Tuesday, September 20, 2011

What A Music Transcription Service Will Do

By Mia Berger


Musicians who are employed by a music transcription service write down notation on paper after listening to a recording. A guitar player, who wants to learn a lead, but simply can't figure it out by ear, may want to employ a transcriber. Or, if a band is considering publishing a song, but no band member knows notation or tablature, a transcriber will help.

Transcribers may not write down each and every note, exactly as it sounds. Recording quality may not be great, or a piece may simply have too many intricate layers. What transcribers will do, however, is to capture the chords, rhythm, and melody, getting the big ideas on paper, and filling in the rest as closely as they can.

Many transcribers utilize an instrument, such as guitar or piano. Other transcribers have perfect pitch, meaning that they can identify notes and chords just by listening to them. Whether they make use of an instrument, or whether they rely on a fantastic ear, a good transcriber will capture the sound on the page.

Transcribers may arrange established pieces for new instruments. For instance, a transcriber may take a piano piece, and then arrange the piece for full orchestra, adding new tone colors and dimensions. Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, for instance, began as a piano piece, before being transcribed for orchestra.

Many transcribers rely on software programs. Notation software allows transcribers to produce sheet music, as well as recordings of what they have written on the page. Transcription software will slow down recorded pieces, and may even produce suggested chords, to help transcribers be more accurate.

A transcriber may put an entire album, or an entire discography, on the page, depending on the needs of the customer. Most transcribers charge either hourly rates, or charge a flat rate per piece. For musicians who want to improve their playing, or bands who want to put their compositions on paper, a music transcription service will provide valuable assistance.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...