The Qualifications of a Music Transcriber

Since music transcription is a very exciting field, there are those who ask what are the qualifications of a music transcriber. If you haven’t had the opportunity to understand how that works out based on my previous entries, this entry will tell what I think are the qualifications for a freelancing music transcriber.

If you’re expecting to say that you need a music degree to be a music transcriber, then I will tell you that I am living proof that you don’t have to have one. I certainly didn’t attend a conservatory, and all the knowledge that I gained in music transcription and music in general is through practical means. However, let me say that in all sorts of jobs in the music industry, having a music degree is an advantage but it does not guarantee that you’ll be a pro at music transcription or any music job. So, if you’re planning to take up music in college or are already taking up music, by all means try your best to complete your degree. Again, it’s definitely an advantage but it’s not required.

Now, in any sort of job or occupation, the most important thing is that you can demonstrate that you can do the job well. Unlike in the healthcare sector where having a license is necessary, music jobs in general do not require that. It all boils down to whether you can do the job or not. One of the best ways of demonstrating that is having a portfolio of your works. Now, the question would be, “What if I don’t have a portfolio?” You can always try to transcribe some samples on your own first, save them as PDF files and then you can use them as samples when you try to hunt for music transcription jobs.

Another qualification you’ll need is good working knowledge of music theory. You have to understand how standard notation is written down. You have to be able to read standard notation. This is absolutely necessary as a music transcriber. When you jot down notes onto piece of manuscript paper or input them in a program like Sibelius, you have to be able to produce sheet music that’s neat and very easy to read. No matter how complicated the music might be, the simplest manner by which you can interpret musical ideas into paper is the best way, and you certainly need to be grounded on music theory for that.

If you can already transcribe music and have a portfolio, it’s already enough evidence that you have a good ear for music. Most people offering transcription jobs would be convinced that you can handle it. There are also those clients or employers who want to make sure that you can really pull it off, and so you will be subjected to a transcription test. A transcription test is something you shouldn’t be afraid of. By all means, go for it. If you already have a portfolio and enough chops to produce a quality transcript, then I’m sure you can tackle such tests.

If you plan on being a music transcriber, have a good understanding of how music is arranged and played. You should be able to at least sing in tune and play an instrument, preferably a keyboard instrument. The more you know about how instruments work, the better you can become a music transcriber. Other than trying to learn how to play musical instruments, listen to a variety of music. It will definitely help you become familiar with all the sorts of genres you might have to transcribe.

So to sum it all up, your qualifications as a music transcriber are the following:

1. A portfolio
2. A good ear for music
3. Good working knowledge of music theory
4. Knowledge of musical instruments and various genres of music

As long as you can demonstrate that you have all the qualities of a good music transcriber, I don’t see why you can’t get a music transcription job if you don’t have a music degree.

New Music on a7records – “Taal Lake” and “Tranquility II”

The record label, a7records, has just released two of my latest compositions on YouTube. One of these is under the “Relax My Dog” brand and is perfectly suited for a relaxing time with your pooch. It’s entitled “Taal Lake” and you can listen to it below:

 

 

The next piece is under the Easy Sleep Music brand and is just perfect to listen to when you’re going to bed. It’s a piece influenced by music from the Baroque Era (Bach, Handel, Telemann, etc.). I call this “Tranquility II”, a sequel to the more minimalistic “Tranquility I”.

 

I hope that all of you will have a peaceful and relaxing day.

A Dream of Crocodiles, Pigs and Worms

As I slept through the night, I had a dream before waking up. In that dream, I was in a place that resembled some town in Greece. It was a hot summer day where the air seemed like how it usually is in many provinces in the Philippines during the dry season. It seemed to be a traditional town where I was exploring the place’s art and culture. In that dream I was working with some artist that looked like Vangelis and it appeared that I was apprenticing for him.

This bearded man was asking me for some photographs of his villa. And so, as his apprentice I obliged. As far as I can remember, I took photos during the daytime. I also tried to take photos at night. This is where it gets interesting.

I was with some other person in this next dream sequence, exploring the old man’s backyard. There was what seemed to be a big pool which seemed to be used for waste disposal. It piqued my interest and then as I approached closer, the pool seemed to be filled with what looked like worms that had a segmented appearance and the color of maggots. As I moved in closer to take a picture, I saw many pigs wallowing in it. All of the sudden, as if it was a scene pulled straight from a monster or horror movie, crocodiles started to emerge from the pool of worms and what looked like a herd of pigs and crocodiles started chasing me and my unknown companion. As a natural instinct, we started running to safety. My mobile phone then started to sound its alarm. It was at that time that I realized that I was already awake without realizing the conclusion of my dream.

