Comfortably Numb - A Work In Progress

Song:  Comfortably Numb

Group:  Pink Floyd

I am presently transposing the above song for the Bass Flute as a duet.

It is my favorite song from my favorite group.

I am using the vocal and lead guitar track for Flute I...

and I will be using the bass guitar and the keyboard track for Flute II.

I am only halfway through this song...

just for Flute I.

I will be spending many more hours transposing this song.

I am actually using the music from the above music video...

my Bass Flute to play along with it...

and then placing the corresponding notes and other musical notations

on the MuseScore 2 computer program manuscript paper...one note at a time...

and with a lot of foot tapping to keep time...

it is coming along.

I will be publishing it in a separate article so those of whom are interested...

may print out the music to play.

While I tried to keep true to the song...

I had made some minor changes in a few places...

not that the song is not already perfect...

but...I added a few minor flourishes where some repeated sustained notes...

simply would not sound so interesting on a Bass Flute.

I think it was only in one or two spots.

I had to first lay down the bass track (Flute II)...

for the introduction so I would know when the Flute I would start.

I then just started transposing the vocal and lead guitar track for flute I.

Although I must play all the notes on my Bass Flute to arrive at which notes...

and in what division of time they must be put on paper...

and I check it by measure once I have put it down, to check for accuracy...

I won't be able to start practicing the whole song until I complete transposing it.

I am on page four...

of what will probably end up being an eight page musical score.

On the above page four...

I noticed I had gotten out of phase with the timing...

and I now must back track to find out where I had miss counted a note or a rest.

As you can see...

I had to backtrack two measures before the last on the previous photo...

to add in the appropriate quarter rest I had mistimed.

In this musical score...

there is a variety of timing changes...

and even octave leaps.

I find this whole process to be profoundly interesting.

I am already thinking about the next song I will be doing.

I hope to have this finished sometime next week.

It will be a whole lot of fun playing.

I plan to do many Classic Rock songs in the future.

Duet 1 - 'Tegami' For Two Flutes

Song:  Tegami (Letter)

Vocalist:  Yuki Saori


I used this same YouTube video to Transcribe and Compose this duet
(I had transcribed Flute I from this singer's vocal track...
and I had composed Flute II).

I just played the song...
over and over...
a small portion at a time...
as I played out the notes by ear on my Bass Flute.

I then placed each note, or musical notation...
on the free computer software 'Musescore 2' blank manuscript sheet...
and I then composed my own track of music, a few notes at a time, for Flute II.

This song is the same one as in the previous article.

The first line (Flute I)...

is the transcription of the vocal track of 'Tegami'.

For Flute II...

again...I had composed it so as to allow this song, 'Tegami'...
to be played as a duet for two flutes...
or for almost any other combination of musical instruments.

The music for Flute II only exists in this sheet music...

it isn't part of the original song.

I had made it up so two instruments may play 'Tegami' as a duet.

Of course...

the Bass Flute would really excel playing F II.

I had followed the bass and rhythm track somewhat...

but I really changed it overall...

and I added many up and down scale runs.

This was the first time I had composed anything.

I had a lot of fun...

and I learned a whole lot.

This is also a great daily exercise song for playing scales on the flute...

or on your musical instrument of choice.

As it is written in Treble Clef...

many instruments may make this a duet.

I will start a new song in a little while.

I will probably need to spend many hours just searching YouTube

for a really great song to transcribe or transpose.

I will need much more practice before I try my hand at composing a whole song...

however...

just creating an F II to make this a great duet...

was tremendously interesting for me.

I love Transcribing, Transposing...

and especially now...

I absolutely love Composing.

In a few days...

I will have been playing the Bass Flute for a full two months.

Although I had started learning the Concert Flute over 35 years ago...

I had never gotten beyond the Beginners book...

as I was a full time university student...

and I was working full time.

And, as I lived in a rooming house...

I could never practice...

and the fact that the sound of the upper registers 

of the Concert Flute had really hurt my ears...

shortly after I started to learn it...

