In wake of the coronavirus pandemic quarantining all of us inside, I have been looking far and wide for different things to do to keep myself occupied. One of my new favorite quarantine activities is transcribing music.
Being a drummer, my transcription experience has only been in the realm of percussion. Usually there are no pitches in the excerpts I transcribe; the difficulty is compensated through having the added visual element of figuring out the stickings, or which hand plays which notes, of all the passages.
One of the rough paper transcriptions I have worked on; Source: Nate Holmes
The process can be a bit grueling. First starting out, I will write everything out by hand on paper, then later transfer it to a computer program to increase clarity. I try to find a video with clear visual angles and good sound quality, so I can see and hear what their hands are doing. Due to the number of fast rhythms, I usually slow the video down to either half speed or quarter speed. I then go measure by measure, first listening for the rhythm and seeing if there are any accents, tenutos, or any other ornamentations in the music. Then I watch carefully to deduce the stickings, sometimes having to watch two or three times to get the sticking correct for the measure. So to get everything correct for one measure can take about a minute or two.
Eric Levy, pictured, is one of the many musicians who enjoys transcribing music; Source: Ashlyn McDonald
One of the other snares, Eric Levy, also enjoys transcribing music. He steers toward more melodic arrangements than me, transcribing things like Hamilton songs. He has the benefit of perfect pitch, so identifying pitches in musical passages comes easily to him. He described his process to me:
“I generally start by determining which instruments are present in the piece and start to go bar by bar and transcribe what I hear. If I can’t figure something out by ear, I refer to piano sheet music or a video of a performance if possible.”
-Eric Levy
So his process is generally similar to mine, going bit by bit until you are able to put the whole picture together.
Why do I transcribe if it takes a while? I like the feeling of accomplishment upon completing the transcription. To keep myself sane during the process I will try to play it as I go, which also acts as a proofreading measure to make sure the rhythms are correct and the stickings are physically possible. It also allows for other people to learn the music. I am a part of a huge Google Drive that has a large collection of different drumline music. I frequently look at this drive, and I would love to contribute something back to it after having read through so many of others’ transcriptions.
One of Eric’s transcriptions, more refined on the computer program “Musescore”; Source: Eric Levy
Why does Eric enjoy transcribing? He said he does it because:
“…it lets me immerse myself further into the music, and filtering out individual parts and lines gives a greater appreciation for the little intricacies in whatever I’m transcribing.”
-Eric Levy
Though transcribing may not be the most enjoyable experience in the moment, there are many payoffs to the process. Whether it be gaining an increased appreciation for the music’s nuances or learning to play the music, transcribing music is fulfilling in a number of ways and adds to the world’s music catalog so everyone can learn it.