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Transcribing & Porting Cover Music - Pico-8 Music Tutorial #57
🕑 Added 2020-06-01 14:01:02 +0000 UTCIn this tutorial, I take you through my entire process of listening, transcribing and porting tunes into Pico-8. In this case, music from a C64 game called Cybernoid 2. Skip to 2:15:40 to hear the final version. (Also attached is the sheet music and Pico-8 cart)
This was recorded during a music masterclass, so I’ve roughly edited out stream chatter. It’s still a long video (over two hours!), so you can still see the slow, raw process. I also only transcribed and arranged the first couple minutes; the original is over seven minutes long!
I’m fairly fast at transcribing. You may be new to this, and not have a background in music theory, but this is still doable for everyone. It will just take more trial & error and of course, practice! Let me know if you have any questions.
Most of the video is plain work, but there are a few interesting points of discussion that I’ve time stamped (best used in YouTube)
Time Stamps:
- 0:00 The game plan
- 0:26 Listening
- 3:40 The general process
- 4:30 Using slow downers
- 5:10 Getting started
- 5:55 Listening to the different parts
- 8:00 Basic form of the introduction, listening to the melody/arpeggiation
- 11:30 Nuances/Parts that aren’t notated (pitch dips, drums)
- 19:45 Next section
- 20:25 Making note of repetition/ratios/form between parts and sections
- 21:35 Transcribing the bass part
- 23:30 Comment from chat: Comparing transcription with original
- 28:15 More about repetition, ratios, development, and form
- 29:00 Comment from chat: Listening to the arpeggiation at slowest tempo
- 31:25 More about repetition, development, and form
- 34:20 Transcribing melody
- 45:35 Transition into Pico-8
- 46:00 Getting started & figuring out the tempo
- 49:05 Bass sound design
- 53:50 Arps/Melody sound design
- 1:01:50 Setting up the form
- 1:16:10 Writing the drum fill
- 1:19:00 Designing the pitch drops
- 1:25:35 Setting up next section, drums
- 1:28:40 Writing the bass
- 1:37:05 Using the new PAT/SFX feature
- 1:39:40 Comparing original with Pico-8 version, making changes
- 1:42:15 Setting up next section
- 1:46:15 Writing new arps
- 1:49:45 Melody input and sound design
- 2:06:20 Finishing up last section
- 2:15:40 Final version!
