Besides creating finished scores in conventional notation, Askin is also now transcribing earlier Zappa recordings for new arrangements. In particular, he cites a Bruce Fowler trombone line doubling a Zappa guitar solo where one layer is recorded at half-speed and then speeded up to sound like a trumpet. Frank wanted me to transcribe it so he can maybe use it for some composition where it might be played by a viola, for example. There's another very nice piece with just Frank and someone else on acoustic guitars which someone has now played into the Synclavier, and Frank is thinking about possibly using that as a solo piece for strings. He's always experimenting with taking solos of his earlier works, having them transcribed, and transferring them to another instrument.
Some parts are obvious as to which instrument has to play what.
The problem is more with the Synclavier music, which is very difficult, often with very fast, tiny high notes that don't always have obvious relations to meters or measures. In general, orchestration and instrumentation are the hardest parts. I think about it, give my recommendations to Frank, and see what he thinks for a final decision. Askin works from CDs, DAT tapes, and MIDI files, listening comparing, typing his interpretaion into Finale, and then listening back to what he's done through a Proteus II synth module. All these tasks require a minimum of ten-hour shifts, six to seven days a week.