Transcription as practice?

[SMcD]

My piano teacher recently suggested to me that I create a practice routine so I can practice more efficiently and effectively.

 

My routine involves the usual things you'd expect: Scale exercises, improvisation exercises, learning new songs and maintaining old songs. I also threw transcription into the routine as well: I'll spend 15 minutes working on a solo or lick from a recording.

 

My question is this: Should transcribing be included in my regular practice routine, or as a separate activity? On one hand, training your ear and learning new vocabulary is extremely important; but if I did it separately from practice, I could free up more time in the routine for technique building.

 

How do you guys handle transcription and practice routines? I'm interested in hearing some different approaches.

 

[Josh Paxton]

Speaking only for myself, transcribing is a very different "head space" than practicing, and I wouldn't try to make them part of the same routine. Also, I would never transcribe for only 15 minutes. When I do it, I tend to get into the zone and time passes quickly; a couple hours can go by before I'll even come up for air. If I made myself stop after only 15 minutes, I would feel like it wasn't even worth it.

 

Again, that's just me; you may be wired totally differently.

[SMcD]

Yeah, I can see how it might be a problem to cut myself short like that. Especially since there's always that ONE NOTE that completely throws you.

 

So, as a follow-up question to those who suggest keeping transcribing and practicing separate: How often do you transcribe in relation to the amount of time spent practicing? If you practice for, say, an hour a day, how much time per week do you put in on transcription?

[Ian Benhamou]

Transcribing is probably the best way to become a better, more versatile player. Of course, it's also important to understand the theory and the history behind a playing style, but I find that theory only begins to make complete sense after transcribing and analyzing a solo or comping pattern or whatever.

 

Personally, I think transcribing should be part of any serious player's routine, but it's not playing practice as much as it is ear training and writing and therefore view it as a separate entity.

 

Personally, my routine is usually warm-up and technical exercises first thing in the morning to get the ball rolling and loosen up your hands and fingers. I usually take a short break after that to let my fingers rest a bit.

 

After that go back by doing some vocabulary. This varies but could be just ripping through some licks and trying to transpose them to less comfortable keys. Some days, I just work on my rhythm. This means looping a drum pattern and comping simple chords over it, or reading through the changes of a tune a few times. For me, being a good rhythm section player is under-appreciated and is much more valuable in the real-world.

 

Then, I do all my homework. This means learning new songs for upcoming gigs, practicing old ones, programming my patches, making charts, etc. This is not what I consider transcribing. This isn't personal work, this is professional work. I have deadlines for specific parts to learn and charts to make for specific songs for upcoming rehearsals, gigs, or studio work or even some of my lessons.

 

Transcribing I do at night, after supper when there's a solo I've always wanted to learn, or a song I heard recently that inspired me. It's usually in a style I don't usually play in, and it's for stuff I don't play with any of my projects. It's personal growth stuff.

 

I rarely transcribe everything in one session. I usually do bits at a time, practice and absorb it and move on from there. I try and give myself a goal of one song or solo a week. It's one thing to transcribe it, it's another to learn it a play it properly. If you try and rip through a new one everyday, you're just practicing your ears and your notations skills, you're not really giving your fingers a chance to learn something new.

 

 

[SMcD]

I really like that one, Ian! Mine's sort of a condensed version of yours (We aren't all lucky enough to have whole days to practice!).

 

I guess I'll just remove transcribing from the routines (Multiple routines, since I play multiple instruments) and increase the amount of time that I'm doing technique, vocabulary (Right hand does soloing exercises such as arpeggios and bebop scales, or licks; while left hand does various comping/bass patterns), and repertoire.

[Bobadohshe]

Ian, that's an inspiring look at your day! Gets me fired up to do all of the above.

[Ian Benhamou]

Ian, that's an inspiring look at your day! Gets me fired up to do all of the above.

 

Yeah, written out like that I sound like I'm really disciplined.

 

The reality is I get to do all of that 2-3 days in a week. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays I'm always gigging, so forget the transcribing. And on at least one of those days, I have a soundcheck in the afternoon, so drop a few hours there.

 

Sundays I usually take the whole day off from music, and don't forget teaching and rehearsals. And somewhere in between all that I gotta find time to cook, eat, do laundry, clean my house, etc.

 

In reality, I try and do the intense practice routines on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Gigging days, I mostly do technical warm ups and a run-through of my gig material.

[DanS]

I get all the transcribing practice I need learning tunes for the band, it's the regular practicing on a daily basis I have a problem with, but it's been getting better lately.

There's this other job thing that gets in the way most days..

[Adan]

I'm always interested to hear people's practice routines. There are usually good ideas to be gleaned from other players. Those of us with day jobs face a different set of challenges. I've been thinking about ways to snatch bits of musical practice/growth while at the office. Someone posted here about getting a keyboard for their office. After reading that, I did exactly that. A brilliant idea. On an average day, I'll spend 15-20 minutes playing with my door closed at lunch or whatnot. That's an additional 1-2 hours a week of music work, which adds up over time. And it's work done with a relatively fresh and receptive mind, as opposed to the saturated state your mind is in when you've already been absorbing music for 2-3 hours.

 

Transcription is something that you can do almost just as effectively in big pieces or small pieces of work. Unlike playing, where you sort of work yourself in to a groove and try to stay there until fatigue sets in. Spending 5 minutes getting the next phrase down on paper is beneficial no matter when or how it happens. If you carry a small battery-powered keyboard, you can do transcription during the odd "dead time" period, such as on a commute train, in airports, or on an airplane, or while visiting your significant other's family over thanksgiving.

 

Another idea would be to

[MuzikTeechur]

I agree - transcription comes from a different area of your brain. Best to do it away from your regular practice schedule when you can dedicate some time to it. "Getting in the zone" is a key part of the process.

 

Best of luck!

[SMcD]

I get all the transcribing practice I need learning tunes for the band, it's the regular practicing on a daily basis I have a problem with, but it's been getting better lately.

There's this other job thing that gets in the way most days..

 

I get that for sure. Not only do I have less time to do actual practice and shedding, but I find it harder to stay focused than when I'm transcribing. Funny how that works, eh?