Transcribing Software in 2023

[TheGrandWazoo]

The most recent posts I can find about transcription software are several years old. I wanted to find out if Transcribe! is still everyone's favorite or if there are newer/better options now available people are using. I know there are new AI options out there but I hope to keep this convo focused on software that still requires the human ear to make the connection between the recording and the fingers/paper.

[dconeill]

What's "best" depends on what job you want it to do. Some of the apps will transcribe for you - you put in a sound file and you get out a score, more or less - while others let you slow down the playback while retaining pitch so you can transcribe it yourself.

I like the latter kind myself, and I like Transcribe. I've used others, but Transcribe works well and seems stable. I can't claim to have done a comprehensive comparison, but Transcribe! works.

You can see some alternatives to Transcribe at Just a moment...

(I don't know why the link is showing as "Just a moment...". The link seems to work, though.)

Many of the vendors offer free demo versions.

Don't let yourself get sidetracked by decision paralysis. Just pick one and get to transcribing. Don't worry much about what is "best", whatever that means. Make sure that the one you pick does the task you want - that's the main thing.

[DonEsteban]

I do this in Reaper, it's very easy.

Put the audio file on one track, you can slow it down significantly while retaining pitch.

Have a VSTi (MIDI Instrument) on a second track, any sound you like.

Create an empty MIDI Item on the second track and draw the notes in the MIDI editor.

If you align the tempo before that you'll not only have the pitches but also the rhythm.

Export Music XML and open it in Musescore.

[sm80808]

Moises App: The Musician'''s App | Vocal Remover & much more is interesting. It has the time stretch features of Transcribe! but also allows you the ability to separate the instruments into separate tracks with individual volume controls. It isn't perfect but it works pretty well and can help in isolating lines in song. It has web, IOS and Android versions and it has a free trial period to try it out.

My son uses Transribe+ app on IOS. He screen records from youtube or spotify and transcribes from those.

I still prefer Amazing Slow Downer (IOS)

[TheGrandWazoo]

Wow. Moises is pretty cool. I like the chord feature. Definitely going to explore this app further. thanks.

[TheGrandWazoo]

Just found Sonic Visualizer is an open source tool on both Mac/win. Looks worth a try.

Sonic Visualiser

[thelostboss]

Just found Sonic Visualizer is an open source tool on both Mac/win. Looks worth a try.

Sonic Visualiser

Very interesting! Perhaps this could also help resolve some arguments around scale length, pickup placement etc?

[Bop Head]

Just found Sonic Visualizer is an open source tool on both Mac/win. Looks worth a try.

Sonic Visualiser

I do not agree with the sentence "Chords for jazz solos can be taken for a score or leadsheet (e.g., from Realbook)", but apart from that: there is a tutorial for transcribing solos with Sonic Visualiser. And BTW the program like most open source programs is not only for Win and Mac but Linux, too.

[Christian Miller]

YouTube

i used to use Transcribe but copy protection is a problem.

[Christian Miller]

Oh the separate tracks thing is a game changer. I might get into that when I need to make a really accurate transcription of instrumental tracks. Of course I right away start to wonder at the limits of this - could it do a big band? An orchestra? Do you have problems with artefacts etc?

[Liarspoker]

I'm old school. I still use transcribe!

There are some great tutorials on YouTube for more advanced features.

[djg]

Oh the separate tracks thing is a game changer. I might get into that when I need to make a really accurate transcription of instrumental tracks. Of course I right away start to wonder at the limits of this - could it do a big band? An orchestra? Do you have problems with artefacts etc?

no, no, and no

edit: i've had most sucess with ripx and lalal.

[starjasmine]

Just found Sonic Visualizer is an open source tool on both Mac/win. Looks worth a try.

Sonic Visualiser

Thanks for this. I detest the whole collect-everything-we-can approach that Moises seems to take. I don't want to "sign up" for diddly, I just want to try/buy the app. And I don't like the "you consent to all cookies" bit, either.

I'm deleting moises' cookies and never going back to their site again. Too bad, cuz it looks like a nice app.

SJ

[kris]

I use Transcribe!
I'm not looking for anything else...

[Alter]

Have they made an AI app yet that you can prompt "transcribe me the sax solo in this recording" and it prints it? That'd be something.. and then you could work on it having the chart ready!

[geese_com]

I am a fan of Soundslice.

Soundslice | Create living sheet music

[wzpgsr]

YouTube

i used to use Transcribe but copy protection is a problem.

That's where the Mac app Audio Hijack comes in. A couple of extra steps, but should allow you to create files that you can import into Transcribe! from any audio source on your Mac. Assuming you have a Mac.

[kevmoga]

I was using Amazing Slowdowner until Spotify nixed the compatibility of the two apps. Now I’ve defaulted to YouTube, which doesn’t have nearly as many features as ASD and is a bit clunky. Does anyone know which, if any, of the ASD alternatives are compatible with Spotify?

[unknownguitarplayer]

I'm a long-time Transcribe user but a few years ago a friend asked me to help him with Sound Surgeon. It's slightly more expensive than Transcribe, but I was impressed (although not enough to switch). The one feature that stood out was the ability to connect the sections you'd isolated to create a single loop that so you could basically create a solo out of components. I haven't upgraded Transcribe in a while, so maybe it's there now, but that seemed like a neat feature.

[fep]

I do this in Reaper, it's very easy.

Put the audio file on one track, you can slow it down significantly while retaining pitch.

Have a VSTi (MIDI Instrument) on a second track, any sound you like.

Create an empty MIDI Item on the second track and draw the notes in the MIDI editor.

If you align the tempo before that you'll not only have the pitches but also the rhythm.

Export Music XML and open it in Musescore.

Exactly what I do also.

[BreckerFan]

I use reaper on my computer and ASD on my phone. But all I want is to slow down mp3s since most of my music is on CDs, and maybe a little pitch correction. I do all my transcriptions pencil on paper.