Tipitina and Me transcribed

click to download pdfThis is probably some form of copyright infringement, but I have completed my transcription of Allen Toussaint’s Tipitina and Me, and since his publisher’s website clearly states they are not interested in publishing unsolicited transcriptions, I’m just going to give it away for free here. It’s a very rewarding piece to play. It’s a catalogue of New Orleans piano riffs, but not as technically challenging as a lot of the Dr. John stuff I’ve tried to read through. If you’re familiar with (Canadian) Royal Conservatory grading I would call this about a grade eight or nine level solo.

Just for the sake of my reputation as a typesetter, I should point out that if I was actually planning on submitting this for publication I would have spent a little more time on note spacing and articulations. But my objective here was to get it onto four pages quickly in an accurate and legible format. I did start to put phrase markings in at one point but they are somewhat subjective, and giving the recording a listen would tell you a lot more than I could in a lot less time. If you don’t know the tune, it’s available from the iTunes store as a single or as part of the 2005 Our New Orleans compilation.

Feel free to let me know in the comments if you find any errors or have any suggestions for readability.

Updated January 25, 2011: I’ve made some updates based on revisions from a keen-eyed pianist friend. I think we’re getting close. Keep those cards and letters coming.