Any opinions on "transcribing" software?

[SilentK]

I have just bought Earmaster 5, and am confident that it will improve my ability to hear and identify music (melodies, chords, etc.)

I was wondering if anyone had any experience and could give a review of "transcribing" software--typically these programs allow you to sample a section of music, and then slow it down without lowering the pitch. SO you could listen to a guitar solo at half-speed, but the actual notes would not be affected as far as pitch, just the tempo will be half as fast as normal. I think the IDEAL would be to have such a good ear and musical memory that you could hear somethign at FULL speed, but mentally slow it down in your mind, like replaying it in slow motion. But I think you would have to have done a lot of training (or be very gifted!) to be able to do that. So I could see how these software apps could be helpful.

In any case, some of the software versions are "Transkriber 2.2" "Transcribe!" and "Amazing Slow Downer". I would be using this on a Mac with OS X (all 3 I mentioned have Mac versions).

I could see how listening at half-speed could be tedious, and I don't see myself doing it even on a daily basis, but there are some solos I would love to learn, like Allan Holdsworth (guitarist) that are just TOO FAST for me when I hear them at normal speed. So it is obviously not a replacement for Earmaster (or any ear training) but it might be nice to have.

One thing I have heard from MANY great musicians, is that they spent HOURS, even hours each day, listening to their idols, and transcribing their solos. SO it seems like the practice could be valuable.

ANyone have reviews of the software I mentioned (or simliar software). Some of them have trial versions which I will check out, but I would love to hear from more experienced people who can share an opinion.

[bla]

Transcribing pros don't recommed these programs.

They say that in order to have a good ear, you must learn to transcribe music at full speed.

Obviously for a beginner it is impossible to transcribe a typical pice of music at full speed, but it is called "Ear trainin", because you have to train.

You should start with easy melodys, and gradually move to harder ones.

[SilentK]

Thanks, I did not know what the experts recommend, but now I do!

I think it would be very boring to listen to music at half-speed anyway, at that speed it does not even sound musical!

I think these software programs would be helpful if you HAD to transcribe a certain piece of music, like if you worked for a guitar magazine, and your JOB was to transcribe some song, by a certain deadline.

Or, maybe if you worked in a cover band, and needed to learn a new song to play for your concert.

But for myself, I will just work on transcribing music played at "normal" speed. After all, I have MANY CDs to work from, and I am sure I can find some easy pieces to start with.

Also, for some melodies, I will try to just capture the main notes, if the melody is too fast or complex for me to transcribe fully.

Thanks for the information, I will put it to use!

[Toneshift]

I use a software program called transcribe. You can check it out at http://www.seventhstring.com/

One of the "Pro's" that use it is Pat Metheney. I think it's a great goal to be able to transcribe music at normal speed, but I think a more structured approach is needed to get to that level. If you expect you can transcribe music at full speed would be rather ambitious right off the bat.

I think training the musical ear is much like learning to play guitar for example. Many people make the mistake of trying to emulate licks or phrases at the same speed as the original. It's good practice to first slow down, and get the lick into your muscle memory by practicing a lick or passage at slow speed, then steadily increasing the tempo.

I think much is be said for a likewise approach when it comes to training the musical ear. With the help of transcription software like transcribe you can slow things down while retaining the same pitch. As your musical perception grows and strengthens you can start transcribing pieces at a higher speed, all the way up until you can transcribe at full speed.

Nonetheless, slowing down the music is very handy when you have for instance orchestral pieces that are harmonically rich and sonically intensive.

Transcribe allows me to quickly mark sections of a song and make quick loops out of a certain section. I can compute the BMP of a said loop quickly then I set my metronome to that setting (or a derivative e.g. 70% speed) and practice the passage or lick.

My personal motto is "In order to learn quickly, you have to do things slowly".

-Tone.

[Quentin]

I just tried Transcribe and it seems to work very well . Even slowing down to 25% of the initial speed doesn't sound that bad. Have only tried with "quiet" music though...Don't know how it sounds with shredding guitars yet.

I completely agree with Toneshift, practicing phrases at lower speeds in order not to break them will help a great deal to start with. Many people attempt to transcribe/play at full speed straight away and mutilate the songs in question.

But most importantly: Remember to keep on training with EarMaster, for it is and will remain a most useful help to get better at transcribing (among other things....). Then using transcribing software will soon seem a whole lot easier

[bla]

Obviusly trying to transcribe Beethoven's 9th Symphony when you are learning is not a good idea, but I think that the way to go, is not to choose complex music and slow it down, but to choose simple music that you are able to transcribe even when played at full speed. It doesn't have to be a full composition, you can use some diatonic melody prhases to start with. As you gain more practice, you move to more complex music.

The reason for that, is that if you always slow down the music in order to hear what's going on, you'll never get the ability to understand music when it has a certain speed.

Is like learning a foreing language, when you go to talk with with native speakers of the language, is like "I can't get anything, they speak to fast", but knowing the language, means that you can uderstand what the say without asking them to slow down, and that's what you aim for.

I think that slowing down music, is a barrier to your progress, you would better stick with choosing easy music instead.

[Quentin]

You're right, but I still think that some music requires to slow down the tempo in order to understand what really is being played.
Take for example fast sweepings on the guitar (especially in heavy metal). Transcribing it at full speed is highly difficult in this case because of the combination of speed, distortion and (sometimes ) messy execution , even for well-trained ears.

[saxysm]

The reason for that, is that if you always slow down the music in order to hear what's going on, you'll never get the ability to understand music when it has a certain speed.

I do not completely agree with this:
start with slower songs, or faster songs at slower speed, then with time you can increase the speeds.
start with slower songs, or faster songs at slower speed, then with time you can increase the speeds.
the speed is also depending upon how detailed you are trying to listen to.
if you only trying to find out which notes are played, it is rather easy, but if you are going into details as dynamics, pitch bendings ... it becomes more and more difficult.

another aspect of your practice should be to practice so slowly that you are relaxed. Otherwise your will train your muscles to do more than necessary. I had been a speed freak for some time (years) and it didn't do me any good.

One has to find a good balance between learning (eartraining, scales, technique ...) and playing (improvising, fooling around, expression). I had been practicing hard for some months (and was very prepaired in the technical domain) and stood on the stage and "didn't know" anymore how to improvise.

But, listening to music is an important part of learning to make music. And ear training can help to train one's hearing.

[JeffG]

For automatic transcription of music you also might want to try PitchScope (www.creativedetectors.com). It's a lot more than your average slow down software. Besides slowing down, it will recognize the notes in a musical solo, record them to a note list, and present them in a graphic editor where you can clean up the transcription and save it to disk. I don't have the greatest ear in the world, and this makes transcribing guitar solos a lot easier for me. I think it only costs around $20.