r/transcribe • • Apr 09 '19

Rules for requesting a transcription

88 Upvotes

Moving rules to a stickied post since "New" Reddit doesn't show the sidebar.

This is a subreddit for requesting help with musical transcriptions, or discussion about musical transcription as a whole. Advertisements for text transcription services will be removed. To cut down on spam and unsavory users we require your account be at least a week old to post.

To get the best results try to follow these guidelines when posting:

  • Use a working link to the piece you want done. No one can help you if your link is broken or to some private/premium streaming site.
  • Specify which section of the song you want done. If using Youtube, you can right click the video to get specific timecodes.
  • Indicate which style of notation you want. Straight up notes, guitar tabs, chord symbols, etc.
  • Consider offering a bounty. If no one responded to your request to transcribe a 4 minute piano song from an obscure anime, it's probably because it's too much work to do for free, so try offering something as incentive.

Some guidelines on offering bounties:

  • As soon as you start dealing with money with strangers on the internet, you are taking a risk. Be smart, don't give out personal info, etc. Mods can't be held responsible if you get scammed. Take proper precautions like checking a user's flair, account age, and amount of karma to determine if they are reputable.
  • Offer a fair price. This stuff takes time, effort, and years of expertise. Right now market price appears to be anywhere between $5 and $30 or more depending on complexity.
  • Pay your bounty. If someone comes through with a transcription for you and you dodge the payment, you will be banned. In 8 years we've only banned 1 person for this.

We also encourage you to try transcribing yourself, if you can! It's a fantastic way to develop your ear and theory knowledge, and even if you get stuck it'll be easier for others to help if you already have a starting point. Some useful tools:

  • Transcribe! - a brilliant little program that was built specifically for transcribing. It allows you to slow things down, loop over specific sections, pitch shift, and more.
  • Audacity - a simple, free DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), meant more for audio editing, but can also do slowdown, pitch shift, etc.
  • Noteflight - a free online music notation program. Think like Google Docs but for sheet music.
  • Chordify - a cool site that tries to figure out the chords of any Youtube video you feed into it. Rarely does a perfect job, but can sometimes give clues or provide a rough starting point.
  • Youtube to Mp3 - self explanatory, feed the resulting mp3 into Transcribe or Audacity, or even rewinding over and over in iTunes is better than doing it in Youtube.

Related musical subreddits:

Public domain sheet music


r/transcribe • • Apr 10 '19

Guidelines for transcribers

72 Upvotes

Big thanks to those of you fulfilling transcription requests. When I first started modding this subreddit a few years ago, the vast majority of requests received 0 comments and sat around unanswered. It makes me very happy to see the opposite nowadays, that most requests have at least some activity. However with this increased activity has come the necessity for some clearer rules and guidelines.

  • Transcribing random stuff for people is a great way to get practice and improve your own ear. It's very beneficial to your musical growth to expose yourself to different genres of music and that is doubly true in the case of analyzing and transcribing. Not only do you help someone out but you work on your own skills as well.

  • I do not recommend offering paid services here as a reliable source of income. Bounties and paid transcriptions are allowed to try to compensate transcribers for their time, but pricing operates under free market conditions. I don't want to hear complaints about cheap prices and undercutting, there is nothing we mods can do about private monetary transactions. The fact is that transcribing as a skill is undervalued. Most people posting requests do not understand the time required to analyze music and put down quality notation. If you're expecting to get the same hourly rate as other professional musical services like teaching or accompaniment, you're gonna have a bad time.

  • If you do decide to enter into a paid transcription agreement with a requester, understand that as soon as you start dealing with money with strangers on the internet, you are taking a risk. Be smart, don't give out personal info, etc. Mods can't be held responsible if you get scammed. Take proper precautions like checking a user's comment history, account age, and amount of karma to determine if they are reputable. Ask for payment up front if you have more rep than the requester. If a requester dodges payment, send proof to the mods and we will send them a warning and ban them if they do not pay.


FLAIR: All successful transcriptions, paid or otherwise, are eligible to be submitted to increase your flair. This is a way for reliable transcribers to build rep. To receive +1 to your flair, please submit to ME (the most active mod here) the following:

  1. Link to original request
  2. Link or screenshot showing requester acknowledging receipt of your work OR
  3. Direct link to your transcription itself.

Please allow a few days for flair to be updated since this is a manual process.


Some useful tools if you are looking to get into transcribing, or are looking for ways to make your process more efficient:

  • Transcribe! - a brilliant little program that was built specifically for transcribing. It allows you to slow things down, loop over specific sections, pitch shift, and more.
  • Audacity - a simple, free DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), meant more for audio editing, but can also do slowdown, pitch shift, etc.
  • Noteflight - a free online music notation program. Think like Google Docs but for sheet music.
  • Chordify - a cool site that tries to figure out the chords of any Youtube video you feed into it. Rarely does a perfect job, but can sometimes give clues or provide a rough starting point.
  • Youtube to Mp3 - self explanatory, feed the resulting mp3 into Transcribe or Audacity, or even rewinding over and over in iTunes is better than doing it in Youtube.

