• From: Portsmouth, UK
  • Registered: 2008-07-29
  • Posts: 95

Topic: Transcribing

Hey folks.

Is anyone any good at transcribing? There is a song I really want to learn (not a guitar song) to play to someone important. I've tried the song requests here, and got nothing back. I've even emailed the chap who wrote (and sung!!) the song, and he very kindly replied saying that he no longer has the required sheet music for me to work with, and suggested that i get someone who can, to transcribe it.

None of my guitar friends are any good at it, and I don't even know where to begin!

The song is called :

Kites are fun, by the Free Design.

Here is a youtube link : http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NxEM3-YiQGc

I have no problem with throwing a sweetener at someone who could help!

●████▅▅▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄....▄▄▄
▄▄▅██████▅▄▃▂
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █►
◥☼▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲☼◤ -Mr T says: Quit yo jibba Jabba! You Ain't hurt!

2 Reply by alvee33 (edited by alvee33 2008-12-22 17:20:24)

  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Transcribing

Here's a starter

Intro... you may already have got this

e----------------------------
B----------------5--5-5-5---
G----------------4--4-4-4--
D---------------------------
A----------------------------
E---4-7-0-------------------

I'll try and get some more later, when I've got more time. Bare with me....

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • From: Portsmouth, UK
  • Registered: 2008-07-29
  • Posts: 95

Re: Transcribing

Take as long as you need! I really really appreciate that!

●████▅▅▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄....▄▄▄
▄▄▅██████▅▄▃▂
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █►
◥☼▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲☼◤ -Mr T says: Quit yo jibba Jabba! You Ain't hurt!
  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: Transcribing

Transcription becomes pretty easy once you know the key of the original song.   That one appears to be in E, so you should expect to play lots of A's and B's.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Transcribing

It's just occurred to me that posting a TAB for this song may not be in the best interests of Chordie so I'll stop right here. Oops!

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 2,662

Re: Transcribing

alvee33 wrote:

It's just occurred to me that posting a TAB for this song may not be in the best interests of Chordie so I'll stop right here. Oops!

Yeah good idea alvee33, feel free to send it to the guy via e-mail through Chordie, If that's cool with ApeDoctor.

Give everything but up.
  • From: Portsmouth, UK
  • Registered: 2008-07-29
  • Posts: 95

Re: Transcribing

If you could send it to benjanigray at googlemail dot com that would be great.

Thanks again!

●████▅▅▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄....▄▄▄
▄▄▅██████▅▄▃▂
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █►
◥☼▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲☼◤ -Mr T says: Quit yo jibba Jabba! You Ain't hurt!
  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: Transcribing

There is another one called "Band in a Box" that does similar things.  You can feed it a song, and it will attempt to break it out into it's bits and pieces for you.   First time I saw it work, I was pretty amazed.

http://www.pgmusic.com/

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,862

Re: Transcribing

wow Jerome I clicked on the link and the first part is a E with a altertaning B and E note the guitar is playing an open D formation on the 4th fret it slides a have fret down to a Eb the chorus "kites are fun" is a F#m7 to a C#7 I really think the song is in A but I could be wrong lol

jerome.oneil wrote:

Transcription becomes pretty easy once you know the key of the original song.   That one appears to be in E, so you should expect to play lots of A's and B's.

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: Alabama Gulf Coast
  • Registered: 2008-06-24
  • Posts: 1,819

Re: Transcribing

ApeDoctor,
I would like to recommend this guitar song by a man from here on the Guf(Gulf) Coast who many of us here regard as a local treasure.
"Is there a Heaven for Balloons" is a song Gove wrote that is a good relatable for those who enjoy "Kites are Fun"
Gove uses alternate tunings a lot but brings two axes to a gig to lessen guitar pulling to new tunings.
Looks like he's using an open "E" tuning on this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi9baSw4dPk

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

tubatooter1940's Website

  • From: Portsmouth, UK
  • Registered: 2008-07-29
  • Posts: 95

Re: Transcribing

Thanks for the help chaps. Will give that band in a box thing a quick checkout on the demo and see what it throws up!

