{"id":510,"date":"2022-01-25T13:35:38","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T13:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianstack.com\/?p=510"},"modified":"2024-04-15T07:48:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T07:48:06","slug":"music-transcription-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianstack.com\/music-transcription-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Music Transcription Software To Convert Songs To Standard Notation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Music transcription, the art of writing down a melody or a piece of music in standard music notation, can be a challenging task. You may, for instance, want to notate a popular guitar solo or one of your own songs. This can be quite a hurdle for anyone who doesn\u2019t “speak” music theory. Even if you are adept at writing in standard musical notation<\/a>, you may want a faster route to getting from start to finish. Transcription software can help you do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of transcribing music<\/a> with technology is complex and intriguing. The intricate nature of music makes it challenging for even the latest artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms to decode. It’s kind of like using Google translate to decipher the sounds of multiple people speaking similar and contrasting languages from a sample. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So whether you’re a music teacher<\/a> who needs a helping hand, a gigging musician and bandleader, or a pro session guitarist, here are your top 5 choices for music transcription, based on your requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
  1. AnthemScore<\/a>
  2. Transcribe!<\/a>
  3. ScoreCloud<\/a>
  4. Garageband\u00a0<\/a>
  5. Dorico<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

    AnthemScore<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Price<\/strong>: Editions start from $9, 30-day free trial<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who\u2019s it for?<\/strong> Instrumentalists with limited knowledge of music theory who need automatic music transcription for audio files that contains solo instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    AnthemScore is one of the best applications for transcribing a solo instrumental track<\/strong> to musical notation. Simply open an audio version (mp3 file or WAV file) of the song you want to transcribe in AnthemScore and let it automatically detect notes<\/strong> and generate sheet music<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Transcribing solo instruments is easy with this transcription tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"anthemscore<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    You are provided with a nice-looking “spectrogram” and can edit notes manually on the “piano roll”. One of the notable features of AnthemScore is that it hints at “candidate notes”, colored in white (see below). The software fixes notes based on a “likelihood score”, and you can manually adjust this, for an area or the whole score, to turn candidate notes into real ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You have an option to play back the original audio version, the transcribed notes, or both. This helps with cross-checking to verify how well the automatic detection has fared. You also have the option to change the key\/ time signature, edit measures, shift bars, change tempo, and more. You can export to MusicXML format, and refine the MusicXML files in notation software like MuseScore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"anthemscore<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    All this being said, I noticed that AnthemScore fails when you input a multi-track recording. Take for example this<\/a> audio track comprising vocals, piano, and drums. What I got from AnthemScore was a transcription in which everything is laid out on a piano grand staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"anthemscore<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The output won’t be useful to the majority of musicians. It may be difficult even to refine your in a software like Sibelius, depending on its complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This mashed up score could be helpful for harmonic analysis<\/a> or serve as a starting point for manual transcription, something a musician would do. A workaround would be to run your audio file through software capable of extracting tracks (discussed below), and then provide them individually to AnthemScore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A final point to note is that AnthemScore is made for songs recorded at A440 pitch standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Transcribe!<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Price<\/strong>: $39, 31-day free trial<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who\u2019s it for? <\/strong>Intermediate\/ professional musicians looking for music transcription software with handy digital signal processing functions to help transcribe music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Transcribe! Provides powerful music transcription tools for musicians, with some caveats. It does not automatically detect notes or instantly generate sheet music. What you get instead is a set of practical tools that make the transcription process easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At first glance, Transcribe! gives the impression there’s very little going on here, as if it’s just another audio player. However, its greatest value comes from the powerful digital signal processing<\/strong> capabilities and ease of use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"music<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    It’s easy to add a section, measure, and beat markers to the track during<\/em> playback. You even have an option for automatic subdivisions. Once you have marked up the sound signal, you can zone in on a particular segment and make an accurate transcription using the editing tools. For example, you can slow down the track (to any percentage) and loop a segment for easy playback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As an aid to music transcription, Transcribe! shows a spectrum of the audio’s content at a particular point, along with note and chord guesses<\/strong>. The green dots on the virtual keyboard below show the probable notes. This is one of its best features, in my opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"transcribe!