Duet Completed - Stairway To Heaven

Song:  Stairway To Heaven

Group:  Led Zeppelin

 Okay...

I just completed this master piece of Rock history.

Now...

I had to make a few modifications in the octave levels so I would

have room later in the song to hit the highest notes.

I also added a few things just to make it sound a little better on the flute.

However...

for the most part...

it is a straight transcription....

except for the minor portions which I had to transpose...

and the few places where I had composed a few runs to make it sound

 more interesting on the Bass Flute.

This took me awhile because I was having a bear of a time 

when I hit Jimmy Page's fast runs on the lead guitar (16th and 32nd notes)...

especially when he was doing triplets.

I would sometimes hear the notes one way...

and then I would hear them another way...

and sometimes the timing seemed to change.

I had to listen very carefully to decode the puzzle that it had presented me.

However...

I am picking up transposing / transcription more easily now.

My musical ear is improving...

so, many times...

I can lay down the notes by ear (and foot :) ...

without having to play the notes first on my Bass Flute. 

Again...
what I do is listen to a song on YouTube.

I then play what I hear on the Bass Flute.

I then write out what I play on to a blank music sheet...
by keeping time with my foot.

The reason I do this is that most of the available sheet music...
especially for modern music...
does not carry the subtle nuances of the instruments or vocals.

And...
many songs I like...
there is not readily available sheet music for them
(I like many foreign and older music).

And much of the sheet music is a simplistic version...
and rarely are they duets.

I will often combine many instruments on to one line of music.

As an example...
on this song...
the Flute I line is composed of the flute introduction...
Robert Plant's vocals...
and Jimmy Page's lead guitar.

The Flute II line is composed of the Bass Guitar...
and the acoustic guitar.

I was going to transcribe a Jazz Bass Flute song next

(with a Bossanova beat)...

however, the artist is selling his composition on line...

so, I cannot legally transcribe and publish his copyrighted composition
(after I had transcribed it).

Okay...

for now...

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN:

It may take me awhile on the next song also.

It has some fast rhythm and note changes...

and some syncopated timing.

But...

it was also one of my favorite songs from the same era

as was Stairway To Heaven

(and is still one of my favorite songs).

The group is called YES...

and the song is my favorite off the FRAGILE Album.

If you know of this group...

then you must know which song I shall be transcribing next  :)

(and, no, it is not Roundabout).

Addendum:  I did a stupid thing a few days ago.

I transcribe in the middle of the night by the light of the computer only.

Well...

I had set my Bass Flute on...

what I had thought was the flat part of a table...

and it had turned out to be the ledge.

It had hit the floor...

and afterwards...

I couldn't play certain notes on it without extraordinary pressure on the keys.

My Bass Flute is now in the shop getting repaired.

It may be a few weeks to a month before I get it back.

So...

I won't be able to transcribe until I get it back.

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

Addendum:  I had gotten my flute back from the repair shop.

It is better than ever now.

However...

my life situation has changed.

I am now taking care of my, almost, 80 year old mother.

She likes to hear me play...

so...

for a while now...

I will be transcribing some sunset music (mellow music).

My mother likes to fall asleep as I play.

Stairway To Heaven - Base Line

Song:  Stairway To Heaven

Group:  Led Zeppelin

I have just finished the Flute II portion (Acoustic Guitar / Bass Line) of Stairway To Heaven.

I would have had this finished much sooner but I had gotten busy with other things in life.

However...

no matter how fast I try to complete the rest of the song...

as it is much more complicated...

the next portion (Flute I) is going to take a while.

It will encompass the Flute / Vocals / Lead Guitar.

I cannot stress how much more I understand music 

just by listening carefully by ear...

playing what I hear...

and then transcribing or transposing it.

I will soon be composing my own complete songs.

Now...

as this is going to be a flute duet...

I had to combine several instruments into this transcription / transposition.

I did some minor alterations...

but I stayed true to the music for the most part.

Again...

this is just the Flute II portion of the song (Bass Line).

It will be a duet when I complete the Flute I portion (Vocal / Lead Guitar).

I will post the entire song once it is completed.

Zeynep's Romance - A Hauntingly Beautiful Melody

Song:  Zeynep's Romance

Artist:  Omar Faruk Tekbilek

This song has one of the most hauntingly beautiful melodies I have ever heard.

It is a very simple song...

which means much emotion must be put into every note.

I had slightly modified Flute II in some portions.

With this song...
I had experimented with laying down a little of each track at a time.

It had actually worked out well.

However...
with most songs...
I will transcribe the bass track first.

I am unsure which song I shall transcribe next.

I am thinking another classic rock song...perhaps.

Comfortably Numb - Duet Completed

Song:  Comfortably Numb

Group:  Pink Floyd

Okay...

I had spotted quite a few mistakes I had made in the original draft.

As I was laying down the bass track (Flute II)...

I had found a few missed measures of the lead guitar.

I deleted the previous article because it just wasn't complete.

Also...

bear in mind that this is a 5 octave song which I had to compress into 3.

The song just doesn't sound the same without the other two octaves.

The notes sometimes clash...

as there was supposed to be a couple octaves of separation.

I will have to think twice in the future before I tackle such a difficult song...

especially one which incorporates octaves out of the Bass Flute range.

This one about wore me out.

I learned two very valuable lessons:

1)  Always lay the Bass Track first.

2)  Never transcribe, transpose, or compose...

when sleepy  :)

I had made many blunders I had not discovered until the bass line 

hadn't matched the melody.

I had to add missing measures of melody...

and retime part of the song by laboriously moving pages worth...

note by note.

Again...

the notes on the flute may be bent by sweeping your head as you play...

just as do the Bansuri players of India...

or the Shakuhachi players of Japan.

It is signified by the radically angled slur marks which lead to nothing.

Or...

by the full signature which means to go back and forth with the note.

This song ended up being 11 pages long.

I think I am going to try a simple melodious flute song for the next one.

Although...

I already have some songs which are also complicated in timing

which are just burning in my mind...

and wanting to be put on paper  :)

Should anyone spot any mistakes...

please leave a comment.

Although I had looked it over...

my mind is quite fried right now.  :)

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.