Music Transcription

What is music transcription?

Music does not exist in actuality; it is, rather, an abstract representation of ideas. You can't buy a six-pack of "pure music" from Costco, for example. Music is represented in many forms. Recorded music can be stored on CDs, tapes, vinyl, and the like. Musical ideas can be represented either via recordings or via some sort of notation. Some composers, such as Mozart and Beethoven, wrote their music longhand with detailed notes. In these cases, the original manuscripts have been treasured over years, but, sadly, they are inevitably decaying.

Other notable composers, such as Paul McCartney, never learned to read or write music manuscript. As such, they "write" music by playing it into a tape recorder. It is up to the music publisher to realize these musical ideas onto paper.