LOL @John_E I’ve looked at them online, and they’re more than I’m willing to spend just to bang out one note at a time while trying to identify and verify a tone for transcribing. Now, if I had aspirations to learn piano…
They do have USB connectors, Pam. Some have MIDI ports but most use USB. MIDI ports are usually found on electronic instruments these days, while MIDI controllers have moved to USB (or a hybrid). MIDI transports over USB just fine.
I do use these with plugins. Software synthesizers and other virtual instruments are generally DAW plugins, though there are some standalone apps too.
Because the transcription software can recognize MIDI and will allow you to directly enter the notes? Need to check for MIDI support in your specific software to see if it supports it.
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Crescendo probably does, I haven’t ever looked. But the way the software works is, you just drag the appropriate note from the menu and drop it wherever you want it on the stave. It takes a couple seconds. The really time and effort is identifying the tone in the first place, and that’s the ear training part (which I’m working on).
Yes @PamPurrs you can use the midi keyboard to ID notes and then to enter them as if you were playing the song on the keyboard. Press a C on midi keyboard, c pops up in software
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And it somehow knows whether you want a quarter note, dotted 1/8, 1/16, half, tied 1/8 notes, etc? Those keyboards (MIDI, USB, whatever) sound like a nice toy, but unless I get into actually writing my own music, I don’t have much use for one.
For transcribing, I’m good with just using the piano app in Windows (with my computer keyboard) to identify the tone, and then drag and drop the appropriate note into the appropriate position on the stave.
But… to each his / her own.
That’s all I know, haha. No clue about duration
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Not sure about transcription software but with all other software, yes, of course note duration is part of the input. As are expression, aftertouch, piano/forte (via velocity), and a lot more.
If by “toy” you mean “musical gear ubiquitously used by professional musicians”, sure 
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I do not think I would have purchased a midi controller if all I was going to do with it was inputting notes into notation software. What I plan to do is import the transcribed midi file into a DAW, such as Reaper, and play around with it, such as adding additional virtual instrument tracks.
@Gio has lots of videos on the reaper website (www.reaper.fm) regarding using a midi keyboard and it’s advantages but as you say you are happy transcribing the way you have been, and that is fine, but the point is inputting notes into music composition software is only a very small part of the overall midi picture.
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He does? Or do you mean Kenny Giaoa?
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Kenny Giaoa. I was led to believe they were one and the same person.
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Nope 
No other human talks like Kenny.
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So, at the basic level, if I wanted to start learning to transcribe, would I sit there with my bass and just bang out notes until it sounded right to me (eg: for, say “Mary had a little lamb”)? Or is there another way that you guys do it?
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Not me, I’m afraid.
I have lots of videos about finding magical things in my town.
Different.
I look like this and talk like this:
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Dude! That was cool. Are you going to get video from the show to post on here?
Gio’s Funk Album! Check it out. It’s good stuff. 
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Ha.
Funny story there - the show was cancelled through no fault of our own.
After the video and the promo push, there was nothing to show for it.
Booo!!!
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I always recommend that a player be able to sing the part they want to transcribe before they try and play it or figure it out.
If you have the pitch in your ear and your head, you can work on the instrument much more smoothly and musically rather than a single note at a time.
But!
Whatever works.
I’d love to know how people that have been transcribing approach it.
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Aww man. I didn’t even pay attention to the date in the video. Here’s hoping ya’ll get a gig soon.
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I apologize for the mix up.
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I think he (and I had similar discussions with others) wants to stress that the process of listening to some music (or part) and finding out which notes are played (and perhaps why these notes were chosen given the melodic context) is the main important thing. By listening to, understanding and then perhaps playing what you heard, you learn “musical vocabulary”. Writing it down also (to share or just for posterity) is less important in that context. Of course, writing down what you found is giving you extra training, but, again, probably less important than the initial process.
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That’s basicly it, yeah.
Yet, if you know a bit more on theory it becomes less guess work.
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