Freedom251 › Music Transcription Software
Transcribe!
What Transcribe! is
Transcribe! is paid desktop software for working out music from recordings so you can write it down or play it yourself. It assists listening and analysis rather than automatically producing musical notation or MIDI. Playback can slow without changing pitch, or change pitch and speed together, and named loops let you revisit passages. Waveform navigation supports markers for sections, measures, and beats, plus labels, annotations, and playback from selected points. A spectrum view displays pitch strengths, while note and chord guesses can appear on a piano keyboard or piano roll. The program reads many audio types and audio CDs, records from cassette or vinyl, and displays video for most video files. Effects include EQ, tuning, transposition, mono or karaoke mixing, and speeds from one twentieth to double speed. It also supports scripting, foot pedals, practice, and speech transcription. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. A single copy costs $39 once, with a 30-day trial.
Who it suits
Transcribe! suits musicians, learners, and people analyzing recordings for practice or manual transcription. It is also intended for speech transcription and play-along work.
What it does well
- Slows playback without changing pitch
- Named loops and waveform annotations
- Chord and note guesses on piano displays
- Reads audio, CDs, and many video files
- Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows
What to know first
- Does not output musical notation or MIDI
- No iPad, iPhone, or Android version
- No free plan; single copy costs $39 once
- Not an audio editor
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transcribe! multiple copies (100 or more) | $15 per copy · 100 or more copies; one person or organisation owns and controls all copies | $15, paid once |
| Transcribe! multiple copies (20–99) | $20 per copy · 20–99 copies; one person or organisation owns and controls all copies | $20, paid once |
| Transcribe! multiple copies (5–19) | $25 per copy · 5–19 copies; one person or organisation owns and controls all copies | $25, paid once |
| Transcribe! multiple copies (2–4) | $31 per copy · 2–4 copies; one person or organisation owns and controls all copies | $31, paid once |
| Transcribe! single copy | $39 for a single copy, plus any local taxes · One computer, or up to three computers for your exclusive use | $39, paid once |
As seventhstring.com lists them, read 7 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Transcribe! provides detailed playback and analysis tools for manually learning music and speech from recordings. Choose it when you want control over speed, pitch, looping, and visual guidance rather than automatic notation generation.
Facts from Transcribe!'s own pages
- Audio and video
- It reads many audio file types and audio CDs, can record from analog sources such as cassette or vinyl, and can display video for most video files. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Automation
- Automation or scripting can run commands from a file to process sound files or play files with selected effects. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Chord analysis
- Its spectrum feature displays pitch strengths, and note and chord guessing can show estimates on a piano keyboard or piano roll. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Company and author
- The site identifies Seventh String Software as the maker and names Andy Robinson as the author of Transcribe!. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Effects
- Real-time effects include slowdown, pitch change, EQ filtering, mono or karaoke mixing, tuning, transposition, and variable speed from one twentieth to double speed. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- License
- One license permits use on one computer, or up to three computers if the program is for the buyer's exclusive use on all of them. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Not an audio editor
- The maker says Transcribe! plays and records audio and can save modified audio to a new sound file, but it is not an audio editor. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Not a notation generator
- Transcribe! does not process an audio file and output musical notation or MIDI, and it does not handle MIDI files. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Platforms and mobile support
- The product is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux; the maker says there is no iPad, iPhone, or Android version and none is planned. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Playback tools
- It can slow music without changing pitch, change pitch and speed, and store and recall named loops. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Practice and speech use
- The maker says the software is also used for play-along practice and speech transcription, with foot-pedal support and slowed-down playback. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Transcribe! assists people in working out music from recordings so they can write it out or play it themselves; it does not do the transcription for them. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker asks users to check the FAQ first and provides an email address for remaining software questions. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
- Waveform navigation
- The waveform view supports markers for sections, measures and beats, descriptive labels, textual annotations, and playback from selected points. · seventhstring.com, 7 Oct 2026
Where Transcribe! stands on Freedom251
- Music Transcription Software#26 of 29