Is there an app that hears music and writes it?

Music transcription apps allow you to convert recorded music into musical notation. These apps use advanced audio analysis to “listen” to a song and attempt to identify the notes, rhythm, tempo, key signature, and other musical elements. The app then generates a musical score in standard notation that you can view, edit, print, and export. This technology opens up many possibilities for musicians, music students, composers, and more.

Transcription apps aim to simplify and automate the process of notating music you hear. Manual transcription is very tedious and time-consuming, requiring excellent musical hearing skills. Music transcription technology offers an automated solution that can save tremendous time and effort. However, transcription apps have limitations in accuracy compared to manual transcription. We will explore the leading options, their capabilities, use cases, and current shortcomings.

How Music Transcription Apps Work

Music transcription apps rely on advanced audio recognition technology and machine learning to convert audio recordings into musical scores or sheet music notation (Speechify.com, 2023). The apps use algorithms that can identify and isolate different musical elements like rhythm, pitch, melody, harmony, and instrumentation from an audio file.

The machine learning models are trained on large datasets of recorded music to recognize patterns and map audio signals to musical notation. As the transcription app processes an audio file, it analyzes characteristics like timbre, tempo, key signature, time signature, notes played, and rhythmic values (Verbit.ai, 2023). It then converts this audio data into the corresponding musical symbols and notation.

The algorithms continue to improve over time as the apps ingest more training data. However, transcription accuracy depends on factors like audio quality, background noise, complex polyphonic textures, and playing techniques. Apps may struggle with intricate piano parts, fast solos, vocal parts, or distorted recordings.

Top Music Transcription Apps

There are several top apps for transcribing music:

ScoreCloud – ScoreCloud is an accurate music scanning app that can transcribe polyphonic music and allows you to edit the sheet music. It has optical music recognition (OMR) and audio transcription features. (Source)

Notion – Notion is a versatile music notation software that can transcribe music and has a large music notation library. It can handle complex, polyphonic music transcription. (Source)

AnthemScore – AnthemScore is designed specifically for transcribing music. It can isolate individual instruments and transcribe monophonic and polyphonic music. (Source)

MuseScore – MuseScore is free music notation software that can transcribe simple, monophonic music. It has a large library of instruments and sheet music. (Source)

Transcribe! – Transcribe! specializes in transcribing audio, slowing it down and removing distortions. It excels at monophonic transcription. (Source)

Accuracy of Transcription

The accuracy of automated music transcription apps can vary quite a bit depending on the app used and factors like instrumentation, recording quality, and music genre. According to Quora, the current state-of-the-art accuracy rates for automated transcription range from 70-90% for piano music under good conditions, but can be lower for more complex polyphonic music with multiple instruments [1].

Some factors that affect accuracy include:
– Quality and clarity of the audio recording

– Complexity of the instrumentation
– Use of atypical musical elements like pitch bends or advanced playing techniques

– Genre of the music (classical piano versus heavy metal)

Current limitations of automated transcription include difficulty with:
– Polyphonic music and separating out individual parts

– Identifying chords and harmony
– Notating rhythm and tempo changes accurately
– Detecting subtle performance techniques and articulations

While some apps like AnthemScore claim up to 90% accuracy, real-world results can be lower depending on the above factors. Significant manual editing may be required to correct errors and achieve a complete and accurate transcription.

Benefits for Musicians

Music transcription apps provide several key benefits for musicians looking to improve their skills:

First, transcription serves as an excellent learning and practice aid. The process of listening closely to a recording and carefully notating what you hear trains your ears and reinforces important concepts like rhythm, melody, harmony, and form. As musicians transcribe more music in different genres, their musical literacy improves (Benspooner.medium.com).

Additionally, transcription apps can provide a lower-cost alternative to traditional notation software. While advanced programs like Sibelius and Finale offer robust tools for creating sheet music, they can be expensive. Transcription apps provide notation capabilities at a fraction of the cost, making them more accessible for student musicians or hobbyists (Speechify.com).

Finally, transcribing a piece of music allows musicians to closely analyze compositions to understand what makes them work. By notating all the individual parts and seeing how they fit together on paper, musicians gain insight into key concepts like instrumentation, orchestration, and compositional techniques. This level of deep analysis aids further musical development (Verbit.ai).

