Piano Transcribe
When you hear a song and wish to learn it, transcription is the method. The transcription process involves listening to the original music, then creating a musical score and notation based on it. The goal is to create the exact notes and rhythms heard, with the correct pitch. In this way, a musician can play the song from their instrument or voice, without relying on memory. The process also provides a means to learn music theory and analyze the composition.
The best way to learn to transcribe is by starting with simple songs and using your ear to analyze the music and play it in your instrument or voice, then attempting to transcribe it. This will help you develop the skills to do both, and improve your skill at doing each. Some musicians even practice analyzing the music and playing it by ear, before practicing actual transcription. This is a great way to start and is not uncommon.
To begin, you’ll need to have some basic piano skills. You should be able to read music, and have an understanding of the major scales and chords. It’s also helpful to have some basic music theory, and knowledge of how intervals work (both major and minor). Finally, it’s helpful to have some type of transcription software – one such app is Amazing Music Slowdowner (for Windows and Mac). It allows you to slow down recordings without losing the pitch. It also allows you to loop sections and can be a valuable tool for transcribing music.
How Do You Piano Transcribe?
Another good way to practice is by transcribing a few simple nursery rhymes or hymns. This will give you a lot of experience in recognizing pitches and hearing intervals. Once you’ve done this, then you can move on to more complicated pieces. Not all music is written in a single key though – a lot of music is written in the modal scales like Dorian, Phrygian or Mixolydian. These are still diatonic but require a bit more training to identify. It’s important to line other scales up from C – this will make it easier to recognize the common shapes.
Sometimes music is transcribed for practical reasons. For example, Mozart made some of his operas into arrangements for piano, so that the piece could be played by a small group or solo pianist. Stravinsky transcribed some of his ballet music from the Rite of Spring for piano duet and for piano solo. These types of transcriptions are often called arrangements, although strictly speaking they aren’t true transcriptions, since the composer only adapted his work to fit the piano.