I stopped playing it.

Other than playing some bamboo flutes by ear

 a few times over the past 35 years...

that is it.

So...
I really am a beginner in music.

I highly recommend any beginner of music to start transcribing your favorite songs also.

Now...

I may practice all I wish...

and so...

I am really enjoying everything about the Bass Flute.

I especially enjoy making my own sheet music

of my favorite songs...

and being able to alter them if I so desire.

So...here it is:

(This is a perfect piece to practice on a daily basis.
Both lines...one after the other...
and after a short while...
you could play it with someone else as a duet).

Hint...the most fun set of lines to play is F II  :)

Song 5 - Transcription Of 'Tegami'

Song:  Tegami

Vocalist:  Yuki Saori

This is a very fun song to play.

It is very upbeat and lively.

I plan to do more with it.

It is another favorite of mine from Yuki Saori.

I have spent a long time searching for her other
very famous songs, including the one she is known best for...
however, the version I am looking for is not on YouTube.

For this song, 'Tegami'...
I am thinking about composing a second flute line to form a duet.

It may take a while...
but I think it would be fun to do...
and even more fun to play.

I plan to institute many up and down runs for the second flute.

Anyway...
here is the transcription of the above song, 'Tegami' (Letter):

The format changed on the second page.

I will be using the second format from now on...
as it has unlimited measures.

-----------

In the duet version (my next post)...
I had changed the volume for the first flute one step up...
as the second flute would need to be one step down from it...
so as to not drown out the lead flute.

Song 4 - Transcription Of 'City Of Fallen Leaves'

Song:  Kareha No Machi (City Of Fallen Leaves)

Vocalist:  Yuki Saori 

(In Japan...they put the surname first. 

 I Westernized her name here)

Okay...

this took longer because I had to get used to the software 

I used to transcribe this song.

As the last song was a transposition...

this is a direct transcription...

from the above YouTube song.

Again...

I just match the notes I hear to the notes I play on my Bass Flute...

and I then transcribe them.

When I have to make alterations to the song 

in order to match the range of the Bass Flute (Transposing)...

I will let you know.

----------------------

As you will see below...

the music is much more clearly presented from my previous ones.

I used a free software for musicians to write out musical scores

(MuseScore).

Although you must input each note...

and separately manipulate the slur lines...

and each of all the other notations...

after using it for a little while...

it not only saves time...

the music is actually legible  :)

I highly recommend all musicians...

beginner or not...

to start transcribing / transposing as soon as you can.

This way you will be able to play your favorite songs...

and later...

you will be able to alter them by adding your own flourishes...

and you will then be able to start composing if you so wish.

When you are able to do this...

music takes on a whole new, and deeper, meaning.

--------------------

I had chosen this song because it is one of my favorite songs

from this artist.

I have long loved the music of this tremendous Japanese singer.

She is the best Japanese singer I have ever heard...

and one of the best vocalists I have ever heard anywhere...

and her supporting orchestra is also magnificent

(Pink Martini Orchestra).

I had first heard her sing in the late 1960s.

I am not sure when this song came out...

but I believe it was in 1969.

My mother had bought her albums...

and I used to play them over and over for years.

I plan to transribe several more of her songs.

(I am going to start transcribing one after I publish this article).

------------

Disclaimer:  Although I had played this through to check for accuracy...

you must remember...

I have only been playing the Bass Flute for about two months.

My musical ear may be off...

as well as my timing.

I am also aware that several other musical instructions are missing...

such as telling when to increase or decrease the volume.

I will be adding these in later musical scores...

but right now...

I am still learning.

It will take me at least a few more days to learn the meaning 

of the latin phrases and other musical notations.

I will add them in as I learn.

I am still a beginner in music.

So, with this in mind...

if you notice I am off somewhere...

please correct me using the comment section.

3rd Song / 1st. Transposition - Gnossienne no. 1

Song:  Gnossienne no 1 (The Swan)

Artist:  Luke Pitman (Alto Flute)
Paolo Bertolotto (Piano)


You must remember that the Bass Flute is one octave lower than a concert flute.