Most of the time, we do not have control of the contents of what we’re dreaming. This dream to me seemed absurd, disconnected from the reality we experience every day. I don’t know what to make out of it and I don’t understand its meaning or if it even means something. It probably is just one of those dreams that would baffle me or probably serve as some sort of inspiration for some piece of music I have yet to write. And now it’s time for me to prepare my morning coffee.

The Value of Consistent Practice as a Musician

This is pretty obvious for people like me but you just can’t take for granted the value of consistent practice as a musician. As an instrumentalist, I would always like to build up my chops. By doing so, it takes me one step towards realizing musical ideas in a more tangible manner.

I was reminded of the value of practice when I was watching an episode of Matt Groening’s Futurama. This particular episode featured Fry in his attempt to become a performer and composer. He was trying to learn an instrument called a Holophoner (a sort of clarinet that also produces holographic images). He sucked at it and so he made a deal with the Robot Devil which involved exchanging his human hands for the Robot Devil’s hands. It was an amusing episode with plot devices similar to every work of art involving a deal with the devil and redemption.

With all the humor aside, what struck a chord in me in that Futurama episode was the fact that Fry said, “There’s so much music in my head but my stupid hands can’t keep up.” Well, I could relate to that very well. As a composer, I want to accurately express what’s in my head using my hands playing my instruments. It is very frustrating when you find yourself being unable to do that. Should I go on a bargain with the Devil for that? Of course not. Whatever is acquired without hard work often fades away fast. Becoming a virtuoso doesn’t happen overnight, and that’s why practice is very important.

Consistent practice is the only way any musician can take their chops to the next level. As an example, all of the musicians in Dream Theater wouldn’t be the virtuosos that they are if they didn’t practice. Unlike stories people typically hear of rock stars, these guys have practice rooms with instruments and metronomes backstage. Their bassist, John Myung, is an excellent model of commitment to practicing. He warms down by playing bass before a show and then cools down by playing bass again after a show. That’s the reason why he can shred like John Petrucci and keep time like Mike Portnoy.

So is the point of practicing just for building chops and be able to perform face-melting wankery? Of course not. It’s just a means to an end. Imagine how it could be easier to be able to write and record music if you could play in an instant what’s been ringing inside your head. As a composer, achieving such is a dream come true. Nothing could be more satisfying as a composer and musician than hearing your ideas come to life as you hear it in your head.

Whether you want to build your chops on the piano or guitar or you want to build your compositional skills, practice will always get you closer to becoming the best that you can be. That is the value of consistent practice as a musician.

Now, please excuse me while I get back to practicing piano, guitar, etc.

How to Become a Music Transcriber

There probably is no single way about how to become a music transcriber.

One would say that every serious musician in the planet has had to do some music transcription in one way or another. A good examples would be one of my guitar heroes, Steve Vai, former music transcriber for Frank Zappa. Jazz musicians have been known to do this in order to figure out the improvisation methods of their influences. It’s easy then to say that to be a music transcriber one should start by having great love and dedication for music.

Let me tell you a little story about how I became a music transcriber. As far as growing up as a musician, I had limited access to sheet music and so it was helpful that I relied on my ears to learn new songs. What I would consider my first entry into music transcription would be jotting down chords of various songs I wanted to play while I listened to my cassette tapes. Being able to transcribe music came out of necessity. I am not very good at memorizing pieces (I must have some sort of memory deficit) and so transcriptions of music became great memory tools for me. That was the start of being a music transcriber, the desire to learn new songs.

When my playing skills and my knowledge of music theory further improved, I transitioned from just jotting down chords to actually transcribing songs, whether it be in MIDI or in a scorewriter such as Sibelius. Sometimes, I still do it by hand, especially when an idea for a composition starts popping into my head.

