**Transcribing** is the act of taking what you hear and writing it out in standard musical notation.  For this assignment you will be transcribing a melody of your choice.  You do not need to transcribe an entire song, just a single theme, chorus or verse.  You can write it out in Flat.io or on paper, whichever suits your desires. # Choose an instrument you will be using for transcribing To transcribe a piece of music, you need to be able to test-drive it.  As you listen, you need to play it back to see if you get it right.  Usually a piano or keyboard is a best-choice for this, but you can still use a wind or string instrument.  Alternatively you can use Flat.io or even the “Shared Piano” app from [https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Shared-Piano](https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Shared-Piano), or the [https://onlinesequencer.net](https://onlinesequencer.net). If you are using an instrument where you can adjust your intonation (bend the pitch), like most wind instruments or string instruments, you need to be careful not to allow yourself to bend the pitch or play out of tune.  For example, in a song you are playing you might hear a C-Sharp, but not remember the fingering for it, and so play the fingering for a D and bend the pitch down.  You do this through intuition, but it will give you a bad result.  Just be careful, and you’ll be fine. _Do not use music notation software at this point.  If you don’t have the rhythm exactly right, it will instead frustrate you._ # Choose a section of A song Usually the best place is the chorus.  Don’t stress yourself out and do more than is necessary. # Choose a strategy – Notes first, or Rhythms first? Transcribing is difficult if you try to do too much at once.  Discipline yourself, and focus on only one thing or the other; most people start with the notes, but you can easily start with the rhythms first if you choose. ## Working with Notes First, there is no specific notation required for this.  You can write this on manuscript paper or on lined paper or in the margins of a newspaper, it doesn’t matter.  All you’re trying to do is figure out what notes are played, and in what order. 1. Find the first note.  Mark it down. 2. To get to the next note, determine first whether or not it is going up or down, and then the type of movement; 1. a unison (the next note is the same as the first) 2. a half-step (the next note is a chromatic step away from the first) 3. a whole-step (the next note is a diatonic step away from the first) 4. a skip or jump (an interval; you need to experiment to find out how big the interval was) 3. Continue this way until you think you have all the right notes. One thing you can sometimes do is compare a note at the beginning of a phrase to a note at the end of the phrase, just to make sure it was what you expected. A challenge you may have to deal with is singers who sing ornamentally.  If you hear someone pulling an Arianna Grande moment, you might have to choose the best note for that moment, and ignore all the singers’ flourishes. ## Working with Rhythms This time there is a right way to do this.  You must follow through this exact process.  You can begin using Flat.io at this point, and it will help you make sure that you don’t add too many notes to a bar. 1. Determine the Time Signature (4-4 time, 3-4 time, 6-8 time, or something even weirder) 2. Determine whether or not the first notes are pickups.  If they are, determine which note is the one on the main beat, then work backwards from there. 3. Count as you write. 4. Many musicians use unique rhythms such as syncopations, triplets, and ornamentations.  Try to ignore the ornaments.  If you need to recall what each of these devices are, refer back to Chapter 5 of Breezin’ Thru Theory. ## Dynamics and Articulations 1. Once you think you have combined the Rhythms and Notes, now is the time to add dynamics.  There may only be a couple, but it’s important to get them. 2. Articulations are likely more common.  If you are transcribing a piece of music with lyrics, use the articulations to mimic the sounds of the consonants and vowels.  A vowel sung across many notes will likely be slurred, whereas hard consonants like T and D may be staccatos. # Writing Bass Lines Writing bass lines are done much in the same fashion that melodies are, however there is a potential for extra challenge. Whereas melodies tend to be largely stepwise in motion, bass lines are far more commonly done in skips or jumps. Therefore understanding intervals is a useful way to determine how big a jump may be. If a jump is - a third up in the scale, it will sound like the first notes of "Oh When The Saints Go Marching In" - a third up, but flatted, it will sound like "O Canada" - a fourth up, it will sound like "Here Comes The Bride" - a fifth up, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" - a third down in the scale, "Frosty the Snowman" - a third down, but sharped, it will sound like Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 - a fourth down, *Eine Kleine Nachtmusik* by Mozart - a fifth down, The "Flinstones" theme. # Writing Chord Progressions Writing chord progressions depends very little on what the bass note or the melodic note is. It depends entirely on the *quality* of the note (does it sound Major or Minor, happy or sad, hopeful or angry, etc.). More often than not you're looking for a Major or Minor quality, which will help you figure out what the extra notes will be in the middle of a chord. There is a possibility that you may be looking at chords with more than three pitches. If so, you'll be adding odd-number notes above it (7ths, 9ths, 11ths, and so on). The jazzier the chord, the more likely you have a flatted 7th in the chord. # The Assignment – Transcribe a Theme from a Song of Your Choosing Your assignment is to transcribe an entire theme.  You can choose either a verse or chorus from a favourite song, or a theme from a classical piece. 1. Write the clef, the key signature, and the time signature in that order. 2. Don’t forget to make sure you keep your beats organized by the bar. 3. Finish the theme with a double-barline at the end. 4. Those writing the Bass notes, you can either 1. write the Bass notes above the staff of the melody, or 2. write it in a Bass Clef. 5. Those completing Chord Progressions, how you add the quality of the chord depends on the manner the bass notes were written. You may either have to 1. add the quality of the chord progression beside the bass notes, or 2. spell out the chords in another staff, usually in the top half of a bass clef. You can complete this assignment either in Flat.io and get a **Private Shareable Link** to save in this assignment in **Google Classroom**, or you can complete this assignment on paper and hand it in (or take photos and upload to Google Classroom).