Simple is not easy. Well, simple and good is not easy. Listen to Hildur Guðnadóttir… please. I’m transcribing her beautiful “Folk Faer Antil.” Basically the piece is just her playing a drone on her cello accompanying her beautiful voice singing a very simple motif. A few bars in she’s joined by few more versions of herself singing some equally beautiful but equally “plain” counter harmonies…melodies? It’s called plainsong for a reason. This gives me both a lump in my throat and goosebumps. OK, and then it goes completely nuts and becomes very difficult to transcribe… at least for a piker such as myself. Having said that…
Transcribing is a really effective way of understanding a piece in a deep way. So many talented educators and players say this. I should have listened earlier. It’s a way of getting inside the head of the composer. It’s a way of honing both your rhythmic and your tonal skills. It’s not that difficult and for me it gives a sense of accomplishment and confidence and is very calming (except where it goes nuts). It cuts through all the theoretical noise and tells one exactly where the composer is coming from. In the case of this tune, it reinforces the notion that more notes do not in any way equal better (except where it goes nuts). The process of recognizing and entering the notes teaches one so much about all the elements of music, and perhaps because of the act of writing, that knowledge seems to stick. I’m really drawn to this kind of material, Arvo Pärt too.
My technique is to use a piece of software called StaffPad. It’s as close as you can get to writing music on actual paper. It also allows you to have immediate feedback on what you have written… and in the case of transcription it allows you to enter a recording of what you are transcribing. Listen, write, and then check. In the case of something as pure and distinct as Hildur’s piece it’s a very elegant and rewarding process (except where it goes nuts).
There are even more advanced technological miracles (RipX and Melodyne) to expedite and automate the process but after lots of trial and error my ear is seemingly more accurate and effective (except where it goes nuts). And to be honest, it just feels better (except where it goes nuts).
OK, cut to an hour later and having transcribed most of the piece I can say that the above technological marvels may have their place. I did well enough on the majority of it but when the parts got more and more layered and fractured I really lost the plot. Running a recording of the piece though RipX I can analyze the music more accurately but at my level of expertise with the program it’s not as easy as just sticking in the tune and getting handed a fully notated score and a midi file.
There is another very beautiful version sung by Emily D’Angelo and arranged by Jarkko Riihimäki. I think I’ll give this a go.