Your Answer

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Question: How can I tranpose music on my computer?

Answer:

Virtually any notation program will allow you to transpose music.  (See our Buyer's Guide for help on choosing a notation program.)  The process is similar for all programs:
1. Enter the original music
2. Transpose the music
3. Print/publish the transposed music

1.  Most programs allow you to enter the music via mouse, "step entry" on a MIDI keyboard (you play the pitches, but tell it what the rhythm is), and "real time entry", where you actually play the music on a MIDI keyboard.  You can also scan music into some programs - see our FAQ on scanning for more info.

2.  Each program varies with the command for transposing, but most will have a "Transpose" command that will allow you to specify the new key and clef. Sibelius, for example, also allows you to tell it what instrument you are transposing to, and it will automatically figure out what to do.

3.  Any notation program will also allow you to print the music once you have transposed it. However, this is where the expensive programs do a much better job than the less expensive programs.  Some programs also allow you to publish your music to the Internet.

You can find a complete list of notation programs in our Notation Buyer's Guide.