Songscription blog & music transcription resources
Explore Songscription’s guides to music transcription, sheet music, MIDI, piano roll, and AI-powered music learning, plus product updates and company announcements from the Songscription team.
Everything about getting notation you can read, edit, and print: making sheet music from a song, simplifying and arranging it for your level, and exporting a clean score to PDF or MusicXML.
Sheet music
96 articles- Resources7 min readNote values and rhythm explained: Whole, half, and quarter notesPitch tells you which note; rhythm tells you when and how long. Here is how note values work, from whole notes down to sixteenths, plus rests, dots, and ties, so you can read the timing on a page.Resources · · 7 min read
- Resources7 min readWhat is a cadence in music? Authentic, plagal, and moreA cadence is the chord move that ends a musical phrase, the punctuation of harmony. Here are the four cadences worth knowing, what each one sounds like, and how to spot them in a song.Resources · · 7 min read
- Resources7 min readDynamics and articulation in music, explainedDynamics mark how loud, articulation marks how each note is played. Here is what the symbols mean, from piano and forte to staccato and slurs, and why they are what turns notes into music.Resources · · 7 min read
- Resources6 min readWhat is the circle of fifths? A plain-English guideThe circle of fifths arranges all twelve keys in a ring so each step is a perfect fifth. Here is what it shows, how to read it, and the everyday jobs it makes faster.Resources · · 6 min read
- Resources6 min readChord inversions explained: Root, first, and secondA chord inversion is the same chord with a note other than the root in the bass. Here is what each inversion is, how they are written, and why players use them constantly.Resources · · 6 min read
- Resources6 min readWhat is a chord progression? Common ones explainedA chord progression is the sequence of chords a melody sits on. Here are the Roman numerals, the progressions worth knowing by name, and how to find them in a song.Resources · · 6 min read
- Resources6 min readFuneral and memorial songs to sheet musicTo get sheet music for a funeral or memorial song, transcribe the recording you want to play. Here is how to prepare the right version, in the right key, for the service.Resources · · 6 min read
- Tutorial7 min readHow to turn a melody you hum into sheet musicThe tune in your head becomes a real recording the moment you hum it into your phone, and from there it can become notation you can read, edit, and share. Here is how to turn a hummed or sung melody into sheet music, even if you cannot play it on an instrument yet.Tutorial · · 7 min read
- Tutorial7 min readHow to get the guitar chords to any songMost guitar players learn songs from chords, but the chart you find is often wrong, missing, or in a key that fights your voice. Here is how to get the guitar chords to any song straight from the recording, then shape them into the capo position, voicings, or key you actually play in.Tutorial · · 7 min read
- Tutorial7 min readHow to get the ukulele chords to any songThe ukulele makes almost any song approachable, but only once you have the chords in a key that suits its four strings and your voice. Here is how to get the ukulele chords to any song from the recording, then pick uke-friendly keys and simple shapes.Tutorial · · 7 min read
- Resources8 min readHow to read chord symbols (Cmaj7, G/B, sus4, and more)Chord symbols pack a whole chord into a few characters, and once you can read them you can play from a chart for any song. Here is how to read chord symbols, from plain triads to sevenths, extensions, suspensions, and slash chords.Resources · · 8 min read
- Tutorial7 min readHow to transpose a song with a capoA capo lets a guitarist change a song’s key without learning new chord shapes: clamp it on a fret and your open chords sound higher. Here is how a capo transposes a song, which fret raises the key by how much, and how to find the position that fits your voice.Tutorial · · 7 min read
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