MJTP "My Favorite Things" transcription

The bulk of the musical talk
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BopEuph
pro musician
pro musician
Posts: 656
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:51 am
Location: Orlando, FL

Post by BopEuph »

Not bad, but since I don't have the album on hand, I can't check it out. But I do have some suggestions:

1.) Keep transcribing. Like playing the tuba, it gets easier every time. If you transcribe one solo a week, you will probably come back to this and fix the mistakes in a year.

2.) Doesn't matter how you interpret something, it's for you, and nobody else, even if it is for a grade. So, if you understand that tuplet, then leave it.

3.) You have Finale collisions. See those flats that run into the barline? Those are an eyesore for copyists and publishers. But they can be easily fixed by highlighting the score with Mass Edit and simply hitting the number 4 on the QWERTY board.

4.) You may have done this, but just in case: you should do transcribing by hand before you use Finale. Finale has its quirks, but it pretty much sets up the template for you, and you never learn how to write music by hand. It's a very handy skill to have, and something all musicians should work on. Besides, it's MUCH more satisfying to fill a spiral staff book with transcriptions than have random files saved to your hard disk.

5.) When you write jazz, especially with a standard like this, it is WAY easier to read if you group it in bars of 4, and add double bar lines at the ends of choruses, or a final double bar at the end of a chorus, with double bars at the end of sections (A section, bridge, etc.). You'll see how your eyes follow the lines better.

6.) Remember to transcribe other instruments. Since you're on My Favorite Things, give Trane a shot. You might not be able to play all of it, but what the hey? Transcribing a tune is like a free lesson in improv.


KEEP AT IT!

Nick

EDIT: You forgot one major thing: you need to write the changes above the barlines, too; if they're right there, you can start looking at what the soloist was doing when he was playing a certain chord. It's very important for analyzing the solo.
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