Transposing music

This entry provides instructions for transposing music according to a key signature or by a specified interval. For information on transposing instruments, see Transposing instruments.

To transpose a piece (Key Signature tool)

To transpose an entire piece or a region, see Key signatures.

To transpose a region by an interval

Follow these instructions to transpose music without changing key.

  1. Choose the Selection tool icon and select a region.

    See Selecting music for some region-selecting shortcuts.

  2. Choose Utilities >Transpose. The Transposition dialog box appears.
  3. Specify the desired transposition, including Up or Down.
    • If you want to transpose the selected region by more than an octave, enter the number of octaves Finale should add to the specified smaller interval transposition. (For example, the interval of a tenth is a third plus one octave.)
    • If you’re performing a chromatic transposition, choose Chromatically from the upper-right options. You’ll notice that the Interval pop-up menu changes to list chromatic intervals—Minor Sixth, Diminished Fifth, and so on.
  4. Click OK (or press RETURN). To undo the transposition, choose Edit > Undo(or press COMMAND+Z).

To transpose chord symbols

See To transpose chord symbols.

To enter pre-transposed music onto a transposing staff (step time)

The following instructions show you how to specify that the notes you’re entering have already been transposed—for example, if you’re copying an existing score.

  • If you want to enter the concert pitches, choose Document > Display in Concert Pitch. Finale displays the contents of transposing staves at concert pitches. Any music you enter with either step-time input tool is now considered at concert pitch; when you turn Display in Concert Pitch off, it will be appropriately transposed.
  • If you want to enter notes in their transposed form, deselect Document > Display in Concert Pitch. You’ll see by the key signatures that Finale is displaying the transposing staves in their transposed form. In this mode, any new notes you enter with either step-time input tool are considered already transposed. In other words, if you play a C on the MIDI keyboard, it appears as a C on the transposed staff, even though it will play back as some other note, because you’ve just entered a written C.