How To Transpose Your Score [Video]

Posted on 26. Jul, 2011 by MuseScoreTips in How-To Videos, Quicktips

There are times when you need to transpose your score to make it higher or lower than currently written.  This video tutorial shows you how.

If you’d prefer to read through the instructions, there’s a video transcript below.

Video Transcript

Hello and welcome to another Quicktips video.  Musescore allows you to transpose your score – that is, make it higher or lower than currently written – with just a couple of steps.  You can choose to transpose all of your score or just a section of the music.

The first step is to select the part you want to transpose.  I’ll start by transposing my entire score, so I’ll use the shortcut Ctrl+A or Cmd A to select everything.  Next, I’ll go to Notes > Transpose.

In the window that opens I have a couple of options:

I can choose to transpose by key, or I can transpose by interval.

Transposing by key means that I’ll select the new key signature from this drop-down menu, which currently shows me that my score is in F major.  I’ll also choose whether I want my score transposed up or down, or just to the closest new key.

Alternatively, I can check this box here to transpose by interval.  Transposing by interval means that I can tell MuseScore to transpose up or down a minor second, or major second, or minor third and so on.

I’ll choose a Major third for this score and then click OK.  MuseScore will move all of the notes into the new key – A major – and alter the key signature.  If you have chord symbols in your score, they will also be transposed.

The process for transposing just a section of your score is the same, except this time you’ll select only the few measures you want to transpose, instead of selecting the entire score.  Click in the first  measure and then shift-click in the last measure of the section.  Go to Notes > Transpose and make your choices.

Thanks for watching.  You can find more tips like this one, plus a free MuseScore cheatsheet at www.musescoretips.com

Tags: backing, composition, help, higher, how to, howto, lower, musescore, notate, notation, score, scoring, transpose, transposition, tutorial