pointed out, the transpose button will not alter the fact you aren’t comfortable playing in Db, if you are reading and following music written in Db.

The only use the transpose button would have is as Chris’s pointed out, if you want to play it in the key of F that you are comfortable with, but want it to sound like Db, but from your post, you want to play it in the key of F.

Kind regards,

Russ

[mikf]

Yammyfan
I think you would benefit from spending time on some very basic music theory. So you understand the concept of scales, keys, transpose etc, because you seem to have many misconceptions.
You play a song in a particular key usually for one of three reasons-
1. you are comfortable playing in that key. For most beginners that would be C, with F and G next easiest.
2. You are matching a singers key or another instrument.
3. You play from music or leadsheet and it is written in that key.
The transpose button allows you to play in one key and sound as if you are playing in a different key ie it changes the pitch of the keyboard.
When someone says they like to play in F there is nothing special about that. It’s just their personal choice. As I say most beginners and intermediate players would actually choose C just because it’s the easiest. Most might choose Db as one of the hardest keys and avoid it like the plague.
The starting note of a song is dependent on the melody. A song in C can start on almost any note, depends which song it is. Similarly a song in Ab could start on C. The difference between major and minor is that they have different scales. It has nothing to do with transpose. You need to take at least a beginner keyboard course to understand these basics, and the terminology. I’m not even sure how you can be trying to read music in Db without understanding these basics.
Mike

[pjd]

Most might choose Db as one of the hardest keys and avoid it like the plague.

This might cause Stevie Wonder and a zillion gospel players to chuckle. The "black keys" form a pentatonic scale which is often used in blues, gospel and R&B.

BTW, if your Db score doesn't have any accidentals, just play the scale as if it's written in D -- everything on the white keys, but remembering to raise the F and C to F-sharp and C-sharp, respectively.

Of course, there's real music theory in place of hackery... 

Have fun -- pj

[Amwilburn]

This might cause Stevie Wonder and a zillion gospel players to chuckle. The "black keys" form a pentatonic scale which is often used in blues, gospel and R&B.

BTW, if your Db score doesn't have any accidentals, just play the scale as if it's written in D -- everything on the white keys, but remembering to raise the F and C to F-sharp and C-sharp, respectively.

Of course, there's real music theory in place of hackery... 

Have fun -- pj

Funny story, I've loved Movie & Tv and video game scores since I was a kid. Most are pretty easy to dissect (3, 4 , 5 chords in a scale, sometimes with the minor 3 chord Majorerd (harmonic minor).

Then I came across the theme to Chrono Trigger (from the publishing juggernaut that is Sqare Enix, same as Final Fantasy) and I realized I couldn't figure out what he was doing with the chromatic transition at the end, but first 2/3 of the ending theme are in Db, with a simple 1,6,4,5 overall pattern. But why Db?

Well I tried manually transposing it to C. The composer, Yasunori Mitsuda, didn't use simple triads. instead of Db, it's a Db M7 add9 add11 arpeggio on the left hand... turns out? you can't reach the arpeggiate notes in scale without sharps and flats!

Mark