Music Transcription

Yes, and the difference is intent. An arrangement reimagines a piece: it changes form, harmony, rhythm, or texture to suit a new ensemble, a new skill level, or a new style, and the arranger’s own judgment becomes part of the result. A transcription stays faithful to the source. It takes two forms. The first is adapting a written work from one medium to another, such as rescoring an orchestral piece for solo piano while preserving the melodic lines, harmony, and character. The second is aural transcription: listening to a recording or a live performance and writing the music down by ear, note for note. Either way, a transcription records the music as it is. An arrangement remakes it.

No. Every note is written by ear by credentialed musicians. Automatic detection tools miss inner voices, mistake timbre for pitch, and leave artifacts a player notices on the first read-through. We do transcribe music that was generated by AI, which is a different thing, and that work is offered under our AI Music to Score service.

We can work from any format. For audio transcription, send us any audio or video file, or a YouTube or web link. For adapting a piece from one medium to another, send us handwritten manuscripts, PDFs, images, or source files from Dorico, Sibelius, Finale, MuseScore Studio, Fender Notion, Guitar Pro, MusicXML, and MIDI.

You receive print-ready scores, parts, or sheet music depending on your requirements, and a complimentary audio mockup. Editable project files (MIDI, MusicXML, and the native notation file) are included when you hold the copyright to the source material. If you do not hold the copyright, we can agree separately, for an additional fee, to deliver the editable project files you need.

The fee depends on the instruments involved, the number of concurrent voices, the duration of the piece, audio quality, overall complexity, and the requested deadline.

Yes. Our standard delivery includes an audio mockup at no charge, so you can hear the transcription before anyone plays it.

Yes. Anything we transcribe can be transposed to the key that suits your voice, your instrument, or your ensemble.

Yes. We specialize in piano-vocal scores for musical theater, rehearsals, recording sessions, and concerts. The score carries the full piano accompaniment and every vocal part with lyrics, in the key of your choice, with chord symbols if you need them.

Yes. We transcribe any ensemble regardless of instrumentation and prepare the corresponding score and parts. Every part is set with the appropriate transpositions, clefs, rests, cues, page turns, and markings.

Yes. We prepare piano reductions for rehearsal, study, and publication. Our reductions preserve the essential harmonies and voice leading, the melodies and countermelodies, and the rhythms, dynamics, articulations, and markings that matter to a rehearsal pianist.

Yes. Lyrics are typeset under each vocal part. We handle most major languages in-house, including Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Portuguese, and Spanish. If your language is not one we cover in-house, we find and supervise a professional typesetter for it.

Yes. Students and educators often order a transcription with fingering for piano, guitar, or violin, bowing for string parts, and pedal markings for piano.

Yes. We transform a DAW mockup into a session-ready orchestral score and parts, applying composer-level judgment to idiomatic writing, acoustic balance, articulations, dynamics, and the ensemble logic a live performance depends on. This work is offered under our MIDI to Score service.

Yes. Transcription for private study, rehearsal, and archival use is common, and we deliver print-ready scores for it. Securing any permission needed to perform, record, publish, or distribute the result is the client’s responsibility, and editable source files are supplied when you hold the copyright. Tell us the intended use and we will advise on what applies.

The usual turnaround is 2–5 business days. The exact timeline depends on the instruments involved, the number of concurrent voices, the duration of the piece, audio quality, and overall complexity.

Yes. Accuracy is guaranteed, and every project includes two rounds of revisions at no extra cost, covering any genuine error measured against your source material and the agreed scope.

Send us the recording, whether that is an audio file, a video, or a link, and tell us what you need from it: a lead sheet, a piano-vocal score, or a full score and parts. Let us know the key you want, and mark the timestamps if you only need part of the track. We will come back with a fixed quote and a delivery date. If the recording is difficult in places, we will say so before we start rather than after.