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Jazz Piano Transcriptions - Transcribing
The key piece of software I use is Transcribe!, which
takes in many types of source file (cda, wmv, mp3, etc.) and displays a frequency response plot
above a working keyboard widget. Moving a pointer through the music results in various keys
being highlighted on the keyboard as they're sounded, so in principle you can merely write
the tune down in your favourite notation package - I used to use
PrintMusic! 2011, and here's what my laptop screen looked like:
Well, the principle's fine, but what is ever that simple?! Notes sound on after they're played,
and harmonics are picked up, both of which must be taken into account when reading the current
set of frequency peaks. You have to track the notes as they appear on the display, and compare
to what you're listening to. Fortunately, Transcribe also slows down the music (without changing
the pitch, of course) to help you with this. For sources of low quality, you'll also sometimes
find that low and high notes aren't picked up. You can increase sensitivity, but noise and
harmonics will then be worse. Anyhow, mostly, this is an incredible system, and with practice
enables mere mortals to access music that jazz pianists take ages to pick up. The
SeventhString website has lots of details on this.
A couple of my transcriptions were done (in the 90s) the hard way: Sony Walkman with cassette
recording of the music, digital piano headphones over the top, and notes picked out individually.
Not recommended!
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