Have you ever wondered how our music transcribers work? How they achieve their goals successfully? Today we’ll share all of their tips and recommendations. You might just be curious, or you might want to start transcribing yourself. Either way, keep reading to discover more about it!
Create a proper working space
This first tip applies to practically every worker in the world: have a working space that you feel comfortable in (and use it). We’ve all been there! It seems more enjoyable to transcribe in the living room, while in the company of your roommates or family, but let me tell you: eventually you’ll get distracted.
Deep inside, we all know it is always better to use a designated working space. Transcribing requires a particularly big attention span, which will surely increase if you do not have distractions around.
Have an idea of the transcription as a whole
It is very easy to get caught up in the details, thinking it will make our product better. Starting with an idea of the transcription as a whole will help us avoid this pitfall! In other words, knowing that the piece has to make sense as a whole can help us be coherent in its development.
Here’s an example: be sure to always check enharmonic spelling. It is common to forget about these little aspects when we are transcribing. An enharmonic notation is not incorrect in itself, but it can make a musical score uncoherent.
As transcribers, our goal is to create sheet music that is easy to read and interpret. That is why having control over both the details as well as the entire piece is the key to good transcriptions.
Tech gadgets are your friends
Thank God we do not have to transcribe every note by hand (anymore)! Nowadays, we can use midi keyboards, for example, which make our transcriptions simpler and also more accurate.
Take advantage of all devices and programs! They can save you tons of time and work if you use them well. We obviously don’t advise to depend on them, but we sure like to have trustful allies. Remember, all the time you save can then go into double-checking and adding final touches that will make the difference.
Take that break
As I said earlier, transcribing requires a deeply focused state of mind. You might be the fastest transcriber in the world, but humans need to take breaks. It is better to stop for 2 or 3 minutes every 1.5 hours than to work for 3 hours straight and end up feeling exhausted.
If you don’t take breaks, your brain will eventually get foggy: it is simply inevitable. With this in mind, we recommend that you take your small break regularly. Try to sip on some water (#stayhydrated) and take your eyes off the screen: you’ll feel the energy flowing back to you!
