Still Alive – not tabs but…

[Jabbers]

I found the sheet music of Still Alive that was released by Steam, but unfortunately it was condensed. So i took the time to arrange a full score, let the tributes role in! You'll need Sibelius 3 to view the score, but i have included a MIDI file (4 staves) for you to use your own score editing software.

MIDI: http://www.mediafire.com/?yghixwltymt

Sib Score: http://www.mediafire.com/?mgbufhtmmzw

[BorbaSpinotti]

Excellent! Consider this Tribute #1.

So now I'm burning to know:
1. Do you play guitar?
2. With the opening vocal phrase, did you find yourself partly wanting to write it with the last E (last eighth note of bar 1) tied over to another eighth note E before going to F#? Your transcription is exactly what is sung, although writing the F# on the downbeat would make a reader think of the word as "tri-UMPH" instead of "TRI-umph". The other option is of course writing it as a syncopation, with the F# following an eighth note later, and retroactively pretending that the singer was in a rush. In all seriousness, I wonder what the best convention in such a case would be. (For the record, I would probably have done it your way too.)

A part of me wants to put on my aural monocle and gleefully look for transcription mistakes, but orthogonality dictates that I should first submit something of similar complexity so you can do the converse honor

[Shruti]

*downloads Sibelius demo*

Intriguing. Is all of that really playable on guitar? Intense.

Question, do Sibelius and Finale serve the same purpose? Is the former better for some reason?

[BorbaSpinotti]

@Shruti: If you REALLY want a lively discussion, try and go to a Sibelius or Finale forum and ask for a comparison. At times the polarisation looks like Mac vs PC. I'm a Sibelius guy for the simple reason that I'm not a Finale user, and won't denigrate Finale. The stereotype used to be that Sib is more "intuitive" than Finale, but I can't vouch for where perceptions stand at the moment. For what it's worth, I do enjoy Sibelius, and if you were thinking of getting a notation package, I can recommend it (their student prices are pretty attractive compared to the rather steep full retail price).

I find it a bit disconcerting that notation packages currently vie with each other for playback capabilities, and to some degree they cross over into the sort of stuff that one would have used a sequencer or digital audio workstation a few years ago. I say "disconcerting", because without the playback capability it's easier to focus on the written notes, instead of writing them in such a way that they sound good on playback. It is quite possible to write something that makes for good playback, but is a pig for a human reader to follow. My own bad experiences in this regard come from playing show arrangements where the notation and the human players must have been an afterthought after the presumably MIDI input of the parts – drum and guitar parts with too many notes (instead of more slashes that make for better playing), horn parts that don't respect the need to breathe, disgustingly wrong enharmonic spellings etc. Presumably in cases like these the arranger got a cheque signed on the basis of a MIDI demo and clean-looking printed parts.

So what do you think of Sibelius after a bit of playing around?

@Jabbers: Sorry, I obviously didn't make it clear in the post above, but I am really excited at the prospect of seeing more notated JoCo songs, since one can have different kinds of discussions around notation. Please have a go at some more!

[Jabbers]

In answer to BorbaSpinotti;
1. No, I play Tenor sax, Soprano sax, and clarinet.
2. That didn't really occur to me. To be perfectly honest I was just copying from a score, but I was expanding it to include the full parts.

And Shruti, That question is kind of ambiguous, either
a) No not all of it was played on one guitar. The accompaniment is at least a 3 part harmony.
b) This is called 'musical notation' This is the norm to anyone who doesn't play guitar. Each staff is played by a different instrument.

Damn you lazy guitarists! inventing another music system to suite your own needs!!!

Take either option

[Author]

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