Vision Music Forum Index Vision Music
Community Forum
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Secret to Transcribing
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Vision Music Forum Index -> Transcribing & Learning by Ear
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:41 pm    Post subject: Secret to Transcribing Reply with quote

First, I should say that I initially found transcribing to be the most difficult and FRUSTRATING thing I've ever attempted in music. I say this because, no matter how bad you think your ear is, I thought mine was worse, and I am now a fairly proficient transcriber. (I even get compliments at jam sessions on how fast I pick stuff up by ear!) So you too can become a good transcriber.

It's very hard work, and you have to do it every day (for a long time Wink ). It took me about an hour a day for one year to get my ear to the point where I began to trust and rely on it.

With that said, I've found a shortcut:

a) transcribe short phrases;

b) sing the phrase before you attempt to play it on guitar (or write it out by ear);

c) don't move on until you can do (b) perfectly and ON PITCH; and

d) figure out the lick.

Singing is the biggest shortcut for transcribing. At least for me. BTW, you don't have to have a good voice -- mine isn't. But it has allowed me to internalize sounds, which I can now quickly play or write down.

Also, when you're first starting out, figure out simple tunes (like Row Row Row Your Boat). Pick any note and make that the starting note for the tune. Then figure out the tune.

I'd be interested in reading the thoughts of others on this subject.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gorecki
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Glenwood, MD

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Secret to Transcribing Reply with quote

nylonjazz wrote:
I'd be interested in reading the thoughts of others on this subject.


Hi nylon!

In addition to what you've already said the technologies today make things so much more simplistic in the ability to slow down audio and maintain pitch. Just last night I took on one Oscar Peterson phrase when it took me about 10 minutes to figure it was nothing more than a maj7 arpeggio going up and a min9 going down.

It would have been hours if I couldn't slow the audio down. Peace!
_________________

Forums Admin VisionMusic.com
Do you know where all of your F'n B flats are?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Nylon,

I agree with you on all those points. I had to get pushed into transcribing because it is a scary concept, even for someone who reads. A couple of years later and I'm transcribing not only solos, but the piano and bass behind them(okay, sometimes). I don't have to tell you what the positive results are!

It's interesting that you mention singing as a key learning tool. I only realized a few months into it that I had been singing the lines in order to learn them. I'm not even sure when I started, but it' sa natural way to go. I think I read that Diz and Lenny Breau used their voices in much the same way while composing.

Gorecki hits the nail on the head about slowing the music down. It used to take hours to nail down one phrase using CD's or LP's, and then accuracy was always questionable on the real fast ones.

I'm currently using Transcribe to slow the tracks down and Sibelius G7 to notate. Together they make a very useful set of tools.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Larry,

I use Transcribe and G7 as well. Transcribe is excellent. G7 can be frustrating at times because I can't always get the symbols that I want (for example, circled string numbers (as you would find in classical guitar music) and up and down picking marks. Do you know how to do those?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylonjazz wrote:
G7 can be frustrating at times because I can't always get the symbols that I want (for example, circled string numbers (as you would find in classical guitar music) and up and down picking marks. Do you know how to do those?


That's a good question. I haven't tried to use either of those. I looked, but I don't see them in the"Create lines" section. Have you tried the G7 forum? People there are usually happy to help.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Larry, I'll give that a try. Also, I've been thinking about upgrading to the full Sibelius version, because the instruments on G7 sound kind of lame. Have you checked out the full version?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not yet, only because it looks like a lot more firepower than I need right now. Mozart and Beethoven could have saved a lot of time if they had used it!

What kind of sound synth or card are you using? That can have an effect on the sounds you're getting.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting. I am just using the sound card that came in my Dell Inspiron laptop. Nothing fancy. I haven't used any special settings.

I find it useful, by the way, to write from Band in a Box to a midi file, which I then import into G7. You can pick the style and instruments in BIAB, and G7 writes out everything that's going on, I've learned a lot of tricks with bass lines and comping from doing this. (Also about what other instruments, like drums, do.)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like you've mastered BIAB. I have but rudimentary knowledge so far. Are you using the Roland Virtual Sound Canvas to play your G7 compositions? The sounds really improved when I switched over to VSC from the lousy sound synth that ships with XP.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gorecki
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Glenwood, MD

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylonjazz wrote:
Interesting. I am just using the sound card that came in my Dell Inspiron laptop. Nothing fancy. I haven't used any special settings.

I find it useful, by the way, to write from Band in a Box to a midi file, which I then import into G7. You can pick the style and instruments in BIAB, and G7 writes out everything that's going on, I've learned a lot of tricks with bass lines and comping from doing this. (Also about what other instruments, like drums, do.)


Oh the AC97 sound chipsets in those are just dreadful! For midi it's not a big deal but for audio, they choke up a lot of resources. When I was trying to multi-track with one I could get very few tracks before it would start gasping for air. I added an M-Audio firewire unit and had a couple dozen tracks with no additional changes.

I need to checkout G7. I've been using a software soup consisting of BiaB (with soft synths), Power Tab and Cubase. None of it really works the way I want. Confused
_________________

Forums Admin VisionMusic.com
Do you know where all of your F'n B flats are?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

G7 is really worth getting. It's relatively cheap $90 or so, and it's great if you transcribe a lot. It also interfaces well with BIAB. There are some free notation programs out there (Finale Notepad, for example), but G7 is really much better. I'm not familiar with Cubase -- I have Pro Tools Light, but am hopelessly incompetent at using it. I have found Audacity (which is free) to be decent recording software for simple stuff.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

By the way, with respect to my last post, the interface between BIAB and G7 really comes in handy if you are writing model solos or heads. You can quickly put together a rhythm section on BIAB, export to MIDI, import to G7, and then compose over the BIAB track. Once you get the hang of it, it makes it much easier to write melodies / model solos.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gorecki
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Glenwood, MD

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylonjazz wrote:
G7 is really worth getting. It's relatively cheap $90 or so, and it's great if you transcribe a lot. It also interfaces well with BIAB. There are some free notation programs out there (Finale Notepad, for example), but G7 is really much better. I'm not familiar with Cubase -- I have Pro Tools Light, but am hopelessly incompetent at using it. I have found Audacity (which is free) to be decent recording software for simple stuff.


Sounds like a winner, especially if it's more use friendly than Power Tab. I dropped Pro Tools like a bad habit a long time ago. Between what it use to cost to add anything to it and it doesn't play nicely with others. I said heck with them. Laughing Cubase is a DAW but offers a very basic notiation program inside derived from the midi tracks. Nothing fancy by any stretch.
_________________

Forums Admin VisionMusic.com
Do you know where all of your F'n B flats are?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Gorecki
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Glenwood, MD

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylonjazz wrote:
By the way, with respect to my last post, the interface between BIAB and G7 really comes in handy if you are writing model solos or heads. You can quickly put together a rhythm section on BIAB, export to MIDI, import to G7, and then compose over the BIAB track. Once you get the hang of it, it makes it much easier to write melodies / model solos.


Thanks for the tip! Thumbs Up!
_________________

Forums Admin VisionMusic.com
Do you know where all of your F'n B flats are?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gorecki wrote:
I need to checkout G7. I've been using a software soup consisting of BiaB (with soft synths), Power Tab and Cubase. None of it really works the way I want. Confused


Hi Gorecki,

G7 is one of those programs you bring home and start using almost right away. It's very intuitive. I breezed through the tutorial and was notating within an hour or two. Not that my work deserved any air time <LOL> There's probably a demo version on the Sibelius we site.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Vision Music Forum Index -> Transcribing & Learning by Ear All times are GMT
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Page 1 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group