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What do you do in these cases? I know that you need to compromise in order to make reading as simple as possible, using less accidental as possible. For example you are in Ab major key, which has 4 flats at key signature. Let’s say that during the piece you want to change key for a few bars going to E major. What do you do? E major contains 4 sharps, so you can

  1. Raise every note, such that you would end up with: E F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯? To me this choice seems a bit odd, first because you need to raise every note, second because you would have a D sharp (and the D in key signature is flat).Or you can
  2. Lower just 4 notes from key signature and end up with this scale?: F♭ G♭ A♭ B♭♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ Basically, you end up with a scale which is not called E major scale, but F flat major scale, but which has all the triads and chords nicely formed anyway.

So, I would use choice 2, but what would you do?

Aaron's user avatar
Aaron
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askedSep 21 at 15:48
Michael Tired's user avatar
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    Third option: actually change key twice, at the respective bar lines, even if that means writing two extra key signatures, with four naturals and four sharps the first time and four naturals/four flats the second.CommentedSep 21 at 15:56
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    In "a few bars" you may or may not use every note of the scale. Depending on the actual material, you may need fewer accidentals. And remember, you only need one per pitch per bar; subsequent uses of that pitch will "inherit" the accidental.CommentedSep 22 at 12:59
  • In the second option you're not modulating to E major but rather Fb major. Instead of going to a the #V of E major, you would be going to the bVI. Which is not the same.CommentedSep 24 at 17:27
  • Exactly, the #V is not the same as the bVI. But it's not a problem. For example you can't change to a key signature like G# major, because it doesn't exist, you can choose only Ab major as a key signature.CommentedSep 25 at 0:34
  • It very much exists, look: G# A# B# C# D# E# F## G#. And if for some reason you need to write it as a "proper" key signature, you write one doble sharp followed by six sharps.CommentedSep 25 at 7:17

4 Answers4

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Definitely not 2.

If it's only a few bars, write the sharps and naturals. All of them, even if some notes had enharmonic equivalents in the existing key signature. Triads must still LOOK like triads etc. As @nuggethead said, 'maximum readability' doesn't necessarily equate to 'minimum accidentals'.

Any longer, consider a temporary key signature change to four sharps.

answeredSep 21 at 22:10
Laurence's user avatar
5

Frederic Chopin admittedly went for a longer change to E major in his A flat major piece (the "Heroic" Polonaise), but he went with the first option and changed the key signature to 4 sharps.

Franz Schubert varies between using double flats and using A major passages in his Impromptu in F Minor, Op. 142, No. 4, but he generally uses notes in the A major scale (in the middle of an A flat major passage). Schubert actually flip-flops between not changing the key signature at all and changing the key signature tono accidentals, as seen here:

answeredSep 22 at 6:40
Dekkadeci's user avatar
3

Neither of those options will go down well. Best solution is to signify a key change from 4 flats to 4 sharps. It's not a common change, so may raise an eyebrow or two, but writing a new key signature before the change, and reversing that before the change back to the original is the normal, expected way. And far easier for the reader than trying to cope with loads of accidentals.

"I start with my A♭ hat on, swap it for an E major one, then put my A♭ back on."

answeredSep 21 at 16:03
Tim's user avatar
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    Thanks, I thought of it, but if you don't want to write a new key sig, which of the two options woud you choose?CommentedSep 21 at 16:09
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    I wouldn't go down either of those routes for anything. They're a recipe for disaster, sorry. The point of writing any music with the dots is to make it as simple as possible to read. Neither of those options do that.CommentedSep 21 at 16:20
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    Thanks I appreciate your help.CommentedSep 21 at 16:42
  • I agree completely. To me, it amounts to "notate your description." "Change key for a few bars" implies no extended modulatory passage. If it's literally as described, it seems abrupt, and changing key signatures will make that visually apparent.CommentedSep 28 at 20:35
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I disagree with the premise, actually. OP wrote:

What do you do in these cases? I know that you need to compromise in order to make reading as simple as possible, using less accidental as possible.

Well, not exactly. You may need to make compromises to make it readable, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean using as few accidentals as possible. Depending on how the key change works, it may be that the easiest notation to read uses G# and A-natural within a measure ostensibly in A-flat major. Maybe that makes sense musically, telling the violins (for example) to hear what used to be the tonic Ab as the mediant of E, G#. So as a composer your goal is to make your intent as clear as possible; use whatever accidentals best convey the point.

As for whether to use a key signature or not, it depends on the context. If it's a 4-bar "visit" to E major in a 15-minute work in Ab, just use the accidentals. If it's a 32-bar section in a shorter piece, maybe a key change is the way to go. Context definitely matters.

Sometimes, a composer will use "unusual" accidentals, such as an Fb or Cb, to make sure the players know they are playing a lowered tone, and sometimes this even happens when an E or B natural is present in the key signature. It's always a balancing act between being readable and conveying the intention of the composer.

Also, if it's a score for many instruments and not for a solo piano, say, different players may see different accidentals. Maybe the cellos play an Ab for the whole passage, while the harmonies above shift to E major and back. They might play it just fine seeing only Ab. But maybe there is a prominent part where an upper voice, say oboe, has a Db and Eb. Seeing this notated as C#/D# might actually make more sense to those players.

I think a hard-and-fast rule is unlikely to be found. Best would be to post an example passage; someone online may have a strategy that achieves the balance well.

answeredSep 21 at 17:01
nuggethead's user avatar
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    Yes, I am talking about just a few bars. So you would prefer option 1. And you woudn't mind to go from a Db (in signature) to a D#?CommentedSep 21 at 17:11
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    I would not use a key signature if it's only a few bars. As for specifics, shiw us the bars maybe? I'd be OK with C# to D#, or Db to Eb in either key. I'd avoid mixing Db and D# though. Our brains read the others like major seconds, but its hard to conceive of Db to D# is that a double augmented unison? Is there a compelling reason to use those 2 notes?CommentedSep 21 at 20:42
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    I didn't compose anything yet, I was just wondering what to do if I encounter such case. If I start from Ab major and change to E major, I am moving 4 tones up. So that would be like going from Cmajor to Ab major. Another thing that makes me more convinced about using the second option is the fact that if I had to start from C major in key signature, and wanted to change key to Ab major, I would have to lower 4 notes, which is exactly what I would do when going from Ab major to E major.CommentedSep 21 at 21:26
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    I read the question as for one instrument, piano, maybe. Were it for an orchestra, the need for changes would be rather different, with transposing instruments involved.CommentedSep 22 at 5:47

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