See if these settings (via Transposition in the Score Manager) work.

No this does not solve the problem. 1. I need Gb not Db. 2. the piece starts in Bb and changes to E. When I change the key alter it affects the whole piece.

Hi Jeffrey,

J Adrian Verkouteren is on the right track here for sure! In this case, I would recommend using the value "-10" for the Key Alter field. The Key Alter field starts from concert pitch, so you want to lower the key signature 4 times (from concert E) to get to no accidentals, and then an additional 6 times to get your six flats for Gb - hence the -10 value.

Additionally, if you have a piece that changes key leaving the interval value the same, and leaving the Simplify key option checked will retain the same transposition type throughout. So, I do not expect the transposed-Bb key signature (no accidentals) to be affected by this type of change.

Hope this helps!

Hi Lawson, Thank you for your response. Your suggestion seems to have solved the problem, For trumpet you also have to change the interval. It would be easier if Fb was in the key signature tool. All the other enharmonic key signatures are there but, not for E?? Was this not an issue in previous versions? I know Fb is a little ridiculous but, Cb is there? Again, thanks for the help! Also, thanks to J Adrian Verkouteren for jumping in to get things rolling!!

p.s. I would not write in Fb but I am putting a manuscript into Finale and it has Gb for the Bb parts. The melody would be worse to play in F# even though there are less accidentals. In Gb you have F natural, F# you get E#. Personal choice I guess.

No problem!

It does ultimately come down to what would work best for your score. Our development team did have to choose one to be the default, and I'm sure there are situations out there that would require one or the other enharmonic choice at some point.

If you would like, you can post to our online Feature Request forum as well if you feel that a change in Finale would make this easier. Posting to that forum allows you to get feedback from other users, as well as up-votes from other Finale users who agree!

Hi,

I was just having the same issue with some clarinet parts that I'd like to display in Gb, but when I tried using the key alter, Finale went back and revised pitches back through the document, about 700 measures... It also seemed to change the transposition somehow.

I'm pretty sure I did something incorrectly, but am not sure what.

Thanks!

Benjamin Makino,

My first guess is that you have confused Staff Attributes with a custom staff style.

Staff Attributes are “global” (= for all the measures in the entire document).

On The Other Hand, a staff style can be applied “locally”, thus altering the Staff Attributes (e. g. staff transposition) “locally”.

You must first create/define your new, custom staff style.

Then, apply your new staff style to a selected region. (Staff menu > Apply Staff Style To > …)

Hi Peter,

So should I apply a local style every time the piece is in concert EM? Also, I'm not sure what the parameters are that I should enter. I tried Interval value of 1 and a Key Alter of -10 as suggested above.

Sorry if I seem confused. I've used Score Manager to make adjustments before, but I don't think I've ever used Staff Styles

… I tried Interval value of 1 and a Key Alter of -10 …

For A# transposition, the settings are

Interval: 2

Key Alter: -10