Transcribing Rhythms
Once you’ve determined key and meter, it’s finally time to move to staff notation! First, make sure that the first line of your notation begins with the relevant clef, key signature, and time signature. (If it helps you remember the correct sequence, these are in alphabetical order—even if you call it a “meter signature” instead.) If you end up needing additional lines of notation, the clef and key signature are typically repeated on every line; because beaming often does a pretty good job of clarifying the meter, the time signature is usually only written at the beginning of the music and anywhere it changes.
Then we’re ready to start with rhythm and meter. In our experience, this is a little bit more helpful than starting with pitch. Of course, when actually doing full transcriptions, you will likely go back and forth between rhythm and pitch.
Notation of rhythms always depends on the meter, so it’s important to make sure you’re orienting to the meter first! The steps are reviewed below; click to expand each step for additional advice.
When working out a rhythm, start by memorizing a portion of the melody. Replay this portion in your head, perhaps slowing it down, while tracking the meter. As you do so, pay attention to where each note falls with respect to each beat. For example, you might notice that a long note starts on beat 3 and continues halfway through beat 4, or that beat 1 consists of three notes in the relationship long-short-short. It may be helpful to sketch this information out in rhythmic protonotation.
If you’re having trouble, it will likely be helpful to track the beat and/or its divisions with physical motions. You are encouraged to use hand taps, arm waves, foot taps, or head nods to track the beat, and finger taps to track divisions of the beat (2 fingers for simple, 3 for compound). For some people, relating the rhythms to the beats accurately takes a lot of practice. If that’s you, be patient, practice your rhythm skills, and work with someone else if available.
Once you’ve figured out how the rhythms relate to the beat, you can figure out the correct notation by using the bottom number of the meter sign as a point of reference. If you have used a simple meter signature, the bottom number will designate the note value that represents the beat. If you have used a compound meter signature, the bottom number will designate the note value that represents the beat division. Choosing appropriate note and rest values will be a matter of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing from these points of reference.
Finally, make sure to clarify the meter in your notation by using beaming where appropriate. The general rule of thumb is that beams should join together notes smaller than a quarter note when they lie within the same beat; examples can be found here.
Examples of rhythmic transcription
Simple:
Compound:
Activity: Translate rhythms from protonotation/shorthand into staff notation
Goal: Practice conn