[SnappleMan]

Originally Posted by AngelCityOutlaw

Transcribing many songs in their entirety completely by ear often requires much more than a "basic" understanding of music theory and it takes tons of practice to get good at.

Just because you know your theory doesn't automatically make you good at playing by ear either. It's a skill that develops over time as you listen to and play more and more music.

If there's any skill people should be practising, it's sight-reading. So many people can't even read sheet music now it's sad. Like that joke goes, "How do you get a death metal guitarist to slow down?....Put some sheet music in front of him."

In all my many years of me making a living as a musician I've never once had to sight read.

[timaeus222]

Well, I had to. >_> Any musician who has taken lessons probably has had to.

[Chimpazilla]

I recently got Omnisphere. I downloaded a midi to a vgm song I like, just so I didn't HAVE to write it... I wanted to just practice with my new sounds on a piece I knew. I only ended up using 7 notes in the midi... and a full remix wrote itself on top of them. The midi inspired me massively although I barely used it. I suppose it was sort of a safety net. I think it is ok to start with a midi, for whatever purpose you need. Of course in the end result, the judges would never pass a suped-up midi, so Jordan as long as you are aware of that, midi yourself silly.

[Darangen]

The only time I'd see a guitarist sight-read is if they're playing classical guitar. Or learning through a series of guitar method books.

The only reason I know how to read music and sight read is because I learned to play piano at a young age. I've never really used it for guitar.

[Meteo Xavier]

Like I said, just ignore Snappleman. That is most certainly not a basic of music. Completely re-creating a music piece through an inferior channel on ear alone is pretty advanced and takes at least a year of practice (YMMV) to do, particularly as its largely been proven that people have a wide range of even potential to grab notes in the first place.

No doubt if one can learn it, it's like the holy grail of music skill and completely invaluable and it's definitely something every serious musician should work towards if they can - but that alone does not make it a basic or even a requirement. Learning sheet music is a basic and not many professional musicians today even do that.

Don't listen to arrogant, elitist bullshit like that. Works towards that in your own time after you've gained levels in these other methods.

[SnappleMan]

I wonder what jordanrooben is gonna do with all these fish he's being given. Maybe after he eats them all he'll realize that someone should have taught him how to catch his own.

But yeah, I guess I am really elitist and arrogant to suggest that someone ought to actually do something musical and not just load a MIDI and change some patches.

[Omni-Psyence]

Even if you don't like his blunt tone, Snappleman is right. It is infinitely better to focus your efforts on self improvement, and at least attempt with the best of your ability to transcribe, than it is to ask for others to do the work for you. Back in the day when I used to download MIDIs to see how they were made, I often thought to myself that I should be doing this manually to improve my skills. I can't play incredibly great or transcribe anything by ear in a moment's notice just yet, but my skills have increased greatly and it's only because I took my personal development seriously.

[SnappleMan]

Not to mention how much transcribing the MIDI helps with your arrangement. As you learn how the song is constructed you naturally come up with ideas on where you feel it should go.

[jnWake]

But asking for a MIDI isn't a sin. You can transcribe stuff and want to check or compare some notes with a MIDI.

I agree that it's better to learn stuff by ear, but people don't always have the time/patience/will to do so, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Neblix]

Originally Posted by AngelCityOutlaw

Just because you know your theory doesn't automatically make you good at playing by ear either. It's a skill that develops over time as you listen to and play more and more music.

If there's any skill people should be practising, it's sight-reading. So many people can't even read sheet music now it's sad. Like that joke goes, "How do you get a death metal guitarist to slow down?....Put some sheet music in front of him."

Why are you talking about instrument performance ethics in a thread about a Metroid Prime MIDI?

Transcribing songs isn't really as hard as your making it out to be. Of course it is for verbatim transcriptions, but you won't ever get those unless they're from the composers themselves. Recorded music makes us hear notes that weren't even written because of frequency clashes and accumulations.

My point is, "make your own" isn't exactly the best advice if you want a verbatim transcription, but "you can't make your own unless your an advanced music theory enthusiast" is bull.

Originally Posted by jnWake

but people don't always have the time/patience/will to do so

If you ever want to improve, being a good musician requires time/will/patience.
I'm not arguing in favor of not helping this guy when he wants a MIDI, but there's no issue with what Snappleman is saying. He is giving sound (though blunt) advice.