Going back to the topic “how to become a music transcriber”, one may be able to simplify it in a few steps:

1. Learn and practice how to play a musical instrument – Before you can transcribe, you will need some basic knowledge about how to play a musical instrument or be able to sing in tune. If you are confident in being able to discern that you can follow rhythm and melody, that is a start. You will also need to constantly practice how to play your instrument. You need to develop considerable technique that will make you understand how songs are composed and how they are arranged.
2. Learn and study music theory – By studying music theory, you get to have a better understanding of what exactly is you are playing or what you are hearing. Studying music theory also helps a lot in how to jot down your transcripts to paper or an application like Sibelius properly.
3. Start transcribing – Once you have some skill on musical instruments and have a good working knowledge of music theory, you can now begin to transcribe. Start out with transcribing the rhythms of the piece, and then followed by the bass line (to have a good understanding of the piece’s harmonic structure as well as provide a “skeleton”) and the melody.
4. Practice transcribing – Practice always makes perfect, and so just like playing an instrument, music transcription requires practice.
5. Keep a portfolio – If you want to earn some money from music transcription, you need a portfolio. Try to select the very best from your  collection. This portfolio would serve as a great way to prove that you can do it.
6. Be patient – Any aspiring transcriber has to be patient. Imagine having to listen to the same song over again for more than 20 times. I can tire out your ears but it really is part of music transcription.

There’s not a lot of steps, but just as I said in my previous piece about music transcription, it takes a great deal of patience.  If you have a music degree or currently studying in a conservatory, music transcription will always help as an additional skill. If you do not have a music degree, don’t fret. I don’t have one but I sure can transcribe music and play an instrument relatively well. Whether your goal is to be able to study and analyze your favorite artist or composer’s works or to become a professional sheet music provider, the knowledge of music transcription will always be helpful.

So, why are you still reading this? Prepare your manuscript paper or your scorewriter and start walking the path on how to become a music transcriber.

Paying Homage to Battery

If there’s one thing I regret as a music fan, it’s failing to buy an album by the Filipino metal band Battery back in 2000. The trio’s musicianship was superb, like a hybrid of Black Sabbath and Rush. Their lyrics were a reflection of guitarist/vocalist Mike Turner’s faith in Jesus Christ. They were evidence that explicitly Christian bands can be very amazing. The reason why I regret this now is that their album was out of print.

Battery was one of the few Filipino bands that served as an inspiration for the reasons stated above. If you have any doubt of how superb the trio’s musicianship is, just listen to “Toxic Hate” which features a face melting bass solo as an intro, and “Plastic Jesus” that has a middle section in odd meters. Want an inspiring rocker? Listen to “The Words in Red”. It seems to be a reference to some Bible translations e.g. New King James Version that have quotes by the Lord Jesus Christ printed in red. The line in the song that states, “The only peace I can find are the words in red”. Rings very true when you realize how sinful you and I are and the only way out of that situation are the “words in red”. Although such meaning of the song is my own analysis, if you listen to the other songs like “Come to Me” and “Coming Home”, you could arrive at the same conclusion as well.

Sad to say that after struggling in the Philippine music scene, Battery was no more. Battery became one of those bands that was killed off by the Filipino music industry’s promotion of mediocrity. It is mind-boggling that big names in the music industry would not support such talented musicians and instead sign artists who can’t even sing or write their own songs such as _____ (fill in the blank of an artist you think fits the description).

I’ve searched online for a chance to be able to listen to some songs by Battery and fortunately I found this link:

http://www.cristianomusica.com/mp3~battery-king-strange.html

It turns out that you can listen to Battery’s entire album through that link. It became another opportunity for me to listen to those amazing songs after 12 years.

Another thing is that Mike Turner has posted some of Battery’s songs on his MySpace page. You can check them out here:

http://www.myspace.com/michaelturner/music/songs?filter=featured

If there’s any person out there who could sell me that CD by Battery, then by all means please contact me! I’d love to have a copy.

To Mike Turner and the rest of Battery, thank you for your music. It was simply inspiring. God bless you dear sirs and I hope that one day I can get you see you guys play in the Philippines again.

The Work-at-Home Homeschooling Dad

In this day and age, the Internet has made it possible for many people to work at home. Perhaps there already are a lot of people who know about the work-at-home mom. As a matter of fact, you’d get a lot of results for articles, job openings, opportunities and the like if you Google the term “work-at-home mom”. However, I’m in the opinion that the work-at-home dad is a less popular topic than a work-at-home mom, so I’m going to share you what a work-at-home dad is like.

In paternalistic, masculine, machismo cultures like the Philippines and Latin America, the concept of a work-at-home dad isn’t so macho at all. It effectively undermines macho tradition where the wife stays at home to do all that domestic stuff and the husband goes off out into the world doing all sorts of macho stuff, and that includes earning money. In a work-at-home-dad situation, I act as an entire office staff rolled into one person with parenting and other domestic responsibilities. If you think the work-at-home situation is as easy as slumping on the couch drinking beer and watching TV, you sure got it all wrong.

