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Hello,

I'm transcribing some Wynton Kelly piano solos and I'm trying to avoid pencil and manuscript if i can. With Soundtrack pro I've slowed it down to 50% and imported it into Garageband. It allows me to record my midi events and will make notation. The problem is the measures wander with time and the notation is a disaster. I've downloaded the Transcribe software and it doesn't record midi events. I need something that i can map analog measures to an AIFF or MP3 first of all, and secondly it has to be able to record my midi events and create notation.

Sibelius trial software didn't seem to do what i wanted and it's way too expensive.

Has anyone else transcribed jazz solos this way, with software?

I think picking out the pitches from an analog file is still an unsolved computer problem isn't it ? Several people claim their software does it but those I have tried fail in all but very simple examples. MIDI already has the pitches, and notation good enough to learn from can be produced by something like Garageband. Mind you, I have only tried it for stride transcriptions, whose rhythms are very regular. Like you, I found the occasional example which I could not sync with any Garageband options without producing a mess. In theory it should be pretty simple to have an option which did away with bars altogether and just printed unstemmed notes on a continuous time scale; that would be much better. I asked on forums but apparently it does not exist.

This software has been mentioned here before, but it is only an assistant; it won't do the whole job for you of course.

Hello Ted, Hello ChopinAddict, thanks for the reply.

The Transcribe software maps out all the pitches on a 'Piano Roll' which looks like an old fashioned marionette roll, it's really messy. but software can pick out the pitches but it also picks up the upper harmonics. The strong pitch tones have a bold colour, the harmonics have a faint colour. that being said... drums have pitch, and that's scattered in the Transcribe software Piano Roll as well. Transcribe has a handy EQ that is real time. But Transcribe doesn't not conver MIDI into notes, it doesn't record MIDI, it just allows you to figure it out so you can put pencil to manuscript.

Last night i printed out a test and it seemed to be sort of OK, at least it's something that i can clean up.
Garage Band notation example LINK HERE

in GarageBand there is a link to update and another link to learn about LOGIC, which makes me believe that it must be the better version of GarageBand... ??? so surely it would do what i want? LOL.

A friend from Yamaha Canada just told me she uses FINALE to do this kind of thing but like Sibelius it's $600 ouch!

There is a lite version of Finale called PRINT MUSIC which is around $100.

Roland has new software as well, but you know... i think a person could spend $$$ thousands on software only to come back to GarageBand. LOL.

I think the key might be to chop up the analog recording into pieces and make it fit the computer metronome so the measures line up.

have a great day!

Well, the best i can do is import a music track that is slowed down by 50% (soundtrack pro), and then with Garageband I can cut the performance to try to match up beat 1 of the track audio to the measures in Garageband, but that brings up the whole wandering tempo problem of needing to have it at 76bpm for a few measures then 77, then 76, etc...
There is a flextime in GB but it doesn't work the way a regualar non linear editor would work.
Herky Jerky speed a track up and then have to cut out the excess, cut and paste. dern computer metronome.

Possibly the answer is in the GB forums on the apple discussion groups.... it's soo close to almost doing exactly what I want!!! just a bit convoluted LOL!!

have a great day folks.