# Transcribing inner voices (strings in particular)



## artur (May 26, 2014)

Hi guys 
i can hear bass & melody outer voices well 

as long as one inner voice plays some counter melody while a melody does not move this is easier but otherwise ... ?

how would u go about transcribing inner voices?


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## Hannes_F (May 26, 2014)

At the beginning it is very hard (at least it was for me). But after doing it again and again one can listen through the voices almost like an X-ray beam.

It is fortunate if you can make an educated guess.

Also it helps to begin with fewer voices like choir, string quartet etc.


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## trumpoz (May 26, 2014)

You could try and slow down the tempo using a variety of programs to start with as well. 

I have always found the inner voices a little harder to dial in to (even with perfect pitch). It takes some time to develop it and I strongly suggest regularly transcribing to keep your ears 'in form'.


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## Rob (May 26, 2014)

trumpoz @ 26th May 2014 said:


> You could try and slow down the tempo using a variety of programs to start ...



That's what I do. "Transcribe!" (www.seventhstring.com) is an excellent program...


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## BenG (May 26, 2014)

I find this to be a bit difficult as well. What I find helps is following the standard rules of counterpoint/voice leading and filling in the middle voices with the option that makes the most sense and then listening again to see if I'm right or wrong.


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## bryla (May 26, 2014)

It was a barrier for me to break down but when I did it it's as natural to listen for inner voices as melody and bass. Hard and consistent work with transcription did it for me. I also use Transcribe!


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## dhlkid (May 26, 2014)

IMO, for general. If you know what chord it is. You can fill in the middle part by trying open or closed position, and even some counter melody with the top note.


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## Saxer (May 26, 2014)

i often made "one quater note loops" in the daw to have a static sound of a chord and then figure out with a keyboard which notes are in it just by try and error. after that i included the following chord to the loop to hear just the change from one chord to the other. this analyzing loop slices get longer with practise.

it's helpful to know the character of tensions. 
sus4, 13th, b13, 9, b9, #9, #11 on dominant chords
6, maj7, 9, #11 on major
9, 11 on minor and half dim 
6, maj7, 9 on harmonic minor etc
if you know them well they are like a lamp in the dark.

sometimes melodyne (the polyphonic version) is an eye opener if you are stuck.


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## The Darris (May 27, 2014)

This is a simple technique that is also used in music theory/ear training classes:

Download the sheet music to hymns and chorales (Bach has a sh*t ton) This is a great link of resources for these: http://www.jsbchorales.net/bwv.shtml

Don't read the score but find some audio recordings of it on piano or organ and transcribe them from ear. *LISTEN* <- that is the key. Use your ears. Train them. After you finish your transcription, compare your notes to the score. Does it match? What did you do wrong? Analyze what you got wrong and re-listen to the piece while reading the actual score. This process is teaching your ear how to comprehend what you hear. Do this over and over again. After awhile, your ear will just know what you are hearing and be able to distinguish parts.

*PRACTICE* <- that is the other key.

I know this may seem boring and elementary but transcribing 4-part moving harmonies will teach you a lot. You have to ask yourself though, "Do I have the patience?" Good luck.

Cheers,

Chris


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## JJP (May 31, 2014)

I make a good part of my living doing transcriptions for Disney films and TV. Inner voices can be particularly tricky, especially if the balance or mix is funny.

As others have said, it's a skill that comes with practice. Make sure you're able to sing the line in your head before you try to notate it.

Programs like Transcibe! can be useful in some situations as can looping sections of audio, but you must be careful. Taking a purely mechanical approach to identifying pitches often robs you of context and can lead to errors. I can think of a number of situations where Transcribe! has incorrectly identified pitches or someone with less experience behind a desk has argued with me because they isolated one note in a recording and it sounded like some other pitch.

That's because overtones can dominate the fundamental from a strictly technical point of view, or the pitch center can take time to settle. Your brain often corrects for this and you hear the proper fundamental. However, your brain can also be a double-edged sword because an untrained ear can often hear what it expects to hear rather than what is actually being played.

The human hearing system is far more sophisticated than any software or mechanical devices out there. Train it and use it! That's why computers haven't taken the place of my job yet! o-[][]-o


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## rgames (Jun 1, 2014)

I think the people who transcribe very well learn to recognize harmonic structures as a whole and not as individual notes that make up the whole. It's like looking at the color red and recognizing it as red. You don't have to analyze any deeper to know that it's red - you just know. You can think of some colors as combinations of others but it's easier just to recognize the color as its own entity without reference to anything else.

Picking out individual notes is a method you can use when you don't recognize the harmonic color but it's harder to do. It's better to train your ear to recognize the color instantly. Of course, that becomes a lot harder to do across all timbres and textures, but the same idea applies.

JJP's point about overtones is very true in my experience - I often have to make sure I'm not off by a fifth on one of the notes. Thank goodness I don't have to transcribe very often...

Also, here's what I've done for ear training: load up a piano patch and create a bunch of short recordings of common chords - 7 chords, major, minor, 9 chords, whatever. Then dump them on your phone and play them back while you're driving around. Try to guess what the chord is then look down at your phone to see if you got it right. Lather, rinse, repeat... Do that for a few weeks and I bet you'll see some improvement in your ability to recognize the chords without trying to hear individual notes.

rgames


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## Rob (Jun 1, 2014)

JJP @ 31st May 2014 said:


> I make a good part of my living doing transcriptions for Disney films and TV. Inner voices can be particularly tricky, especially if the balance or mix is funny.
> 
> As others have said, it's a skill that comes with practice. Make sure you're able to sing the line in your head before you try to notate it.
> 
> ...



Of course I wouldn't blindly follow what the program is telling me, in my transcriptions I always write what my ear hears... but software can be very useful, not only because it can loop portions of audio, but also slow down passages, and help organize the job placing section, measures and beat markers.... this way you don't have to search the file for a particular event but you go straight to the correct bar. Also, while it's true what you say about the risks of mistakes induced by the software, I've had cases of "aural illusions" that the software helped to solve...


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