FAQ - Miscellaneous Questions about Transcribe!

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1. "Is there a Transcribe! discussion forum?"

   There is a music transcribers' forum which contains a lot of Transcribe! users including me. See this page.

2. "Will you be bringing out a Transcribe! for handheld computers?"

   Generally speaking, the problems here are: (1) Different computer operating systems requiring major rewriting of Transcribe! (2) Small screen sizes requiring redesign of Transcribe!'s larger dialog windows. (3) Different user-interface features such as the "pinch" idiom on the iPhone, which would again require redesign/rewrite of significant parts of Transcribe!

   I won't bother listing all the handheld machines we do not currently support, instead here is a mention of some which we do support.

   Windows: Handheld computers running full versions of Windows XP are available. Google for "handheld xp" (without the quotes).

   Linux: I have heard that it runs ok on the Asus Eee despite its small screen size (800 * 480).

   I'm interested to get feedback if you try Transcribe! on other small machines.

3. "Will you be bringing out a 64 bit version of Transcribe! ?"

   Transcribe! is a 32 bit application but it has been tested and runs fine on the 64 bit versions of Windows XP & Vista. I don't have plans at present to bring out a special 64 bit version of Transcribe! This is because I'm not at all sure that there would be any benefit.
   64 bit is very beneficial for programs that want to deal with files or memory more than 4GB (such as movie production or large databases) but Transcribe! is not such a program, and might actually run slower in a 64 bit version.

4. "How do you slow down music without changing the pitch?"

   Click here for a discussion of the subject.

5. "Where can I find someone to transcribe some music for me?"
   "Do you accept music transcribing jobs?"

   No, I'm too busy working on the software and running Seventh String. Visit Google and search for "music transcription service". Or post a message to the MusicTranscribers discussion forum. Click here for more info about this.

6. "Is it possible to transcribe music automatically?"
   "Why does the automatic transcription program I have bought, produce such a useless result?"

   Automatic transcription of music is very difficult and as far as I know there is no program that can produce a usable result, unless possibly on some very simple material such as a one-note-at-a-time instrument recorded without accompaniment. Even then it probably won't get the rhythms anywhere near, though it should be able to recognise the notes.
   Certainly there is software out there that claims to do automatic transcription (click here) but in my view some of these products make rather exaggerated claims about what they can do. If you need help with using such products, ask them - not me!

7. "How can I get work as a music transcriber?"

   I would suggest you check out existing services to see what they offer (see the question just above). Set up a website offering your services. And then use your imagination (but don't use spam) to make people such as musicians, music publishers, etc, aware of your existence. It might be worth contacting existing transcription services as they might want to subcontract. Also you could post a message to the MusicTranscribers discussion forum. Click here for more info about this.

8. "Is there any printed documentation?"

   No. The Help files are all the documentation there is. If they are missing anything, please let me know.

9. "Is Transcribe! available in any language other than English?"

   Not at present. Transcribe! is aimed at a small niche market and does not at present earn the kind of money that could justify such effort and expense. I consider that developing the software further is a more effective way to spend my time. Maybe in the future.

10. "Do you intend to continue supporting Mac Classic?"

    Version 6 of Transcribe! is available for Mac OS 7.5 - 9.2 (now known as "Classic" Mac OS), and a separate version for OS-X. Version 6.00 for Mac Classic will remain available for as long as anyone wants it but will not be updated any more.

11. "Do you intend to continue supporting Windows 95/98/ME?"

    Version 6 of Transcribe! is available for these Windows versions. It will remain available for as long as anyone wants it but will not be updated any more.

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