The concept can be best explained by illustrating to you dear reader my typical day. I wake up at 4 a.m. to feed the cats, wake up my son, and then go drive off to pick up my wife who’s working for a call center. I then drive home with my wife and son. As soon as we arrive home, I prepare breakfast, send my wife off to bed, and then eat the breakfast of champions with my son. After breakfast, I prepare for work while my son starts his going through his homeschool materials. I set up all my equipment, check messages, check my son’s progress every now and then, check the stay-out household help’s progress, and then start writing or transcribing music or whatever freelance job I got off or on the Internet. As soon as 11 o’clock hits, I then prepare lunch and have a meal with my son.

When lunchtime is over, I, the work-at-home-dad starts washing the dishes and and then start preparing my wife’s “breakfast”. The afternoon also involves going back to composing music or whatever freelance job I got and my son going back to his schoolwork. From time to time, I would check on my son’s progress. This also involves some verbal prompting on my part if I notice my son slacking off (which can be very stressful at times). There also are occasions when I have to check and grade test papers and do all of the administrative work involved in homeschooling.

As soon as my wife wakes up, I would offer her “breakfast” if I have prepared something. If I haven’t cooked up anything for her, we would then eat out just before I drive her to the bus stop where she would take the bus going to her office. My son and I then go home, eat dinner (if we haven’t gone out for it at that point), I resume work, practice piano and guitar (or whatever instrument I need to build chops for), remind my son to practice his violin, do other domestic chores and then go to sleep. As you would expect, the next day starts in the exact same fashion as described earlier.

On certain days, I would be interrupted from work when I need to drive my son to his Violin and Wushu classes. There are occasions as well when I have to drive and meet up with certain people for job opportunities, etc.

If you were patient enough to read all of this, you will know for sure that it takes a lot of balls to be a work-at-home dad. As a non-touring musician working at home, I’d have to live with the fact that I cannot afford to have an isolated studio space that separates me from the rest of the world. It just wouldn’t work. If I did, I’d be so lost in that world that I’d forget why am I working at home in the first place. It can be very frustrating for me having to deal with all of the other things surrounding me as I try to compose the greatest piece of music I can ever pull out of my ass.

Allow me to tell you though that my work-at-home-dad situation is worth all the trouble. I get to spend a lot of time with my son. I am able to directly supervise my son’s education and impart to him the Biblical values I hold on to. I am my own boss from a professional perspective. I am in complete control of my time, no matter how hard it is to manage. It doesn’t matter even if I just work wearing a sleeveless shirt and a pair of shorts. I also get to work on the things I am passionate about (this is very obvious).

Would I say that working at home would be a good deal for every man out there? Of course not. Working at home is not for everybody. But if you’re the kind of person with enough patience, dedication and the desire to have near absolute control over one’s life (Note: If you’re a Christian in the Biblical sense, God is in control of your life), then being a work-at-home dad may be a good option for you.

To cap off this piece, let me leave you with a relaxing piece of music I wrote a few months back called “The Water’s Embrace”:

 

Easy Sleep Music Release of the Day: “Saving Grace”

The good people at a7records have made another easy sleep music piece of mine available for public listening on the Easy Sleep Music YouTube channel. This piece is called “Saving Grace”.

“Saving Grace” is mostly a piano piece with the requisite background synth pad and binaural beat per Easy Sleep Music specifications. Other instruments that play the main theme on various sections of the piece include my new Greg Bennett Concord 3 electric guitar and a virtual instrument that imitates a veena (an Indian stringed instrument similar to a sitar).

There are many reasons one can think of why this piece is called “Saving Grace”. It actually is a reflection of my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and how much I find comfort in the fact that the Lord had decided to offer up his life to save me and the rest of us from God’s wrath. Now, I know that there are some who read this that may become uncomfortable about my expression of faith. Let me clarify that I am in no way imposing my faith but I’m requesting that you keep an open mind as you read along while I explain the inspiration behind this piece. I leave it up to you whether or not you would decide to believe what I believe. God never forced anybody to believe in him anyway; otherwise we’d all be robots without differences in opinion.

According to Romans 3:20, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” There is nothing that man can do to merit salvation. No amount of prayers, devotionals, offerings, money, indulgence, service or good works could make us justifiable before God. Romans 6:23 even goes on to state, “For the wages of sin is death….” As we are tainted by our sinful nature, God sense of justice demands exact payment, and death is what we we deserve.

