traditional italian christmas carol / transposing key

[smdc66]

it's that time of year so having another crack at this tune to see if i can play 'tu scendi dalle stelle' well enough to perform to family and friends and with confidence

i have the dots in key of f but struggling with the chords which are unfamiliar and difficult for me to play so am trying to transpose to key of c which will be familiar and easier to start with

i have rewritten dots starting with g on treble instead of c and think i have this correct and ready - i forget the theory but it sounded right this way

in the key of f the chords i have are f, am7, c7, bflat, gm7,

this is the bit i am stuck on now working out chords in key of c as start off with chord of c but then get lost trying to be logical and the 3 chord trick didnt sound right - i think i am missing some theory

(also dont understand the 6/8 fully but this is something for another day (maybe nxt year) so hope to just waltz it through as that is something i am confident with and hope it sounds nice)

 

[Glenn]

Transpose everything down 5 semitones. F->C, Am7->Em7, Bb->F# and Gm7>Dm7. That should do it.

 

[george garside]

stradella will effectively transpose the the chords for you without you having to worry about what they are called. The chord pattern will be just the same in F as in C or anything else.
george

 

[smdc66]

thanks - only 2 replies with a few constructive words and already forum members :tup: have helped and made it sound simple

probably should have been able to work it out myself

i was thinking 5 was a magic number :? but would be thrown by 7th 's and also sharp notes which i havent come across much and not with c key

had some jigsaw pieces but knew some were missing and couldnt put it all together as often the case

this is where the much debated playing by ear skills would probably help a lot

 

[bocsa]

check your pm files...

 

[dunlustin]

Re your waltz bass:
If you use um pah pah, skip the 1st pah and do that twice to a bar:-
um - pah um - pah / um - pah um - pah /....
for 1--2--3---4---5--6--/--1--2--3---4---5--6/...
you should have something useable for 6/8.
Or just a block chord (briefly) to start the bar?

 

[smdc66]

Re your waltz bass:
If you use um pah pah, skip the 1st pah and do that twice to a bar:-
um - pah um - pah / um - pah um - pah /....
for 1--2--3---4---5--6--/--1--2--3---4---5--6/...
you should have something useable for 6/8.
Or just a block chord (briefly) to start the bar?

i think there is something i am not understanding as when i look at the music i count 3 beats in the bar so am unsure how to fit um (with 1 count) and pah (with 2 counts) in twice in each bar

 

[JIM D.]

Ive been playing this in C for 40 years now and although its originally written in 6/8 time, it also works well in 3/4 time. See Here --
Buona Natale; Giacomo DAscanio

 

[dunlustin]

quote
there is something i am not understanding ...
This is maybe not the place to go into detail?
6/8 can be described as 2 beats to a bar each of 3note duration (hence compound time) often giving a lilt or dum-di-dum-di..
Try also listening to a few jigs or 6/8 marches.
On this page,

http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0122603

youll see the bass line can be as simple as 2 notes to a bar, um-pah as I tried to write or 2 groups of 3.
But you might like it in waltz time - and thered be nothing wrong with that.

 

[smdc66]

can anyone help me understand the time signature in relation to the tempo of the tune

the music notation i have seen for this tune is 6/8

and the dots indicate quick notes to be played

i associate 6/8 with tunes played quickly :!:

however the tune is generally played slowly :?:

 

[dunlustin]

Well, if my first two attempts didnt help, maybe this might:
http://metricforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2856

 

[Glenn]

Please don't get hung up by time signatures. They are simple to understand and do not dictate the speed of a piece. In fact, unless you are writing music yourself I wouldn't bother too much worrying about them at all. Just count 6 half beats (indicated by the 8) and it will all come good. If you have absolutely no feeling for the music then understanding the mathematical derivation etc. of time signatures really will not help.

 

[smdc66]

Well, if my first two attempts didnt help, maybe this might:
http://metricforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2856

every little helps

 

[BobM]

the music notation i have seen for this tune is 6/8 and the dots indicate quick notes to be played, i associate 6/8 with tunes played quickly.
however the tune is generally played slowly :?:

A time signature has nothing to do with tempo, but everything to do with where the beat is, or where its stressed, so the dots are always relative to the tempo.

To prove this, take an existing 6/8 piece that you think of as fast and slow it right down, holding your 6/8 rhythm as you go without changing it at all. Not easy at first.

The piece youre trying to play is in a very slow 6/8, which is harder to play well, but as JimD (?) suggested, it works well in 3/4, in this case a slow Waltz tempo. So if your looking at the dots, think of a bar of 6/8 being 2 bars of 3/8. I could show you this in less than a minute, actions/words etc etc..

It could be helpful for you to have a book on basic music theory, and you dont have to read it from end to end in one go, and nor will it spoil your playing, but only add to the ease in which you can gather info on forums.

BobM.

 

[JIM D.]

If you read music this might help -- -- But for those of you learning by ear, thinking in 3/4 time (slow waltz) will get you thru it first.