Transposition Techniques
You are likely to find a piece of music you want to arrange and perform that is written in a key, like Eb or Bb, which is not dulcimer-friendly. In order to play it, the tune must be transposed to a key that works well on the dulcimer. Here are two ways to approach the task.
If you own music writing software, enter the tune into the computer and look among the pull down menus for tools labeled “transpose” or “change pitch of notes”. Follow the steps unique to the software you own in order to transpose the tune.
The second procedure is a simple, brute force technique. The demonstration below transposes a tune from the key of Eb to the key of G
1 Make a list of the scale in Eb. Show all of the accidentals in the key.
Begin with the tone that names the key.
2. Beside the Eb list, make a list of the scale in D.
Show all of the accidentals in the key. Begin with the tone that names the key.
Key of Eb
|
Key of G |
| Eb |
G |
| F |
A |
| G |
B |
| Ab |
C |
| Bb |
D |
| C |
E |
| E |
F# |
3. Write the tune using these two lists as the transposition guide.
If a tone is a G in the original score, write an B in the transposed version of the score.
Work through this example of transposing The Water Is Wide form Eb to G.
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