'Transposing' -- This refers to the
playing or singing of music in a different key other than the written key of the
sheet music.
Sometimes a singer or other musician requires the sheet music for a
particular piece of music to be written out in a different key so that it
can be read easily by a musician.
In the good old days, many musicians could do this "at sight", meaning
you could put a piece of sheet music down in front of them in a particular
key, and they would automatically change the key to the one you wanted,
while they were actually playing!
(There was a time when this skill was taken for granted, and anybody who
wished to be a professional accompanist would need to be able do this fairly
well. However times have changed. Many talented people do have the ability
to do this still, but it is rare, and these days, especially in the
audition situation, you'll be expected to bring sheet music in the key that
you wish to sing your song.
This means that you may have to arrange for the music to be written out
again in your key.
Once again, in the good old days this was done by hand, it took some time,
and the results were not always easy-to-use, and because the music was hand
written, - no matter how good the music copyist was, it still didn't read as
clearly as a "bought one".
Thanks to modern technology, we are able to produce
professional quality sheet music in different keys, correctly printed.
However, the process is still pretty labour intensive. To get an exact copy
of the music, in the new key requires quite a lot of checking
and 'mouse work' from me, all of which takes time and money!
I am finding that, on average, in terms of my time, it will cost you
about $25 AUD for a page of fully transposed sheet music.
(I am talking of the
standard vocal score here- melody line, chords and simple piano
accompaniment - the form that most pop songs and song folios from musicals
are printed in)
Now rather than simply saying to every client
that the full transposed sheet music is the only version I will produce
here, there are ways of short-circuiting
the
time required for me to work on the project,
and that can
save
you
money!!!
There are a few options here, as to how you
can save some money!!
Before I explain these, it might be good for you to know just how the
transposition process works:
|
The software I use here to help me do this process, 'photographs' the
original sheet music and then "guesses" what the notes are,
and presents it in a way that I can then edit on the computer screen.
If you have a look at a piece of sheet music, this is quite a remarkable
thing for it to do. The way sheet music is written out is quite
complicated. The computer has to recognise the ledger lines,
the bar
lines,
the individual notes, lyrics, key signatures, all sorts of symbols.
It doesn't always do this very well. So, as part of this process I have
to go back and very carefully check every note and every symbol
to see that they are okay.
(The checking of what the computer has 'guessed' and than making
the corrections manually, is the most time-consuming and therefore
expensive part of the process.)
Part 2 of the process means more 'guessing' from the computer:
When I hit the "transpose" button in the software,
the computer has its best 'guess' of what it thinks the music
should look like in the new key. Once again, every bar has to be
checked very carefully by me, because the computer doesn't always get it
right.
It is quite a complicated procedure!!
How long the process takes depends a lot on the condition of the
original sheet-music. The better the music, the better the computer does
the 'guessing', and then, the less work I have to do to correct
it! This is why the results and FEES are unpredictable |
Some Cheaper options:
Now, I have discovered in practice, that
sometimes people do not need a complete actual copy of every single symbol
and note on the music. For instance, you might like to think about whether you really need ALL or
ANY of the lyrics printed out on the music. (This can be a quite time-consuming
part of the process; checking the lyrics that the computer has "guessed")
Some things to think about:
(If some of this following passage doesn't make sense to you, you may have
to consult with the musician you are working with to explain it to you) Feel
free to give your accompanying musician / musical director / teacher my
contact details and I can talk with them
directly if necessary.
1. Do you need to have
all the chord symbols written down?
(This can be quite time-consuming doing this)
- Leaving these out would save you $$! |
2. Some of you may not
need the lyrics printed out in the music.
(Once again, a quite time-consuming part of the
process.)
- Leaving these out would save even more 'moola' ($) |
|
3. Consider getting me to make a
'chord chart' or 'lead sheet'
instead. It will take me a lot less time to produce this simplified
form of sheet music, and depending on the musician you are working with,
this may be all that is needed. (What I mean here is that doing a full
piano transcription of every single note in the full sheet music, may
not be required, if your musician has the ability to simply work from a
melody line and chords)
***However, this may not be
appropriate for auditions.
You have to use your discretion here. If you are doing an audition for
a modern rock based musical, it is quite likely that the musician
playing for you will be able to play from chord charts, but you can't
always count on it.
To see a detailed explanation of the difference between full printed
sheet music and chord charts or lead sheets follow this link:
What is sheet-music?
|
It is the searching and checking of
what the computer produces
that is time-consuming!!
(and time is where the cost lies.)
It is also the part I least enjoying doing, so if we can cut it down, we
will ALL be happy!)
Here is another interesting option:
A client recently asked me to simply send me the music exactly as the
computer had "guessed it".
(I had a quick look at it and corrected some of the dreadfully obvious
errors. - Sometimes the poor computer will absolutely
and completely stuff it up!)
This was done at very low cost to the
client.
The client took that printout to their accompanist, and together they discovered where all the errors were. They then
sent the copy back to me (covered in red markings!) telling me EXACTLY where
the errors were. I was then able to correct them very quickly with minimal
cost to the client because I didn't have to do (and be paid for!) all the
tedious searching for errors.
(If you have the necessary music skills you
could do this 'checking' process yourself!)
The client was also able to make the decision that certain errors in the
layout could be "lived with" – (There are many small errors in the
transposition that occur, that don't really matter, but are quite 'fiddly'
and time consuming to change, but the client can make that decision themselves.
Using this process, they were able to basically halve
the cost of the job!!
That would be nice wouldn't it???
So, quite a few options here for you to
think about.....
Contact me for more clarification
Repeat of info above:
Before assessing cost I usually do a 'test'
version of a page or two. If I don't have the music you are wanting
transpose, you will have to send me the music you want me to 'test'.
Please send as PDF or GIF scanned at 350dpi
Black and white (TEXT) setting, NOT grey scale or colour or any other
setting. If sending by ordinary post, send the original music or a good
quality photo-copy.
|
