Topic: Transpose

[adrianed]

Hi folks,
Not sure how ask this so any replies from different points of view would be appreciated
When might a player want to use the transpose control ?
Can it help when a player is not good at a particular scale ? If so do we play in one scale and make it sound like another scale
I need to get it into my head how or when to use it so any help would be handy
Adrian

[Toril S]

Yes, that is how it is used. Also, when you play a song with many verses that are repeated, you can freshen up the song by transposing the last verse and chorus.

[RONBO]

Hello Adrian,

Suppose you are playing along with a clarinet player.

His is what is known as a b flat instrument; The keyboard is a c instrument.

So if you are both playing from the same music, perhaps in the key of C from the same sheet music, you will find that the clarinet , even though the player is playing a C it comes across as a B flat.

Not good; so you as a keyboard player can easily transpose your instrument downwards by two half steps.

That will make both instruments sound as if they are playing in the same key

Hope I have explained this clearly.

Another use for transpose is to change key during the song, perhaps as Toril said to not be too monotonous . 

What I sometimes do is Kick it up a notch, as they say.

Example, you are playing a verse for a number of times followed by the chorus.  The last chord is usually the closer.  Let it play out for one measure, then play the 7th chord for one more measure while holding the transfer + button for one half step upwards......you will hear the difference right away... then repeat the chorus.


I hope this one is clear as well.   takes a few trial runs to get the hang of it

Regards

Ron

[adrianed]

Thankyou Toril S
Everything helps I will give it a try
Adrian

[adrianed]

Thankyou Ron,
Two interesting items
I remember now, my brother played clarinet in the Royal Greenjackets marching band and he did mention that the clarinet was a different scale to keyboard, I didn’t see the relevance then.
Thankyou again
Adrian

[mikf]

One very important use not mentioned is when accompanying a singer. The singer may want to sing in Eb to suit their  vocal range , but your music is in F, or you just like playing in F or C or whatever, so you use the transpose.
Mike

[adrianed]

Thanks Mike,
Getting the idea now Mike thanks to the responses from yourself and other players
Adrian

[Fred Smith]

Another good use of transpose is to add spice to a piece. Think of Do You Hear The People Sing from Les Miz where the change key for the last chorus adds impact to the song. It's much easier to get the keyboard to transpose than to play in different keys.

If you have a song with three verses, try transposing each verse up a half-tone. It will sound better to your audience.

Cheers,
Fred

[Gunnar Jonny]

One thing that pussles me if use the transpose button, is that it's the fingered / played chord name that shows up at the screen regardless of what step transposed or sound coming out of the keyboard.
Korg, Roland, and if I don't remember it wrong, Ketron show the sounding chord.
When I did ask Yamaha about this, the reply was that it is impossible to add this feature at Yamaha keyboards. Oh, well......

[adrianed]

Thanks for that Fred,
I just wondered how we would know what scale we have set the transpose to when we raised or lowered it I do realise it moves in half steps but if we want to change scale using the transpose button we need to know what scale we have set it to for future playing, I also think taking notes of what we have done for a given song so we can repeat it exactly next time might be a good idea
Perhaps it could be set into the reg bank
I shall just have to take a more careful look at the keyboard monitor screen to see if it tells me.
The use of the transpose is starting to be interesting
Thanks again
Adrian

[RONBO]

Hello Adrien,

I think that perhaps you are overthinking this transpose thing.

You should remember to reset the transpose back to zero when you are finished playing a song.
That way there are no possibilities of  a real train wreck.
Just press the two transpose buttons at the same time and it's ready.

When it is at zero it will play and sound in the key that the music is written in.  From there you can raise or lower the key while still playing in the same key e.g. play a tune in Cmaj. and raise it a half step and it will sound like Dflat even though you are playing in C.   


C +1half step = Dflat
G + 2 half steps = A
F - 2 half steps = E flat

And so on, and so on, and so on..........etc

Remember to start back at zero when changing to a different song.

So creating a registration for all this is probably not necessary. But writing a memo on the song sheet will serve as a reminder to lower or raise the key to fit your needs.

I am hoping this helps you; I've tried to explain it as clearly as I can

regards

Ron








 

[mikf]

Ron is right, this is not nearly as complicated as you are making it. You change the pitch of the keyboard by a note for each press of the transpose button, to match another instrument a singer or just for a key change effect mid song.  If you are playing by yourself there is no reason to change other than to do the mid song key change effect.
To decide how much to move it just count the notes between the key you are playing and the key you want to match. Press both plus and minus together to reset the keyboard back to concert pitch.
And let’s  get you using the right term, you are not changing the scale, you are changing the key.
Mike

[adrianed]

Thanks Ron
That explained it very well thankyou
Adrian

[adrianed]

Thanks Mike,
Yes changing the key, a slip of the wording
Thanks again
Adrian

[overover]

Hi Adrian,

Please note that you can determine to which parts the TRANSPOSE [-⁣]/[+⁣] buttons are applied (Keyboard, Song or Master). In most cases you will set it to "Keyboard". (Also see the attached picture.)

To quickly bring up the "Transpose Assign" display (to check or change the current setting) press:
[Direct Access] > [Transpose -] (minus)

To quickly bring up the "[Mixing Console] > tab Tune > Transpose" display (where all current Transpose values are shown and can also be changed), press:
[Direct Access] > [Transpose +] (plus)


Best regards,
Chris

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