The Art of Transcribing For The Guitar
- Part III
by Richard DeVinck
The first two installments of this series ( The
Art of Transcribing for the Guitar - Part I and The
Art of Transcribing for the Guitar - Part II) focused on transcribing
terminology, a general overview of the process of music transcription,
a brief history of transcribing, and the means and equipment used by
most transcribers to create their work. In this, the third and final
installment of the series, we will delve more deeply into the techniques
used in the process of interpreting recorded performances. Occasionally,
music examples will be included to illustrate a particular point.
Like most musicians, I learned to play my instrument by "ear" long before
I learned how to read or write music notation. And although I later
went on to study music at a university, I soon became aware that "standard"
notation was not so standard. This was made clear to me when I started
transcribing for two different publishers. Each sent me their own manuals
covering their own desired rules for notating music. The standard rules
that I learned in college involving placement of stems, flags, noteheads,
and dynamic markings still held true in the "real world". However, when
it came to tablature and the modern techniques of guitar playing, like
string bending, etc., I noticed that the rules for notation were not
so universally standardized. For instance, one publisher might include
two joined staffs -- one standard notation, the other tablature. Another
publisher might prefer using just tablature. In the first case, rhythmic
notation would be confined to the top staff in standard notation while
in the second case the rhythm would be notated above or below the tab
staff.
Example 1:
Note the discrepancies between the two excerpts in Example 1: the tempos
and the addition or absence of certain notes in some of the chords.
Keep in mind that both are transcriptions of the same recording, however
they do differ. This is due to a few factors. As the title of this article
suggests, transcribing is indeed an art form, which means that it is
imperfect and very subjective. If one transcriber hears an extra note
in a chord and another does not, it does not necessarily mean that the
first transcription is the most accurate. Many of the notes which one
hears when transcribing rock guitar are not even fretted. That is to
say that they are harmonic pitches emphasized through the use of effects
like harmonizers and distortion (the most used effect in rock music).
For instance, if a performer on a recording plays a C5 chord on an electric
guitar ("C" and "G") with a distorted tone, the distortion will "bring
out" or make more audible the octave of the fundamental "C" or 5th "G"
and might even bring out the major 3rd of the fundamental ("E"). In
this case, the transcriber might interpret the chord, not as a C5, but
as a C major chord.
The difference in tempos in the above examples has to do with
the recording speed of each individual recording. Yes, both examples
are the same performance, however, the first plays back at a faster
speed than the second (or at least it did on Transcriber #1's stereo).
When the transcriber matched up his metronome with the tempo, it read
122. If you slow that down to 116, as in the second excerpt, all guitar
pitches are lowered by a 1/4-step. Guess what Transcriber #2 notes at
the top of his transcription (not shown in Example 1.) -- "All instruments
sound approximately one quarter step flat on the recording. To play
along, tune all strings down accordingly." The actual recording speed
is irrelevant; what is important is that both transcriptions are accurate
in their assessment of pitch.
While we are on the subject of identifying alternate or altered tunings,
let us further discuss this issue. Sometimes a recorded performance
can puzzle a transcriber when he or she tries to play back what is heard
on the recording and the fingering seems quite awkward, if not physically
impossible. This is a good indication that the performer is using an
alternate tuning - that is, a tuning other than the standard EADGBE.
One of the best "tools" that a good transcriber should have is the ability
to identify the timber or tone of an open string. A fretted string,
vibrating at the same frequency as an open string, does indeed have
a particularly identifiable timber to it. Another clue to altered tuning,
which especially helps in the identification of the use of a capo, is
when a pitch other than E,A,D,G, or B consistently rings throughout
a performance as an open string. Chances are, the performer on the recording
has a capo at a certain fret on the neck. Once these "tricks" are identified
by the transcriber, he/she mentions that somewhere in the score.
Other notational differences from one publisher to another might involve
notation of more contemporary performance practices such as string-bends.
In the following example, note the different ways of indicating a whole-step
string-bend. All three involve the same type of bend, just different
pitches. Note how the notation differs from one to the next.
Example 2:
Usually guitar transcribers are asked to include lyrics,
if any, above or below the music. Depending on the publisher, the vocal
line might also be required. This is not often an easy task for the
transcriber. Most of the time, lyrics are included in the packaging
of the CD or record. However, there are cases when this does not apply
and the transcriber must decipher what lyrics are being sung (or in
many cases, screamed). I have turned down further commissioned work
from a certain publisher that was assigning me to Industrial Rock music.
The vocals in Industrial Rock are often run through effects similar
to those used on guitar: sometimes synthesized to the point of unintelligibility.
Look at the following example to see how one transcriber will hear a
lyric differently than another transcriber.
Example 3:
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"Livin' easy/It ain't easy", who really cares (the first is more accurate,
by the way). Actually, most transcribers do really care. And that, in
itself, can result in much anxiety and stress on the transcriber. This
is due to the subjectiveness of the art itself. As a concerned transcriber,
I would hope that my interpretation of a recorded performance -- especially
those "classics" that are near and dear to my heart -- is the best it
can be. More than that, I would hope that it is the most accurate of
any preceding or following transcription by another transcriber.
A good transcriber must also know form and format -- knowing how to
condense as much information and music as possible into a score. This
is done through the careful use of repeats, codas, shorthand notation
(like slashmarks), etc. Like most of us, editors want to do as little
editing as possible to your manuscript. Obviously, publishers do not
like having to print more music than is absolutely necessary -- this
costs extra money. Editors look for unnecessary or awkward page turns
as well as excessive use of repeats (which impede the "flow" of reading)
. There is often a fine line between what should be included in a transcription
and what shouldn't. For instance, if a part is performed on a recording
almost note-for-note by two guitars, it is desirable to print only one
part instead of two separate guitar parts. However, if there are enough
discrepancies between what the two guitars are playing, it might warrant
either a separation of parts or a "fill" or "riff" box on the same page.
In other words, ease of readability (or "flow"), conservative use of
page space, and accuracy are all carefully considered when transcribing
printed material.
I hope this series on "The Art of Transcribing" has been of interest
and hopefully inspiring to those who might want to transcribe themselves,
either for professional or personal reasons. I also hope that these
articles might have given the reader a better understanding and appreciation
for what is involved in the printing of musical material. The next time
you buy sheet music in your local music store, note who arranged, transcribed,
and printed the music. If the words "authentic", "note-for-note", or
"as recorded" appear on the cover, chances are the transcriber used
all of the techniques mentioned in these three installments of the series.
On a final note, whatever the transcription, do not let all of the printing
on the page overwhelm or daunt you: most of what you will encounter
looks complicated, but once you spend just a little time playing what
you read, you quickly realize that it is usually not that challenging.
It just appears that way with lots of notation which essentially is
indicating something quick simplistic in practice.
Mr. DeVinck is a classically trained guitarist and board member of
the Carmel Classic Guitar Society. He has transcribed guitar songbooks
for publishers Hal Leonard, Warner Bros., and Creative Concepts.