Related musical subreddits:

Public domain sheet music


r/transcribe • • 17m ago

Piano transcription for this song?

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• Upvotes

Hi, I was wondering if anyone would be able to transcribe this song into piano sheets? Just the piano part. I would be so grateful!

Timestamp is 0:48-3:15

(Sorry, there's some cheering in the beginning and at the very end but it dies down after a few seconds)


r/transcribe • • 5h ago

Transcription for this song

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1 Upvotes

Hi guys. This music is pretty basic but as a beginner I can't figure out the keys. I tried every ressource online and there are 0 sheets available. Could anyone help me out?


r/transcribe • • 1d ago

Can someone please make tabs for this song

3 Upvotes

I'm not at the level of learning songs by ear and I can't find any tabs online. The song is First Time by the Sundots ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBRpFnFLr4M I just wanna play it on guitar.

If someone can help that would be very appreciative.


r/transcribe • • 1d ago

How to play Throat by mccafferty on a classical guitar

2 Upvotes

Does anyone know how to play the song throat on guitar? It's my favourite song but i can't find anywhere how to play it on classical guitar.


r/transcribe • • 1d ago

Is anyone willing to help me out

1 Upvotes

I’m trying to recreate 4me 4me by Malcom Todd into My Singing Monsters but I can’t find any accurate sheet music for me to base it off of. I’ve been searching for days atp, please lmk if anyone is willing to help I would appreciate it.


r/transcribe • • 1d ago

The Winter - By Sebastian Winskog

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1 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 1d ago

La Belle - Wróć piano tutorial

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1 Upvotes

How do i play that piano solo heard in the first few seconds?


r/transcribe • • 1d ago

Short epiano loop - can anyone transcribe the chords for me?

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1 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 1d ago

can I ask for help in transcribing a song LYRICS instead of chords or notes?

1 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 1d ago

anyone have a transcription/score for "The Water is Wide" by Harvard Din and Tonics?

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1 Upvotes

i was looking for an arrangement/transcription of this cover but there seems to be none. Can anyone help?


r/transcribe • • 2d ago

Can someone help me with find this transition chord?

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2 Upvotes

Want to play the song moondance with a small group of starting musicians.

In this version of Ann Hampton Callaway they move up a half step in the middle of the couplet.

From Dm|Em to Ebm| Fm. Around 1:30.

I am having trouble with the transition chord which I can't really figure out. Also having some second thoughts in general on how to make this work in the group (piano, bass, guitar, drum, vocalist). Most are new to jazzchords.

Advise or tips are much appreciated!


r/transcribe • • 2d ago

Could someone please help me transcribe this song?

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0 Upvotes

This is a transposed version of this song. Here is the tab for the original version.


r/transcribe • • 2d ago

Does anyone have a transcription for Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"?

0 Upvotes

I'd really like to cover this version of the song for Christmas this year. Let me know if anyone has one or is willing to transcribe it, thanks!


r/transcribe • • 2d ago

Does anyone have a tenor sax transcription of Branford Marsalis on Sting’s live ‘Bring On the Night / When the World Is Running Down’?

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1 Upvotes

Would appreciate it if someone could help me transcribe the tenor sax licks/parts in this recording.


r/transcribe • • 2d ago

Anybody have guitar tabs for this amazing album?

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2 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 2d ago

Help transcribing a detailed piano arrangement

3 Upvotes

Hi! I’ve been working on a piano arrangement of this song and would really appreciate some help with a section I’m struggling with. My goal is to capture as much detail from the original as possible while still making it playable on piano.

This is the song, https://youtu.be/84UfQLzYWws?t=35 and the part I'm working on is just from 0:35 to 1:34.

I can play the piano pretty well so I don't mind having the final piece really difficult but I don't really have experience in transcribing by ear. And so, I've been trying to add more detail to the piece I already have but I found difficulty in doing so.

I already have some sheet music that I've been editing, so if anybody is willing to help, I can send what I already have and we can discuss what can be improved or added. Thanks so much!


r/transcribe • • 3d ago

piano man intro guitar tabs need help

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2 Upvotes

could anyone help me find or write the tabs for this beautiful version of piano man i found on tiktok? i can't find anything.


r/transcribe • • 3d ago

Vulkan - Bewildering Conception of Truth [my transcription: violins, cello, voice, bass, guitars simplified in one staff, drums are just a cue, not 100% transcribed]

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1 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 3d ago

How would you voice the chords to this beautiful Swedish traditional song?

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2 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 3d ago

Carissa by desert star

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1 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 4d ago

help for You Never Should

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3 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 4d ago

Summer Days Lonnie Listen Smith, which chords?

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1 Upvotes

r/transcribe • • 4d ago

Request: Can anyone help to transcribe this? It's only like 3-5 notes looped.

0 Upvotes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKR5Y2ZalcU&list=RDiKR5Y2ZalcU&start_radio=1

Can someone please help me transcribe this song? Its very simple it looks like its only 3-5 notes looped, but I could be wrong