# Transcribing Music



## johan25 (Dec 28, 2010)

*Transcribing* is the art of writing down melodies and chords by ear, without the benefit of any other written notation.


Do you transcribe music often, if so do you start with the melody or chord structure?
How can one improve this skill? Is it really a skill or are u just born with it or not?
Why is pop songs easier to transcribe than orchestral music, they use the same 12 tones, chords, scales etc, right?


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## realstrings (Dec 28, 2010)

I must say I personally find transcribing a really tough job! I think I've got quite good at it over the years but it's still hurts! I'd be interested to know how others approach this.

I start by importing the audio into Logic and sort out the tempos and time signatures, if necessary using tap time.
If there are obvious sections in the music (verse, chorus) I put markers in for these.
I prepare enough double stave (piano) manuscript paper for the whole piece and mark in bar numbers and sections to match the Logic file.
Then I get down to transcribing and I treat it like a jigsaw puzzle, filling in the easy bits first until I have to deal with the difficult things, so I would maybe write in main melodies, bass lines, rough chord markings, whatever makes my brain ache the least.
I know plenty of musicians who transcribe straight into a sequencer, playing the lines they hear without writing anything down, but it doesn't work for me!


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## johan25 (Dec 28, 2010)

Here are the greatest transcribers of music, I think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps0glMxyKMI


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## JB78 (Dec 28, 2010)

Get this book and make sure it's the second edition, best book on eartraining and transcribing I've read by far.

http://www.amazon.com/Hearing-Writing-Music-Professional-Training/dp/0962949671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293567672&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Hearing-Writing-M ... 672&amp;sr=8-1)


Best regards
Jon


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## bryla (Dec 28, 2010)

I transcribe a lot - I use Transcribe! just for looping and basic transport functions. Loop one section/bar at a time and write down everything you can.


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## BadOrange (Dec 28, 2010)

spent many hours transcribing simple piano stuff to full orchestral passages. Invaluable practice if you do it right ie no aids like a piano while you are doing it. Also allowing only a certain amount of plays. Don't loop it. ALlow yourself a set amount and have at it.


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## Hannes_F (Dec 28, 2010)

I had to learn transcribing as a teenager because we wanted to play some big band jazz music in a self-formed kid's band and did not have the money for buying sheet music. So somebody had to figure it out. When I started I could not read the bass clef nor did I even have a piano, just a violin and a cassette tape deck (got a piano later though). It was awfully exhausting to say the least. When I started out I needed hours and hours for a few notes. Cumbersome grinding at its best.

However after transcribing some arrangements I got better and with time I could not only read clefs but also had a grasp on harmony (without learning the correct terms at that time) and never needed ear training since then. One of the best time investments in my life, highly recommended.


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## johan25 (Dec 28, 2010)

Thank you guys for all feedback, now I have a much better understanding on how to approach this.

Active listening is the first step, Bryla also mentioned the software Transcribe! (will also look into that)

Thanks!


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## wes37 (Mar 19, 2011)

I start with whatever sticks out to my ear, but typically melody. Next comes bass, and with the two the harmony is usually straight forward.

One "trick" is to loop a small portion and keep singing it until it's ingrained in your head. 

The only other trick is to skip parts that are tricky to get the shell of the idea. Sometimes I can get the first part of a fast passage, but am not sure about a part in the middle. Knowing the end helps to work back to the middle and figure it out.

AND sometimes you just have to persevere. I was transcribing The solos to ZZ Top's "Gimme All Your Lovin'" the other day and Billy Gibbons has so many slight inflections that it's hard to figure out exactly how he does it, -BUT- at least I've figured out how I can mimic it by trying some different methods.

Good luck!
Wes


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## Rob (Mar 20, 2011)

Transcribing is one of the best things you can do to be a better musician in a general sense... I've been transcribing for like 40 years and I don't regret the time spent. 
I also use Transcribe! as a transcribing aid, it's the best out there. Stay away from audio to midi transcribing software, they only do a mess and don't produce musically meaningful results...


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## wst3 (Mar 20, 2011)

couple more thoughts...

I second the idea that transcription is just a good thing to learn and practice. It is one of those foundation kind of things - even if you don't ever make a living doing it.

Like many I started learning to transcribe by learning to play tunes I wanted to play. Sheet music in the 1970s was notoriously unreliable... so you really had to do it yourself.

I still clearly remember hearing Dan Fogelberg's "Part of the Plan" on the radio and knowing instantly not only what the chords were, but what positions on the guitar he used. It was a real eye opener. (And no, 30 plus years later it still isn't always that easy!)

As far as approach, mine is pretty undisciplined, I listen for something, anything, that I can use as a starting point. Might be the bass, might be the melody, might be the chords, doesn't matter, you need to start somewhere, where doesn't seem to be a big deal.

I think genre is where the book learning becomes a factor. For a standard pop tune (think I-IV-V) you don't need a lot more information. For jazz it helps if you have a handle on jazz harmony and theory. For classical it helps if you have a grasp of topics like voice leading practices, and especially orchestration.

Like almost everything musical this is not something where you can stop learning... well, unless you don't feel a need to do anything new<G>! I also think transcription helps me as a composer and arranger/orchestrator.

Oh, and I wish I were better at it!!!!


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