Romans 6:23 doesn’t end there. It continues as, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The fact is that though we deserve to be separated eternally from God,  he provided a way back to him through his son Jesus Christ, God who became man, the perfect sacrifice. I’m sure many people would argue otherwise but here we find the beauty in believing in Jesus Christ. Unlike all other religions of the world where  people have to continuously work their way towards salvation/deification/etc. without any form of assurance, Yeshua Hamaschiah proves he is a just and loving God through his sacrifice for you and me.

My personal faith has a lot to do with this piece called  “Saving Grace”. Many people want to sleep at night feeling secure and loved. That is how I want to feel exactly when I go to bed each night. “Saving Grace” as sleep music would remind me how much God loves all of us that he willingly became human, sacrificed his own human life and then conquer death in order to cleanse us free of our debts. If you truly believe in your heart and trust that Jesus alone has done so, then He will bestow upon you that saving grace (John 3:16,  John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8). You no longer have to go through all the steps and rituals to buy your way into heaven as Jesus has already done that for you. If you think about it this way, it would be easy for you to do good and become at peace and relaxed at night or any time of the day. I hope to share such an experience with all of you and I pray that you get that well deserved rest and feel that assurance you would find only in Jesus Christ as you listen to my music.

A Misunderstanding of What Innovation Is

I just read this article from YahooI News:

http://ph.she.yahoo.com/fast-food-chain%E2%80%99s-newest-burger-stumps-critics–consumers-20120628.html

It seems to me like a sign of a lack of ideas or a misunderstanding of what innovation is. Innovation for me is a fresh idea that pushes boundaries and conventional notions but is useful as well. It may be provocative but with a clear purpose in mind, a signal for a change of perception and a new way of doing things in a more practical or beneficial manner. Sadly, this new KFC cheese top burger, no matter how the folks of KFC Philippines think about it, does not fall under what I perceive to be innovative.

I don’t understand what the deal is with KFC Philippines. In my opinion, they’ve been concocting some of the worst dishes I have ever seen or tasted. This by far takes the top spot. I could just imagine how uncomfortable I would be having this sandwich. Is putting cheese on top of a burger bun something you would call innovative? If you want your cheese to stick immediately to your fingers or see it clinging from the takeout wrapper, then by all means you can have this disaster of a sandwich. What about patty top burger, mayonnaise top burger, Coke-soaked burger? This is something that even an imbecile could easily think of making.

I wouldn’t be surprised if KFC Philippines stole an idea from a Nickelodeon series “The Mighty Bee”. There was this episode where the main character prepared a three-course meal for her scoutmaster only to chew it up and regurgitate it before serving. So watch out for the next KFC product: The easy-to-eat, easy-to-swallow chicken bucket meal – Pre-chewed to save time!

 

A New Easy Sleep Music Release via a7records: “Tranquility I”

I have here a new easy sleep music freshly released by the good people at a7records. Listen to it and watch the video below:

If you would ask what exactly is going on in the music, then I’ll gladly talk about it so here it goes.

“Tranquility I” is basically what some people would describe as a minimalist piece. The entire piece is based on the motif played by a vibraphone in the first two bars. Supporting the “Tranquility I” motif is a synth pad in the background. Little by little, more instruments join the vibraphone for a buildup of sound. The marimba harmonizes with the vibraphone and the sound gently grows as the flute and clarinet introduce themselves.

A soon as the flute and clarinet finish their phrases, the sleep music journey continues in the second section as an otherworldly synth pad provides another dimension of sound. The clarinet then plays a variation of the main motif and the flute then enters after a few bars of the clarinet solo. The marimba then enters as a third wheel in harmony with the clarinet and flute.

Soon as the flute and clarinet quiet down, we proceed to the third and final section which begins with the marimba playing a gentle solo (still based on the motif) accompanied by a droning bass pad in F. The vibraphone then enters a few bars later. At this point, it would be easy to imagine the marimba and vibraphone as gentle drops of water. Soon after, as the piece modulates from F to G, we once again encounter the atmospheric synth pad followed by the clarinet and flute as all instruments play the final closing bars, hoping to send you all off to dreamland.

That wraps up my notes for “Tranquility I”, one of my new easy sleep music pieces released under the a7records label. If you’re still reading this, I guess you should listen to “Tranquility I” again and start drifting off to a more peaceful state of mind.