RE: band leaders and transcribing

[Ed Ardzinski]

Several issues I see - the major one being able to transcribe so fast!  The next one is do your band mates read music?  The first one is in jest, but this second issue is serious, since most rockers are notorious for not reading music through either ignorance or laziness...
 
So a big step is to recognize how detailed a transcription you are going to shoot for.  Personally I tend to creating a lead sheet as the final manuscript, but I've also been creating detailed midi renditions of my own songs that I import into another program to do mixing and effects.  Occasionally I have run a pdf out one of these larger ly files, just to see what the score looks like, but several issues intrude on this.  Part of it is standard notation issues (bass and guitar parts are written an octave up from where they sound) and part is my ignorance (how do I put the instrument name next the the stave?).  Another issue I have is I use an old version of Lilypond and rely on the \addlyrics trick, and am constrained so that the melody with the lyrics has to be the bottom staff. Some purists would rankle looking at my scores! LOL

> 1. Voice(s) (Lyrics et al.)
    --> As I understand the discussion on this group, the new version of Lilypond force you to use \lyricsto, which might allow placing the melody voice as voice 1.  Others are probably better suited to fleshing this out for you since I admittedly cheat here.

> 2. Guitar(s)
    --> Tab support in LP is not great but in my eyes adequate.  Guitarists should learn to read standard notation IMHO anyway.  You can put in chord chards, and use a parallel voice using chord mode to get the chord names.  A few bugs, it helps to know how to alter a symbol to look the way you want, but it's all been done.

> 3. Rhythm(s)
    --> The Rhythm context is useful for this.  I often write the rhythm context out as if it were my bass line, saving me some steps between my lead sheet and full midi versions.

> 4. Bass(s?)
   -->  I suppose I an primarily a bassist, and have found LP wonderful in writing out bass parts.  The only thing is that the sounds for my midi are an octave lower than the manuscript should be.  I'm sure there are ways around it, but I created my oen editor so the replace function serves me well here.

> 5.Keyboard(s?)
  --> I also play keyboards, and will admit that I have a rough time making a good piano score.  Mainly that's due to 1) my laziness (just want to get it done) and the effects of dropping the midi files into Acid Pro.  A piano score combines the two piano staves into 1 voice as far as Acid Pro is concerned (well not really), and it's far easier to just leave the two staves as separate voices.  I have never messed with put dynamic markings in, as that's just far too complex for my needs - if there are tempo changes and dynamic changes I'll just use a markup in the lead sheet, or if I ever get asked to produce a complete score.
 
It is a lot of work, but any serious project is.  Just to give an idea, it's really only been since mid to late June that I really started to roll using LP this way, and I have the music completely done in midi format for 12 out of 13 tunes I plan to put on my demo CD.  It takes a solid day for me to create a detailed midi rendition, I can put a few lead sheets together in a day, all things being "equal".
 
As for the midi renditions quality?  Well that would depend mostly on the synthesizer you use.  I'm waiting to hear from my keyboard buddy (who complains that the drum sounds are tinny) to see how they sound when the midi file is imported into his expensive keyboard workstation.  I have taken the approach for my demo that the bass/drum and key sounds are OK, most guitar sounds stink, and a few horn sounds are somewhat OK, so I use what sounds best, not necessarily the voicings I'd try to use if playing the songs with live humans.  I don't think that the midi approach will every replace a real band, but as my keys guy says "it gets the point across".
 
And in the rock world, that goes along way, where playing by ear is the norm, not the exeption.

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> Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:29:32 -0700
> From: address@hidden
> To: address@hidden
> Subject: band leaders and transcribing
>
>
> Hey Yall!
>
> Anybody out there transcribed a "cover tune" (in real time- while listening
> (lol)) with Lilypond?
> Well lets get simple and ask, "Can anybody out there help an aspirant who
> wishes to transcribe through the lense of a contemporary (rock-pop)
> line-up?".
> 1. Voice(s) (Lyrics et al.)
> 2. Guitar(s)
> 3. Rhythm(s)
> 4. Bass(s?)
> 5.Keyboard(s?)
>
> I was wondering if any one out there has developed a happy proficiency and
> result, transcribing a piece not written by her/him?
>
> I guess I'm looking for people who have found a happy relationship producing
> a score- original and non-original- satisfyingly for their time.
>
> Plainly, I can practice on as many tunes as I'd like untill I can lay out a
> Thanksgiving Day meal replete with all the silverware, china,
> cranberry-sauce and gravy that is needed to make a listener full. Hah!!
> But, I'd like to find someone who has experience making "Thanksgiving Day
> Dinners".
>
>
> P.S. My second question is what are the going MIDI interpreters for
> Lilypond?
> Does your favorite Zucchero, Dime-bag Darrell, or Mitch Miller song sound
> the same in what we have in MIDI for Lilypond right now?
>
> Thanks for reading my post thus far.
>
> much love,
>
> Jay
> --
> View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/band-leaders-and-transcribing-tf4296038.html#a12228477
> Sent from the Gnu - Lilypond - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
>
>
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