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Doesn't it center around what your root is? If you are in a sharp key you get sharps. If you are in a flat key you get flats.

Just write everything in C!! You get NO sharps or flats!!!

Worked for Irving Berlin!



Berlin was a "Black Key Pianist" -- his key was Gb (F#)...

He also purchased a specially built upright piano for his place that had a Shift on it that would move the hammers from side to side, matching them up with the F# to any of the other keys, so that he could accompany singers, etc. and be able to play in their chosen key signatures while still thinking in F#. This long before the advent or idea of MIDI, the whole thing was a mechanical transposer.


--Mac



HA! A "capo" for a piano. Brilliant. I had the HONOR of meeting Mr. Berlin (briefly) at a 90th Birthday celebration in NYC. I think there was a 100th celebration too...a year before he died. I don't recall if he was well enough to attend that one. But at 90, he was pretty spry.

(-:

Jim