I wanted to share a transcription I made as part of my music work this semester.
Here is a transcription of the piano and bass parts to the intro of a recording of "Mood Indigo" by Nina Simone. This is off her very first album, originally released as "Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club," now generally known as "Little Girl Blue." As far as I can tell, this album was recorded on Nina's 24th birthday, and she already displays an astonishing, fully formed talent; in some ways she never made a better recording. Already we see her trademark combination of jazz and classical music, as the second half of the intro includes a complex counterpoint that was in my opinion most likely precomposed. The whole track is amazing, not just the intro. Especially noteworthy is her vocal entrance, immediately after the transcription ends, which always sends a shiver down my spine.
This was the first transcription I made at this level of detail, although hopefully not the last. It probably took me 15-20 hours to do the transcription. I didn't use any software to slow the music down, although I did make use of a recorder that allowed me to easily loop just a few seconds over and over again. I also spent about the same amount of time learning Finale, which honestly made me stabby; I use computers for a living, and I found it terribly non-intuitive.
One way to hear the track is to listen to it on Mixapp, which you can join in 15 seconds if you have a Facebook account. [Nina did a couple different versions of Mood Indigo; you want the one that's 4:04 rather than 2:17.]
Enjoy!
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