<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    You also have at your disposal advanced editing features like EQ (to isolate certain instruments), karaoke (to erase vocals), tuning, and more. It’s also worth noting that Transcribe! offers foot pedal support for quick navigation of tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"transcribe!<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Transcribe! does not aim to be anything more than a transcription assistant. Those looking for a tool that offers music sheets instantly should look elsewhere. Another potential drawback is that you have to use an external music notation program for the actual transcription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ScoreCloud<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Price<\/strong>: Free, paid plans start at 4.99USD\/ month with a 10-day free trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who\u2019s it for?<\/strong> Budding musicians looking for music transcription software for “musical doodling”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Music notation can be frustrating for musicians who aren’t especially knowledgeable about music theory. When composing music, it is often helpful, necessary even, to write down your ideas. You can remain free and have fun in the compositional process with ScoreCloud as it does most of the transcription for you, leaving you to handle the minor tweaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As well as receiving Midi input, ScoreCloud can also process the audio directly from your laptop or phone microphone. Its algorithm supports polyphonic instruments<\/a>, which means you could play a piano and ScoreCloud would translate both hands on the grand staff<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"scorecloud<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    ScoreCloud has an intuitive workflow, which aids the creation process. The audio you record is saved as a musical snippet. At this stage, you do not have to worry about key signatures, time signatures, or even using a click track. But you can enable the click track if your composition uses a lot of syncopation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once you\u2019re through with recording, you hit analyze. After processing your snippet, ScoreCloud outputs a neat, editable score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"scorecloud<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    What is impressive is that in the simple recording above, the software recognizes two voices, and you can turn any of them OFF in the Voices\/Mixer panel. There is room for manual editing, adding lyrics and chords, and of course, you can layer more instruments or a vocal track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When using the voice recording mode, ScoreCloud handles melody modulation<\/strong> (key changes) perfectly well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The software’s workflow is more effective when you have a basic understanding of music theory<\/a>. In fact, I consider it a requirement<\/strong> since the step of manually editing the score following ScoreCloud’s transcription is necessary most of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here’s where things can get tricky. For one, it’s often easier to export the file in MusicXML format and manipulate the notes in something like MuseScore. I found the notation editor a bit too basic. For example, you can’t change the time signature<\/strong> midway. This drawback leads to another major one, which is that many notable features, such as recording polyphonic instruments, importing Midi, or exporting MusicXML files are reserved to the PLUS and PRO versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Overall, I’m still impressed by the software and its approach to helping musicians transcribe their songs, however, you’re going to need to pay to play to get the most out of it;).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Garageband <\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Price: <\/strong>free<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who\u2019s it for? <\/strong>Musicians who record their music in a DAW and want to generate music notation from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many people use a DAW for creating and arranging music. Not many people know that Garageband allows you to turn your recordings into sheet music instantly. As a result, Garageband also serves as a free music transcription program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Too good to be true? Well, almost. The real answer is that it actually depends on what kind of data you give Garageband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    MIDI input<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Midi files contain data that Garageband already understands, so if you\u2019re recording a Midi instrument, the software automatically does the transcription for you. Once you record your Midi keyboard or instrument, all you need to do is click on it, and then view the Score Editor. You get a graphic file with the notes accompanying your recorded track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Garageband does not have a full-fledged notation editor to layer voices on the same score. I wasn’t able to export to MusicXML format either, and for that it seems like you’d need a more sophisticated, paid software like Logic Pro or Pro Tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nonetheless, if you are playing around with virtual instruments, creating a track you want, say, a jazz band to play later, you can get some great results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Audio file<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In the case of audio files, Garageband will not provide you with sheet music. For, instance, if you drop a WAV file into Garageband or record a vocal part, you don\u2019t get the Score Editor option. Garageband needs a Midi file before it can output music notation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some options to get around this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n