Self-Transcription: How to Write the Melodies in Your Head
Imagine if you could hear any melody in your head and quickly get it in your DAW.
Or when you’re stuck in a track, you could just hum your way to the next notes - then simply write them in and get moving again.
You can.
I always saw experienced musicians doing this - singing along to themselves as they played, effortlessly flowing from their internal voice.
It was like they didn’t have to think - they could inspire themselves or troubleshoot ideas instantly, just by opening their mouth and following it.
I decided to practice this skill.
I would sing little ideas, one after the next, and try to transcribe them into the piano roll.
At first it felt clunky and hard. My voice felt a bit lost, and my ear couldn’t find the notes.
But slowly I got more accurate. My voice got clearer, and I started getting all the notes.
Then I got faster - until eventually I could hum almost anything, and within seconds have it in the piano roll.
I could even sing full solos over chords, and write them in fast following my voice - just like those professional instrumentalists that inspired me.
It’s one of the most fun and practical skills I ever built.
Whenever you need inspiration - you can just start singing, and find your way to flow.
That’s why it’s one of the skills I often work on with students in private lessons.
Because if I can help you create directly from your own internal voice, you’ll always have a source of authentic inspiration. 🙂
Which brings us to:
Your homework: Singing Transcription
Do this to build speed and accuracy in your singing -> piano roll connection.
- Sing little ideas to yourself until one feels good. (Great singing is not required. In fact, this practice will help you get better at that, too. Listen to some music to inspire yourself.)
- Record it on your phone's voice memo. (No judgments - just get it down.)
- Open a basic piano in your DAW. Play back the voice note and pencil in the notes one at a time. (It will be a struggle at first. Keep at it. If you’re really stuck, record another idea and try again. Some ideas are easier than others.)
With practice, you'll get lightning fast at translating anything in your head straight into the piano roll.
Then the doors are wide open to practical sketching exercises that can make real songs, like:
LEVEL 2: Sing melodies over chords
LEVEL 3: Sing a melody then harmonize it in multiple ways
LEVEL 4: Sing every single part of an idea - melody, bass, chord voices
LEVEL 5: Sing drums and percussion
Don’t worry about all that right now though! Just focus on that homework.
Avery
