sonofabill Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Man, what a time consuming process this is teaching myself this, but I was really inspired by a few columns in recent BP Mags where great players said this is the absolute key to taking things to the next level. I still cant sight read music, but I am transcribing alot of my bass fills and parts that I do in my band, using a program called Finale Notepad. $10, kinda quirky, but not bad for $10. Anyone else use this? Curious how many players out there transcribe? Greg "We'll learn ALL from EVERYONE" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I transcribe, usually by hand, because it's easier than using those dodgy programs. Of course, I've been doing it a lot longer than most. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 A lot of time I miss out the paper part of the exercise going straight from the recorded music to my bass but I think I miss out a few very key lessons that would improve my singing and reading/writing that way. I transcribed some Little Dragon recently, quite simple (if unusual pop music) and I found it quite hard to get all the parts notated right. I've tried a computer music reading and writing program but I find it a lot easier by pencil and paper. I did go through a stage of transcribing jazz solos and it was really useful but I've been too busy....mostly it's just learning tunes by ear or copping instrumental parts by ear. http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlittle Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 When I was at college I used to transcribe a lot. I was doing a jazz course and transcribed a lot of walking lines and solos to get an idea of how other players construct lines. It was a massive help actually and I learnt a lot from doing it. I did of course do it by hand though. I think using some kind of notation program would've slowed things down too much. Also, it's good practice in actually writing notation quickly by hand anyway... Having said that, I haven't transcribed anything for years. Frankly, it takes way too long when you've got a lot of stuff to get down. I just sketch out lines now and fill in the gaps with my own bits! http://simonlittlebass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I transcribe all the time. I use a pencil and paper. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngoldsby Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Here's the article about transcribing that I did for Bass Player in the April issue. I described a few different ways that players transcribe: either just copping a few licks, learning entire lines by ear, or notating every nuance of a line or solo on paper. I think most players transcribe to some extent, even if that means just learning a short lick or bass line. I've transcribed a lot over the years and I still tell my students that "all the answers are on the recordings." All you have to do is transcribe. Keep at it, Greg, because the rewards are great. I use the full version of Finale, but that's overkill for just writing out bass lines. Finale Notepad is great because you can open any Finale file, and you can make good looking lead sheets (or bass line transcriptions) without much hassle. www.goldsby.de Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Went to a great Dave Liebman clinic on transcription. He recommended (for e.g. a solo)(I may have forgotten a little or mixed things up over time) 1: listen to the solo over and over and over 2: learn to sing the solo with every expressive nuance along with the recording (your voice doesn't have to be great, but you want to capture the line and the way the line is phrased and inflected 3: sing the solo without the recording then play the solo with inflections on your instrument 4: then notate the solo 5: then analyse the written solo I have to come clean and say I've never followed this regimen to the letter but I'm sure it's one of the best ways. The other thing is that Dave Liebman, being a comic as well as music genius, made it all pretty funny too - I couldn't manage that here! 4: play it on your instrument complete with infklections and http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I used to do it more. When I do, I use pencil and paper. It's just easier to quickly scribble. I usually just make my own short hand as I use it to help learn a lick or song. after I learn it, I don't usually need the notation any more as it is committed to memory.If it's something I want to keep for some reason, I'll use a notation program of some kind to get a nice copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 John, that's a neat article...one of the more realistic I've seen on transcription too! Did anyone see the jazz robots on transcription? (mild swearing warning) [video:youtube] http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Glad I'm not the only fuddy-duddy around here who doesn't fiddle with those programs. I tried GTP (because most of the folks I work with read tab faster than notation) and it was just such a gargantuan pain in the butt I went straight back to music paper. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngoldsby Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I usually transcribe with pencil and paper (and ears) while sitting at the piano. Later, if I need to, I put it in the computer. www.goldsby.de Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu Fhtagn Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I do for the Jazz band. Typically I get a lead sheet and have to change it to a key for the singer. I also keep the "guest book". Typically a waste of time, since the keys uses the transpose function and the singer can't read standard notation. I guess I do it because I like a nice, clean, correct piece of sheet music. Most times, I use "Guitar Pro 6.0" by Aborias. It was cheap and couldn't see the need to spend a couple of hundred on a better program. I handwrite sheets for my bass solos. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marko Q Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think it's the best way to learn piece of music. You're not just learning a melody or a chord structure but the phrasing too and as a bonus you have a chance to figure out how the original player approached the song. I do a lot of transcribing, partly for the students and partly for the gigs. The most fun it is when I do it to learn something new for myself. I've been using Sibelius notation programme. I've found it easy to use and it's easy to transpose the songs to other keys if necessary. There's absolutely nothing wrong in doing it in handwriting though. Anything that makes you a better player in this case will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Thorne Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I do it like the "masters" - I listen to it over and over until I know that "sheeit." Never thought of it as "transcribing;" always thought of it as "learning by ear." My pencil-and-paper transcribing is just indecipherable, and my Finale program takes too long. So I usually transcribe only to make a chart for someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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