In memory of Randy Rhoads
transposing
hey ppl..my first thread..ive got a question thats been confuzin me alot latly... how exactly do u transpose music onto the guitar like from the piano..my teacher can do it but he hasnt showed me yet..plz help
# 1
First you need to know the tonal range of the instrument you are transposing to and the tonal range of the instrumet where you are transposing from.
When transposing stuff from the piano you need ot be aware that the piano is the instrument with the biggest tonal range. The tonal range of a guitar is with a normal tuning on a 24 fret guitar from E to e''' (4 octaves) - a piano has about 8 octaves. SO you have to transpose some stuff upwards and some stuff downwards and of course you have to be aware of the physical aspect -you just cannot play certain stuff that can be played on the piano because you would need like 10 fingers and a huge hand.
so you also need some skills in mucis-theory to find chordal structures and transpose them to the guitar so that they can be played. you will also have to leave certain notes away - this is allowed as long as the characteristic of the piece remains the same.
When transposing stuff from the piano you need ot be aware that the piano is the instrument with the biggest tonal range. The tonal range of a guitar is with a normal tuning on a 24 fret guitar from E to e''' (4 octaves) - a piano has about 8 octaves. SO you have to transpose some stuff upwards and some stuff downwards and of course you have to be aware of the physical aspect -you just cannot play certain stuff that can be played on the piano because you would need like 10 fingers and a huge hand.
so you also need some skills in mucis-theory to find chordal structures and transpose them to the guitar so that they can be played. you will also have to leave certain notes away - this is allowed as long as the characteristic of the piece remains the same.
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# 2
thanx..that has helped me allot..are there any books or sites on transposing music?
In memory of Randy Rhoads
# 3
I don't know any sites, but I think I can help. Here's a easy way to do it. First of all you'll need some theory on chord structure, and some skill at playing classical guitar type stuff. Are you planning on transposing the entire song for one guitar or two?
If your doing it for two, you can pretty much make an entire copy on the song by having one guitar play the bass clef and the other playing the tremble clef.
If your doing it for one guitar, you'll have to settle for just a representation of the song. Meaning you wouldn't be able to play every note exactly like Azreal said. Although you can get what you need from it, and make a very accurate representation of the song that sounds just like it does on the piano.
First, you have to find out the chordal structure for the song on piano. Basically the notes that are in the Bass end of the music. You'll have to break this down into just the root, then play it on one of the top 2 strings of the guitar (E, and A). Those are the bass strings on the guitar.
So you'll play the root note there, while you play the melody on the other strings.
Next is the melody that carries the song. That you will have to play on the other four strings (D, G, B, and E). You'll probably play it on a collection of those strings cause your going to have to find the right position on the neck to be able to play the bass note and the melody without too much stretching. You'll need to have some guitar chord understanding with this.
Other situations:
Sometimes its the chordal structure that carries the song, so then you'll have to figure out the chord and play it on guitar.
Another thing that might need to be done is having a chord that can't be represented correctly with playing it as a whole (like a dom9 chord). If this happens, you'll have to figure out how to play the chord and melody in the same position on the neck. For this you'll probably have to transpose the melody down and octave to make it fit. Sometimes it won't work and the only way to make this work is arranging the music for 2 guitars instead of 1.
This method produces satisfactory results if the chord structures are fairly simple, like major, minor, even 7th can be accurately represented with just the root. If possible, you should try to play them completely with the melody. That's not always possible and you have no other choice but to stick with just the root.
Chords that are alittle more complex are often extremely difficult to pull off on one guitar while play the melody too. Almost all the time, they aint even worth the trouble. You'll just need 2 guitars. IF your planning on playing stuff like Bach, forget it! If your heart is truely set on it, sometimes the melody is all you need to enjoy it.
Well man hope that helps. Latr
[Edited by noticingthemistake on 04-15-2003 at 09:20 AM]
If your doing it for two, you can pretty much make an entire copy on the song by having one guitar play the bass clef and the other playing the tremble clef.
If your doing it for one guitar, you'll have to settle for just a representation of the song. Meaning you wouldn't be able to play every note exactly like Azreal said. Although you can get what you need from it, and make a very accurate representation of the song that sounds just like it does on the piano.
First, you have to find out the chordal structure for the song on piano. Basically the notes that are in the Bass end of the music. You'll have to break this down into just the root, then play it on one of the top 2 strings of the guitar (E, and A). Those are the bass strings on the guitar.
So you'll play the root note there, while you play the melody on the other strings.
Next is the melody that carries the song. That you will have to play on the other four strings (D, G, B, and E). You'll probably play it on a collection of those strings cause your going to have to find the right position on the neck to be able to play the bass note and the melody without too much stretching. You'll need to have some guitar chord understanding with this.
Other situations:
Sometimes its the chordal structure that carries the song, so then you'll have to figure out the chord and play it on guitar.
Another thing that might need to be done is having a chord that can't be represented correctly with playing it as a whole (like a dom9 chord). If this happens, you'll have to figure out how to play the chord and melody in the same position on the neck. For this you'll probably have to transpose the melody down and octave to make it fit. Sometimes it won't work and the only way to make this work is arranging the music for 2 guitars instead of 1.
This method produces satisfactory results if the chord structures are fairly simple, like major, minor, even 7th can be accurately represented with just the root. If possible, you should try to play them completely with the melody. That's not always possible and you have no other choice but to stick with just the root.
Chords that are alittle more complex are often extremely difficult to pull off on one guitar while play the melody too. Almost all the time, they aint even worth the trouble. You'll just need 2 guitars. IF your planning on playing stuff like Bach, forget it! If your heart is truely set on it, sometimes the melody is all you need to enjoy it.
Well man hope that helps. Latr
[Edited by noticingthemistake on 04-15-2003 at 09:20 AM]
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.
# 4
Transposing is a very mechanical process. It's simply understanding a musical alphabet. (ABCDEFG) One must be able to SAY it frontwards and backwards from any point, better than your name, frontwards or backwards, spelling.
Not knowing how you think, this would be the simplest way to approach this view. This excercise can be done on the way to work. ABCDEFG EFGABEDE and so forth. If it's in the mind, the fingers just respond. Notice flats or sharps NEVER deviate from this alphabet. For guitar players, it's just one damn fret. The logic never changes. Please pay attention. Mistakes not only happen in writing, but happen musically. Not a real big deal, when improvising.
Hope this helps?
Not knowing how you think, this would be the simplest way to approach this view. This excercise can be done on the way to work. ABCDEFG EFGABEDE and so forth. If it's in the mind, the fingers just respond. Notice flats or sharps NEVER deviate from this alphabet. For guitar players, it's just one damn fret. The logic never changes. Please pay attention. Mistakes not only happen in writing, but happen musically. Not a real big deal, when improvising.
Hope this helps?
A lie goes around the world before the truth gets it's shoes on. (Mark Twain)
# 5