This song was played above with an Alto Flute....
which is four notes above the Bass Flute.

As Luke Pitman had transposed this classic song
to fit the Alto Flute...
I had to make a few alterations of my own...
so that the Bass Flute could play it.


 With this song...
when you hear the highest notes...
in those passages...
I had lowered them a full octave.

Other than in those particular places...
everything else is the same.

Our back yard this morning.

I had finished transposing this song last night.

I then started working on another song...

of which, I am about halfway done now.

I should be done with it tonight.

---------------

This song is perfect for the Bass Flute...

as it has a very deep and melodic sound throughout.

8-5-18  Addendum:

I redid this song using MuseScore 2.

I made some changes...

I corrected some things...

and it is much neater.

------------------------

The song I am working on now...

fits the trend of most of the rest of my songs I shall be transposing

(Sheet music is not readily available).

It was sung by one of the most popular Japanese folk singers of the 60s and the 70s.

I had transposed, both, the whistling portions...

and the vocal track.

It is hauntingly beautiful...

and most people not from Japan have probably never heard it.

I should have it up tomorrow.

You will want this song...

as it is fairly easy to play.

Below is a picture of the song in the next article.

I got a computer music notational program last night.

All of my music will now be in this format...

and I will put it into a jpeg so you may simply right click on it

to download it to your computer...

and you will then be able to print it out at home.

It certainly looks a lot neater now...

doesn't it  :)

2nd Transcription - Gymnopedie No. 1

Song:  Gymnopedie No. 1 (Erik Satie)

Performing Artists:  

Alto Flute  -  Luke Pickman

Piano - Paolo Bertolotto

Although this is a classic song...

I really like the way it was expressed here.

I had only transposed the flute portion.

If you are new to the Bass Flute...

you will get plenty of practice on the upper register...

yet, it is a relatively easy song to play.


Addendum:  08-08-18
I had redone this song as not only was the original sloppily handwritten...
I had to make many corrections and additions.

Introduction / First Transcription

Song:  Midnight Oil

Artist:  Luke Pitman

As I had stated in the above title...

I am a beginner in music, and with the Bass Flute.

I hadn't gotten my Bass Flute until January of 2018.

As of now...

I have been playing for less than two months.

I have no training in musical notation, or, in musical theory.

I am learning as I go, just from sheet music I see...

or from my music lesson books, as in the ones below.

So...

if you are an advanced player...

or are well versed in musical composition...

you will probably find a mistake or two

(and if so...please feel free to correct me using the comment section).

The value of this blog...

is that for beginners...

I will mostly be transposing or transcribing music
for which no sheet music is readily available.

I will transpose from singers in many instances.

Many of the songs will also be from other countries...

and from decades...

or even hundreds of years in the past.

I am self teaching through the below books I had bought off of Amazon.

And you will notice...
I cannot draw straight lines...
my handwriting is atrocious...
and I cannot draw.

This has been this way all of my life.

It is not the result of my hurrying or due to laziness.

I hope to start using a computer program which allows for musical notation
to be written professionally.

Sometime in the future...
hopefully soon.

One thing Bass Flute players must realize...
with all of these musical scores...
we will be playing one octave down from all of the notes.

I have found these to be excellent to learn from...

as they teach in a logical manner, which builds skills through repetition

of previously learned skills, as you continue to learn more and more.

As I am fully retired...

I may now pursue my passions in life.

On a daily basis...

I practice the Bass Flute about 3-5 hours.

On some days...

I will practice more...

depending on what I have going on in my life.

As with anything...

daily practice will lead you to your destination.

I realize that tonal quality is the most important thing.

And so, I practice slowly, and I concentrate on getting a pure tone.

If I make a mistake...

I slow everything down...

and I, again, concentrate on getting a pure tone.

Right now...

I am practicing from the advanced book.

I averaged one month per lesson book.

Once I start practicing...

I get into a grove, and I don't stop until my tonal quality starts to suffer...

mostly due to my upper lip getting numb  :)

I am sure as I continue...

