For years we have tried to copy outstanding solos and wonderful orchestral scores from recordings but the time taken for this laborious task was far greater than anyone wanted to spend.
With the introduction of digital control, things got a lot easier. Even with digital recordings we still have to go through the painful chore of isolating one note or chord after another in order to document it on paper.
I hope the following material will help you speed the process as well as improving your accuracy in notating solos and scores on paper.
Step 1.
Install the program Audacity from https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/ on your computer. If you have followed my posts in the past, you should recognize this handy and free program for Audacity is the only program I use for recording. It’s not that there are no other programs equal this; it’s the only program simple enough for me to work with.
Step 2.
Learn to use the program. It isn’t very difficult and if you need help there are many videos on the site as well as on YouTube.
Step 3.
Be sure you are able to record sounds using this program.
Open program
Click on “Track” at the top
Click on “Add New”
Click on “Stereo Track”
Click on “Record” and then start the material you want to duplicate
Step 4.
Record your solo or recording to the Audacity program in Stereo.
Step 5.
Click on “Select” at the top
Click on “All”
Move over to the right and click on “Effect”
Go down and click on “Change Tempo”
Decide what tempo would work for you when playing it back. I have found the recording three different speeds will cover most projects I will be working on. As an example (original speed, 10-20% slower, 10-20@ slower than that and 10-20# of that one). This will save you time if you find out you can’t document the notes fast enough.
Step 6.
Now that you have a comfortable tempo to work with, the next step is to isolate sections that you want to work from. In most cases I isolate or highlight a four measure phrase. To do this just click your arrow at the beginning of the phrase and start your playback from that point. When you reach the end of the phrase, put it on pause and drag your cursor back to the beginning of the phrase.
Step 7.
Click on “Transport” at the top of the program and go down to “Playing” and then down to “Loop Play”. This will start your playback and will continue playing a loop recording of the phrase you will work on.
By slowing down your recording, then isolating the sections you want to work on, you should be able to handle the short phrases and gradually work through the complete work.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will try to get back to you.