Use Cases

Music transcription apps have several common use cases for musicians and music enthusiasts:

Transcribing Songs
One of the main uses is to transcribe existing songs into sheet music or guitar tabs. This allows musicians to play along with songs they hear by figuring out the chords and melody. According to How and Why to Transcribe Music, transcription apps like AnthemScore can automatically generate sheet music from audio files. This saves significant time compared to manual transcription.

Creating Sheet Music

Another common use is for composers and songwriters to transcribe their own musical ideas into proper sheet music notation. Apps like MuseScore provide the tools to write and edit sheet music, which can then be printed out or shared digitally. According to Music Transcription by Zeemo AI, these apps are especially helpful for those learning music theory and composition.

Learning By Ear
Transcription apps also assist musicians in learning new pieces by ear. As mentioned in How and Why to Transcribe Music, slowing down songs, looping sections, and displaying the music in notation helps internalize melodies and chord changes. This develops critical musicianship skills in a more engaging way than reading sheet music alone.

Limitations

While music transcription apps have improved in accuracy and capabilities over the years, they still have some key limitations

One is limitations when it comes to certain genres or instruments. As this Quora post discusses, current transcription algorithms struggle with polyphonic music, singing voices, and percussive instruments. They tend to work best for solo instruments like guitar or piano.

Audio quality can also impact accuracy. Apps may struggle to transcribe poor quality recordings or live performances with background noise.

Complex musical arrangements with multiple instruments or advanced rhythms and harmonies can prove challenging according to users on Reddit. The more intricate the music, the more errors may occur.

While some apps boast “99% accuracy”, in reality no music transcription program is perfect. Expect that some manual editing or cleanup may be required, especially for complex songs.

Future Improvements

There are several developments in the works to further improve the accuracy and scope of music transcription apps:

Better AI algorithms will allow the apps to more precisely detect pitch, rhythm, harmony and other musical elements. Companies like Google are developing advanced machine learning models that can understand music like a human.

Expanding the music database that the app references will increase recognition of diverse styles and uncommon instruments. Some apps currently focus on popular genres, while niche musical styles can pose a challenge.

Future apps will likely support transcription for a wider variety of instruments beyond just vocals, guitar and piano. This includes orchestral instruments like violin, brass, woodwinds etc. The AI will need to account for the unique tones and playing techniques of each instrument.

With better algorithms, larger databases and expanded instrument support, music transcription apps are poised to become even more versatile and user-friendly tools for musicians in the future.

Alternatives to Automatic Music Transcription Apps

While automatic music transcription apps utilize AI to convert audio into sheet music, there are some alternatives worth considering:

Human transcriptionists can provide highly accurate transcriptions, as they can listen closely and have musical expertise. Services like Upwork connect musicians with qualified professionals. The main downside is the cost and time needed compared to automated apps.

Notation software like Sibelius allows musicians to manually transcribe songs into sheet music. This gives full control over the transcription, but requires more effort and musical knowledge. Many musicians use notation software in combination with transcription apps.

Some online services like Amazing Slow Downer focus just on slowing down songs to make them easier to learn and transcribe manually. Though not a full transcription solution, slowing down music helps musicians pick out notes and chords.

Depending on the use case, musicians may prefer human transcriptionists for accuracy, notation software for control, or online slowing services for learning songs. Automated transcription apps provide a convenient middle ground, though the technology still has limitations.

Conclusion

Music transcription apps provide an intriguing new way for musicians to quickly transcribe and analyze songs. By using advanced audio recognition technology, these apps can listen to music and attempt to write out the notes, chords, and other elements. While current transcription apps are far from perfect, they offer useful approximations that can save musicians huge amounts of time versus transcribing music manually.

As we’ve seen, leading options like AnthemScore, ChordAI, and Soundbrenner offer unique strengths in transcription accuracy, instruments recognized, and supplementary features. While tempting, transcription apps should not be viewed as flawless replacements for human transcribers. Accuracy rates remain limited, especially for complex polyphonic music. However, for simple melodies and chords, these apps provide a handy supplemental tool.

Looking ahead, improvements in machine learning will likely expand the transcription capabilities of these apps. With larger training datasets and advances in AI, accuracy rates could reach professional levels in the coming years. For now, transcription apps serve best as assistants that give musicians a helpful head start. But their capabilities continue to evolve toward a future where technology can truly listen, understand, and write music.