I will be able to practice more in one stretch.

I have been practicing mostly from these books.

At the conclusion of my day's lessons...

I will then either do more transposing...

or I will play my past transpositions.

As time goes on...

I will get more skilled in playing, transposing, and transcribing...

and I hope get to the point where I will actually be able to compose my own pieces.

First...

why the Bass Flute?

It all has to do with what had struck me when I had first heard it played on YouTube.

I love flute music...

especially music from Asia and the Middle East.

However...

high notes hurt my ears.

When I had first heard the Bass Flute being played...

it was then that I knew I wanted to play one.

The sound just resonated within me.

This is the way beginners of music should pick their instruments of choice.

They should absolutely love to listen to it being played.

This is my Di Zhao Transverse Bass Flute.

I had bought it used, but in like new condition, from the below.

Ron McCarley

805-452-6611 mobile

Ron’s Music Studio

CCFlutes.com

I had talked to Ron personally...

and he had given me a great deal.

He was very friendly, and the service was very quick.

He will ship anywhere in the US...

perhaps elsewhere...

talk with Ron.

 As I am sure of almost everyone playing a low flute...

you have heard of Chris Potter.

I had ordered some of her books for low flutes...

and especially valuable...

is the alternate fingering charts for the Bass Flute.

If you are playing a Bass Flute...
you will be playing an octave lower than what is written.

I decided to start this blog only because

when I got good enough to actually play music

(you can actually play simple songs in a day)...

there wasn't a lot of sheet music available for the songs that I really like.

My solution was to listen to YouTube for music that I like...

and to play the notes that I hear...

then write them down...

so I could teach myself how to play the songs.

Although the lesson books I have used don't specifically 

go into transposing...everything you need to know is in them by example.

As you are learning to play the instrument...

you are following the notes and musical instructions...

and if you can play them...

you can transpose from music that you hear.

As most beginners don't have the free time that I do...

I thought I would share them with other beginners so they could have some 

fairly easy songs to play as they advance.

My first transposition was a song I had heard on YouTube.

Luke Pickman is a fantastic musician...

and the some of his songs, and some of the songs he plays 

on his Alto Flute, are just out of this world.

On his YouTube page of the below song...

he had given permission for anyone to write out this song.

His composition was a duet for the Alto Flute and the Harp

(both of which he had played).

My 79 year old mother started taking piano lessons just last month.

I had transposed this for us to use as our first duet

(I visit her everyday).

Bear in mind...

the below transposition was made when I had only been practicing for one month...

so, I don't yet have the skills to add latin words and such  :)

Also...

as my musical ear is still very much developing...

I may have misheard, or missed, some notes.

This is his original composition...

and he said he hadn't written it down...

so there was no sheet music available for him to share...

and so:

This song is the one at the top of this article.

For most of my transpositions...
I will try to include the original piece at the top of each article.

I recommend that the beginning student get musical manuscript paper
and copy down each transposition.

This will familiarize you with beginning musical notation.

And...
it will allow you to see the music easily...
and, I am sure you will be able to notate more neatly than had I.


Addendum:  08-07-18  Redo of the music.

The prior music piece was rife with errors...
and was sloppy to look at.

This is the updated version.

For this, the below transcription...

the piano portion (as transposed from the harp)...

I hadn't included chords for two reasons:

1)  My mother is still a beginner in piano...

so, I just included the right hand portion

(plus, the chords are infrequent).

2)  I have never taken piano lessons...

and so, the chords would be very difficult for me 

to discern and write out...

as flutes can't play chords  :)

 Now...

most of the songs I will choose to transpose or transcribe...

will be because I cannot find any sheet music for that particular piece.

Some times...

it will be a classical piece...

and I will especially like the way a particular piece is played...

and it is an instrument which is readily transferable to the Bass Flute.

In my next article...

I will put in a such a piece from the same artist.

Although he is playing a duet with a piano...

from now on...

I will just be transposing or transcribing music which the Bass Flute can play.