HOW-TO Learn Transcriptions!

So when I was first exposed to this wonderful music known as Black American Music (or jazz) one of the first transcription books I picked up was the Charlie Parker Omnibook. 

You know the one. It’s an amazing book and I still have it today, but I was using it completely wrong. 

One gigantic mistake I made was that I just read the tunes and solos and played them with a metronome…sometimes. Another mistake. But hey, that’s how we grow as people and musicians. We make mistakes and we learn from them, then progress and grow. Now I’m not the end all be all when it comes to practicing with a method book and what’s correct, this is just a reflection on what works for me now.

DO NOT do this… 

My old way = read straight from the book, no memorizing, practice a ton, didn’t learn the changes, nothing sticks (well, maybe a little showed up in my playing but not much)

Here are a couple of different approaches I like to use now…

Quick note: You should always learn the tune you’re transcribing, by knowing what your favorite players are playing over classic chord changes will only enhance your learning experience.

Written transcription 

If I use a written transcription, which occasionally I do, I would recommend learning it this way. Listen, listen, listen. Listen to that solo on repeat for a day or two or even a week. Basically to the point where you know it inside and out. Sing along with it too! This will get it in your ear so much quicker than just pure listening. We tend to tune out after a while as we have 60,000 thoughts (literally) going through our brain every day.

Next, play a portion of it, say it’s a chorus of rhythm changes, just focus on the first 8 bars. Set a metronome and count on 2 & 4 at a slow tempo and try to sing the first 8 bars in time. Give yourself a reference note to start if you need to. I don’t have perfect pitch so I need to do that. Once you go through singing, then play it at the same tempo. Then turn the page over, try to sing it again and play as much as you can without looking at the notes. Do this for the rest of the solo. The quicker you memorize the solo the better your ear is going to get at hearing the language that you are learning. If you keep reading it from the pages, you’re doing your ear a disservice, wah wah, don’t make the same mistake I did. 

Now, this may take a little while but just stick with it, after a few days of working at it you might be surprised how much you retain and can play, shoots you may have the whole solo down within the week.

Learning transcriptions from recordings (by ear)

This is a great way to learn new language, develop phrasing, train your ear, build dexterity on your instrument, the list is endless. With the digital media we have today, tunes are so easy to get. Go to Spotify, Apple music, YouTube, or whatever your go-to place is and find a tune you want to learn. Sometimes I even bust out my CD player, (yes they still exist!) and use it for transcribing. There are also software out there like Transcribe and Amazing Slow Downer if you want to slow down up-tempo tunes that are difficult. Another FREE option is to use YouTube, click the little gear and choose play speed and you can slow it down that way. Learned that one from Chad LB, thanks man! 

I start the same way as previously mentioned, listen a ton, sing, get it ingrained into your soul! Then start chipping away at it. You’ll get into a groove and start getting it down on your instrument. 

To write it down or to not write it down, that is the question? The answer, it's up to you really. There are positives to both.

Writing it will allow you to see phrasing, rhythms, get you locked into and see where the artist is starting lines.

Not writing will really help you internalize and memorize it, maybe connecting to your ear more.

You can do both, memorize and learn the solo by ear and then write it down. That process is much quicker than having to stop, write a few notes, figure out the rhythm, what beat it starts on, and so forth.

Needless to say, whichever way you learn it, it’s going to help. A TON! 

Another quick tip, pick solos you like or solos that have a certain sound you want to learn. This should be fun, music should be fun. So set yourself up for success and transcribe some of your favorite players and solos!

always positive, always progressing!

LATER!