Transcribing

DESCRIPTION

Have you "written" a song, but need it put on paper for other musicians, the copyright office or for you to sell? Maybe you’ve fiddled around on your horn and have a great tune, but you’ve got to get it written down as real music on paper.

Before a song can be shared or arranged, it must be transcribed into written form.

Transcribing a song isn't just putting chord symbols above the lyrics. A musical transcription is a record of musical notation for an existing piece of music that had never been written down before. A properly transcribed song has the notes on the staff, proper time and key signatures, etc. And if you're going to play this song with other people, it will need to be in a key that is easy to sing and that guitar, keyboard and horn players can all play.

And, for that instrumental piece you’ve created, I can also transcribe it so that others can play it, or so that I can arrange it for a group of instruments.

I have done transcription for decades. As an additional FREE service, I can suggest an appropriate singing range, accompaniment instruments and other things that might need to be taken into consideration when we decide what key and form it will be in.

PRICING

This is an average cost for transcribing a song or instrumental music, which means it could be more, or less. Each musical work presents its own level of challenge and the work to transcribe it would reflect those challenges. For a proper quote, please Contact Me.

The average cost per line, per minute of music transcribed is $30.

I’ve done a sample of a standard type of vocal song for you. But, remember that this is just a sample. Please contact me for a quote.

Remember, a transcription usually involves just getting the bare bones of the song, vocal or instrumental, on paper, and doesn’t include any of the elements that make up an arrangement.

If you have written a song with vocals and accompaniment of some kind, your transcription would consist of melody, chords (often as chord symbols above the melody line) and lyrics. If you've written something more complex, for example, a piano piece or horn solo, the cost would be more.

Click here for a sample page of what the transcription of I Have a Friend looks like.

This example is three lines. One line is the melody; another line is the lyrics and the third line is the chords. (As part of the consultation step, we would discuss what "flavor" of chords you'd like.) The whole song is right at four minutes long. Since the melody itself repeats almost exactly, the extra lyric typing is basically free.

The mathematical formula looks like this: The cost is $30 per line ($30 x 3 =$90) per minute of music ($90 x 4 = $360) BUT - Since this melody and chord structure were somewhat simple and repeated, the final cost would probably be more like $200.

If you need a transcription of more complex music, like string quartets, organ pieces or something for school concert band, that would require a more in-depth analysis for a good quote. The cost would depend on how much, if any, of the song is repeated.

Remember, for an accurate quote, please Contact Me.