purpose of creating a piano transcription
Almost all professional musicians are highly skilled at transcribing music by ear. When a pianist hears something that they like, they take it apart, working out the individual elements and then capturing those on paper or within some other medium so that they can learn and play it. This is a fundamental skill for any musician and it helps them to keep their music skills sharp as they develop.
Piano transcription is the process of creating a written music score from an audio recording of a musical composition that was originally composed for another instrument or ensemble. It is also sometimes referred to as an arrangement although strictly speaking transcriptions are faithful adaptations of a piece and arrangements allow for some creative liberties with aspects of the original composition.
In many cases, the original composer of a piece will have created the piece with the intention that it be performed by an orchestra or other large group of instruments. But this is not always the case and pieces are often transcribed for more modest ensembles, such as a solo piano. The purpose of doing this is to allow a pianist who may not have the resources to perform a work for an orchestra or other large group of musicians to be able to do so without the need for an orchestral score.
What is the purpose of creating a piano transcription
The simplest form of piano transcription involves the transcription of simple melodies. This is the most common type of transcription for beginners and can be done with almost any acoustic piano. The key to successfully transcribing a melody is to start out small and work your way up. It is important not to try and transcribe too much at once as this will likely lead to you getting overwhelmed or discouraged from continuing. Start by choosing a short selection of music (for solo piano) that is a familiar melodic line. This will make it easier to follow.
When a piano note is played, it is actually not one single frequency of sound vibration but rather a composite of multiple frequencies that are mathematically related to each other. These frequencies are referred to as harmonics and each harmonic has a different pitch that can be detected by our ears. The lower harmonics are more difficult to hear but as we move up the scale, the notes become more and more distinct from each other.
It is the harmonics that give a melodic line its shape and color as well as its harmony. Harmonies are generally made up of more than one note and are read up and down instead of left to right, as melodies are. A series of chords are called a progression and they provide the foundation for a melodic line or entire song.
Typically, the progression will be made up of a major or minor key. The key and tempo of a composition can affect the mood or emotional state that it will evoke in listeners and is an important factor to consider when writing a piece.