For my most recent arrangement project, I've discovered that the original song is in Ab minor, 7 flats. Should I perhaps transpose it up to A minor (0 flats) for easier readability? The song itself somewhat resembles a bouncy, medieval ballad, and I don't think the color of Ab minor suits that anyway -- in fact, according to THIS (http://www.gradfree.com/kevin/some_theory_on_musical_keys.htm), Ab minor is the key of "wailing lament", which doesn't fit this song I'm arranging at all.
What this really boils down to is would it be acceptable to perform this transposition, or would that be breaking NSM's strict transcription rules?
(...or I could just use the enharmonic equilavent key of G# minor with 5 sharps, maybe :/ what do you guys think?)
G# minor.
^ definitely; G minor is your best go. :)
I personally love extreme key signatures.. but yeah. Go with G# minor.
Your aim here is transcription, not transposition. Stick with the original key, and use G# minor wich is parallel to the original and much easier to read of the two.
Thank you all for answering my question. I really appreciate how supporting our community is. With gratitude to all your guys' help, I'd like to present my finished arrangement:
[GBA/DS] Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue/Red Rescue Team
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"Friend Area ~ Swamp" (SOLO):
[MUS] (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/35209091/PMD%20Friend%20Area%20-%20Swamp.mus) [MIDI] (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/35209091/PMD%20Friend%20Area%20-%20Swamp.mid) [PDF] (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/35209091/PMD%20Friend%20Area%20-%20Swamp.pdf)
Excellent job Bespinben.