Transpose Moonlight sonata

[jeffnc]

I was in a store the other day looking at pianos and saw the sheet music for the Moonlight sonata.  It took me awhile, but I finally realized it is in c# minor (I'm not very good :-)

That's kind of a pain, so I was wondering what would be the feasibility of simply playing it in c minor?  That way I wouldn't really even have to transpose it, I could just read the music and play it as written, but in the simpler key.  I might be wrong at first on a couple of the sharped or flatted notes, but otherwise.... ?

[nanabush]

What do you mean by "the simpler" key?  Have you tried playing it in C minor... I don't have proof (yet) but I'd bet that a lot of the chords would be more awkward to play in C minor than C# minor.  Easier to read, maybe... but possibly harder to play 


whooo.... mysterious!!

[jeffnc]

I find that extremely hard to believe.  Is my leg being pulled by a "senior member"?  Clearly, it is no more or less difficult to read, since they are the same notes as written.  And how can it possibly be harder to play?  The fingering could only get easier it seems to me.

[nanabush]

Whoa, wait a second...  " That way I wouldn't really even have to transpose it, I could just read the music and play it as written, but in the simpler key"

I got the impression that since you said it took you a while to figure out it was in C# minor, and that C minor is the 'easier' key, that you were wondering if it would be easier to read in C minor.

I answered:  yes, it MIGHT be easier, as in there's the possibility... I also said, after, that it also could be more awkward to play.

...

So what was your post all about then?  I answered what I thought could come from trying to transpose the piece with the idea of making it easier to play.  I'm not trying to mess around with  you or anything, I just gave my open-ended answer, or in other words, my opinion.

[stevebob]

I find that extremely hard to believe.  Is my leg being pulled by a "senior member"?  Clearly, it is no more or less difficult to read, since they are the same notes as written.  And how can it possibly be harder to play?  The fingering could only get easier it seems to me.

I'm curious why you think that transposition might make fingering easier.  It's just as likely that the altered patterns and combinations of black keys and white keys would render scalar passages and chords significantly more awkward to play.

Like nanabush, I assumed that you considered c minor to be a "simpler key" to read.

[quantum]

That's kind of a pain, so I was wondering what would be the feasibility of simply playing it in c minor?  That way I wouldn't really even have to transpose it, I could just read the music and play it as written, but in the simpler key.  I might be wrong at first on a couple of the sharped or flatted notes, but otherwise.... ?

As a musicianship exercise I'd say go for it.  However, if you are looking to playing this piece I'd say it would be easier to deal with C# minor. 

C minor contains flats, C# minor contains sharps.  Transposition isn't so straight forward when dealing with accidentals. 

For example:
To lower - D nat becomes D-flat - natural becomes flat
To raise - C-double-sharp becomes C sharp - double sharp becomes sharp
To raise - A sharp becomes A nat - sharp becomes natural


In my experience it is far less work to deal directly with the complexity of the piece than to make attempt to simplify only in the end realizing such actions only serve to complicate the matter and extend the work period. 

There is also the matter of some awkward stretches in this piece, especially true for people with small hands.  They will feel very different in another key. 

[perfect_pitch]

Seriously... what's the point of switching a key signature of 4 sharps to one with 3 flats???

Transposing a piece from say Gb Major or B Major to C Major may make thinks a little easier to read... but in this case - it doesn't seem feasible to go through all that effort.

[jeffnc]

I just assumed it would be easier to finger, but of course I could be wrong.  Just playing the c# minor scale is harder to me than playing the c minor scale, basically because I'm used to starting scales and chords with my thumb, but again I don't have a piano at home and I did this stuff a couple decades ago so I could be wrong.  You wouldn't start c# minor with your thumb, would you?

Oh and just FYI, I'd only be playing the first movement of this, no more.

With regard to reading, my point was it wouldn't be any easier or more difficult to read, simply because the notes on the page would be the exact same physical black dots on the staff.  I wouldn't have to print anything off to transpose it - I'd just play the notes as written, but ignore the given key and play those same black notations.  Where I see "C", I play "C, where I see "E", I play "E", etc.  I would just know that C is nat and E is flatted.  If I were to transpose to a minor, for example, I'd have to get a different printout of the sheet music.

I guess I'll take everyone's word for it and just try it as written :-)  I'm no expert and never will be and have no intention of practicing enough.  I just want to play a few tunes that I like in my lifetime.

[quantum]

The Moonlight contains mostly broken chords and arpeggios, so you will be doing a lot more of those than scales.  Easier key signature does not necessarily mean easier to finger. 

With regard to reading, my point was it wouldn't be any easier or more difficult to read, simply because the notes on the page would be the exact same physical black dots on the staff.  I wouldn't have to print anything off to transpose it - I'd just play the notes as written, but ignore the given key and play those same black notations.  Where I see "C", I play "C, where I see "E", I play "E", etc.  I would just know that C is nat and E is flatted.  If I were to transpose to a minor, for example, I'd have to get a different printout of the sheet music.

This is what I was talking about above.  Enharmonic transposition works easily until you need to deal with accidentals.  There are plenty of those in this sonata. 

Everyone is telling you not to do this.  You will end up kicking yourself later on if you do. 

[Bob]

I vaguely remember playing through it in c minor a long time ago.  I also had an edition that was in d minor before I got the real edition. 

Just learn to read c# minor better.  That's how Beethoven wrote it.  (There mght be an argument about the tuning being different in Beethoven's time.)