# Do players want to learn transcriptions of pieces they like?



## Hurbi (Feb 26, 2017)

I play piano a little but I've always wanted to play a string quartet and I reckon it can be vice versa. Is there a market for transcriptions out there? I just wrote a transcription and it's very enjoyable to do. 

A piano piece to string quartet or string quartet to piano for example. Transcriptions adding more instruments rather than taking away would be more desired I reckon. Making a piano transcription of a string quartet can be quite difficult to compose and play haha. Notes are lost but usually the flavor can stay the same in my opinion. Has there been a thread like this?


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

I'm a pianist, and I love playing transcriptions, particularly of orchestral works. My favorite transcriptions are by Liszt: the Beethoven symphonies, Schubert songs, Symphonie Fantastique, and many operatic paraphrases. Fiendishly difficult music, but incredibly satisfying to play--even at the snail's pace that I use! :lol:


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Oh, yes! So pianists go through the same things that I go through? I play the cello, and I've always wished I could play something like a piano that has such a large solo repertoire.

To my knowledge a thread like this doesn't exist; you've brought up an interesting discussion! I don't think that piano-string quartet transcriptions _always_ keep the flavor the same ―I've seen some where a happy piano tune becomes an emotional piece for strings. Maybe that's a bad transcription? Or do the piano and strings just not match up in that case?

Anyways, thanks for stimulating my brain 
Portamento


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## Hurbi (Feb 26, 2017)

Well a transcription is a good one if it keeps the theme, dynamics etc. I guess. Adding ideas and changing things out of necessity is the fun and creative part. Unfortunately I think going from piano to a solo instrument like cello is impossible haha. A happy piano tune can certainly stay happy on strings in my opinion. 
There are piano pieces that are good enough on their own like many of chopin's, debussy's, liszt's and schuann's etc. works. it'd be a dis-service in my opinion to try and transcribe those romantic solo piano works. Waltzes would be fine I reckon, however.

Anyways I'm in the midst of transcribing a lot of things. It's very stimulating and enjoyable. A note for note transcription isn't necessarily the way to go in my opinion. I've listened to all of beethoven's quartets and many other string quartets/quintets and noticed that certain feelings, harmonies and sounds only sound good in a string group, so transferring that to piano is quite challenging while keeping the flavor. For example, rapid repetitive 16th's on strings sound better than they do on piano. If you wanted rapid 16th's from strings to piano you might make that octave 16th's between thumb and pinky. That's just what I've observed.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Hurbi said:


> For example, rapid repetitive 16th's on strings sound better than they do on piano. If you wanted rapid 16th's from strings to piano you might make that octave 16th's between thumb and pinky. That's just what I've observed.


That's a good point. Repeated notes on the piano are difficult to play. Even when they're played well, they don't sound as smooth as repeated notes on a string instrument. I agree that tremolos are the best substitute on piano. In fact, many piano transcriptions of orchestral works have pages and pages of tremolos--it's a standard way of "translating" repeated notes into a pianistic style.

Good luck with your transcriptions. Sounds like a fun project.


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## Hurbi (Feb 26, 2017)

So they're called tremolos! Yes, and thank you it's very fun.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

There have been many orchestral pieces transcribed for organ solo, too.


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

I enjoy playing transcriptions if they are good transcriptions. But there are a lot of badly done transcriptions. Heck, Beethoven himself did a bad one -- his transcription of his own violin concerto for piano, no doubt done solely because his publisher paid him to do it. Not that he didn't know how to transcribe, but the violin concerto is so perfectly designed for the violin it doesn't translate well to the piano. The lessons that can be taken from this are, not everything is equally suitable for transcription, and Beethoven was more than willing to lower his standards for the right price.


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