Transposition

An important question is: ``can MusicTEX transpose a score ?''. The answer is now 99.5 % yes. If fact, there is an internal register named normalshapemediumseriesnormalshapemediumseries\transpose the default value of which is zero, but it may be set to any reasonable positive of negative value. In that case, it offsets all symbols pitched with letter symbols by that number of pitch steps. However, it will neither change the signature nor the local accidentals, and if – for example – you transpose a piece written in C by 1 pitch, MusicTEX will not know whether you want it in D$\flat$, in D or in D$\sharp$. This might become tricky if accidentals occur within the piece, which might have to be converted into flats, naturals, sharps or double sharps, depending on the new chosen signature. To avoid this trouble, relative accidentals have been implemented, the actual output of which depends on the pitch of this accidental and of the current signature.