●████▅▅▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄....▄▄▄
▄▄▅██████▅▄▃▂
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █►
◥☼▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲☼◤ -Mr T says: Quit yo jibba Jabba! You Ain't hurt!
  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: Transcribing

Russell_Harding wrote:

wow Jerome I clicked on the link and the first part is a E with a altertaning B and E note the guitar is playing an open D formation on the 4th fret it slides a have fret down to a Eb the chorus "kites are fun" is a F#m7 to a C#7 I really think the song is in A but I could be wrong lol

jerome.oneil wrote:

Transcription becomes pretty easy once you know the key of the original song.   That one appears to be in E, so you should expect to play lots of A's and B's.

Well, the E, B and F# are all consistent with E.  The E->B particularly, as that would be a pretty straight forward I -> V walk.   I only listened to the first few minutes of the song, so if it modulates, its entirely possible I missed it.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: Portsmouth, UK
  • Registered: 2008-07-29
  • Posts: 95

Re: Transcribing

Just like to say a big thanks to Alvee for the help.

I actually got an email from Chris Dedrick today (he's the guy from free design) and he amazingly sent me a copy of the original vocal arrangements. Unfortunately its all in sheet music form, but It's not to hard to take from that and arrange on the guitar is it?
Cheers

●████▅▅▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄....▄▄▄
▄▄▅██████▅▄▃▂
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █►
◥☼▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲☼◤ -Mr T says: Quit yo jibba Jabba! You Ain't hurt!
  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Transcribing

Hey ApeDoctor, it was fun. A fun song too. It's something I don't do enough of, cos I'm lazy. And Chordie makes it a lot easier. So thanks for the challenge. I just hope it was close enough to set off in the right direction and change any glaring bloopers.

Pretty cool of Mr Dedrick to send you the sheet music. Not a lot of guys would do that. As for "is it?", your on your own, mate. lol

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • From: Portsmouth, UK
  • Registered: 2008-07-29
  • Posts: 95

Re: Transcribing

Yeah I though it was very decent of him to do that. I sent him a very friendly thanks email.

I don't mind working it out to be honest, I can read sheet music, It just takes me a while to jot it all down and find the right notes in the right places on the guitar.

●████▅▅▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄....▄▄▄
▄▄▅██████▅▄▃▂
█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █►
◥☼▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲☼◤ -Mr T says: Quit yo jibba Jabba! You Ain't hurt!
  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: Transcribing

ApeDoctor wrote:

Just like to say a big thanks to Alvee for the help.

I actually got an email from Chris Dedrick today (he's the guy from free design) and he amazingly sent me a copy of the original vocal arrangements. Unfortunately its all in sheet music form, but It's not to hard to take from that and arrange on the guitar is it?
Cheers

Nope.  Not at all.

If you have a scan of it, or can email it to me, I'd be happy to help you out.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

17 Reply by evsynator (edited by evsynator 2009-01-15 17:49:39)

  • From: plymouth - uk
  • Registered: 2007-11-15
  • Posts: 199

Re: Transcribing

here is a version of a transposer ... make your own and print it out in a bigger size

c d e f g a b c
d e f g a b c d
e f g a b c d e
f g a b c d e f
g a b c d e f g
a b c d e f g a
b c d e f g a b
c d e f g a b c

look down the column on the left .. for instance look at c f and g - and you want to transpose to g    ... then go on the the column at the top which is g and whatever lines up in that same column downwards is the transposed one for you . if things are either a minor or sharp or whatever just allow for that as well . some flats or sharps names vary - but this a basic get you out of trouble one to keep handy etc ...

any resemblance to my songs sounding anything like the original is highly unlikely.

evsynator's Website