If you’re learning an instrument (the lifelong condition of any musician), learning how to transcribe music is an essential skill and valuable educational tool.
Here’s how we do it at Arranger for Hire –
Get:
- Audacity, the open-source free music app – or any DAWDigital Audio Workstation. Some are: Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro X, Cubase, Pro Tools, Studio One, Reason, Reaper, Digital Performer, Bitwig Studio, Samplitude Pro X, GarageBand (Mac), Cakewalk by BandLab, Presonus Studio One, Tracktion Waveform such as Garage Band, Cubase, Proacronym short for Publishing Rights Organization, such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC Tools. Logic, etc – or Transcribe software (we don’t use).
- A sample player or keyboard app (not needed with Garage Band and other DAWs)
- A midiA protocol for communicating musical information, such as notes and control signals, between electronic musical instruments and computers. keyboard with a built-in midi interface (we use an Oxygen 25)
- A music notebook
- A fine-point pencil and an eraser.
If you’re experienced with notationA system of symbols used to write down music. software to the point where data entry doesn’t slow you down too much, you can transcribe directly into Finale (or other notation software), toggling back and forth between your playback app (Audacity) and Finale (or other notation software).
Some passages may require transcriptionThe process of notating a piece of music as it is performed, either by ear or from a recording. with pencil and paper prior to entry in Finale. Often, we’ll do most of the scoreA written representation of a piece of music, including the notation for all parts of an ensemble. straight in, but some passages with pencil and paper first.
Midi-to-audio conversion usually creates results that require so much editing that transcription by ear is quicker. This is usually the case with midi exported from a DAW, especially if it was entered without a tempo mapComponent in MIDI data defining the tempo and tempo changes in a musical piece or track or click track.
With Audacity and other DAWs, there are tools for navigating your sound file, ways to repeat sections, and slow sections down without changing pitchThe perceived highness or lowness of a sound, determined by the frequency of the sound wave., making it relatively straightforward to identify pitches. Polyphonic sounds such as chords and voicings can be more challenging, but it’s possible to get very close using loop playback and comparison with your keyboard.
Rhythmic notation can be much more difficult. One technique we use is get the pitches down and give them stemsIndividual tracks extracted or exported from a mix as individual sound files – then add flags in the last step, once you see how many notes you need to rationalize in the barA line that separates measures in sheet music..
Transcription tools in Audacity
Effects"Effects" refer to changes to the sound using digital signal processing ("DSP"). Common effects include reverb, compression, delay, distortion, stereo field, noise reduction, and a host of other possible applications. Menu>Change TempoThe speed at which a piece of music is performed, often indicated in beats per minute. allows slowing down material without changing pitch
Make Selection>Shift/Spacebar plays selection in a loop, allowing notea symbol used to represent a specific pitch and duration comparison for voicings.
Command-B (Control-B, Windows) allows insertion of a Bookmark for a bar # or section name
Option-right arrow jumps to next bookmark
Option-left arrow jumps to previous bookmark
Command-X stops play at playhead position
Spacebar stops and returns playhead to previous play position
Learning and using these shortcuts makes transcription go quicker.
All DAWs have equivalent shortcuts, though not all have the Change Tempo pluginA software application for processing audio signal or MIDI information, including effects and virtual instruments.
Audacity tends to be easier to use because of this, play/stop options, and Bookmark navigation shortcuts.
