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    Why Transcribe? Before Covering A Process For Transcribing Jazz, It Is

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    C Morzaht
    This document discusses why transcribing jazz solos is important for learning jazz improvisation. It notes that while there are many resources available like instruction books and computer software, transcribing solos by ear helps develop important aural skills that can't be learned from written materials alone. The document recommends choosing a simple solo by a musician who plays your instrument to start with, and outlines a process of listening repeatedly, singing along, and then figuring out the notes and rhythms phrase by phrase to accurately transcribe solos.

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    Why Transcribe? Before Covering A Process For Transcribing Jazz, It Is

    Uploaded by

    C Morzaht
    171 views4 pages
    This document discusses why transcribing jazz solos is important for learning jazz improvisation. It notes that while there are many resources available like instruction books and computer software, transcribing solos by ear helps develop important aural skills that can't be learned from written materials alone. The document recommends choosing a simple solo by a musician who plays your instrument to start with, and outlines a process of listening repeatedly, singing along, and then figuring out the notes and rhythms phrase by phrase to accurately transcribe solos.

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    Why transcribe

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    Why Transcribe

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    This document discusses why transcribing jazz solos is important for learning jazz improvisation. It notes that while there are many resources available like instruction books and computer software, transcribing solos by ear helps develop important aural skills that can't be learned from written materials alone. The document recommends choosing a simple solo by a musician who plays your instrument to start with, and outlines a process of listening repeatedly, singing along, and then figuring out the notes and rhythms phrase by phrase to accurately transcribe solos.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    171 views4 pages

    Why Transcribe? Before Covering A Process For Transcribing Jazz, It Is

    Uploaded by

    C Morzaht
    This document discusses why transcribing jazz solos is important for learning jazz improvisation. It notes that while there are many resources available like instruction books and computer software, transcribing solos by ear helps develop important aural skills that can't be learned from written materials alone. The document recommends choosing a simple solo by a musician who plays your instrument to start with, and outlines a process of listening repeatedly, singing along, and then figuring out the notes and rhythms phrase by phrase to accurately transcribe solos.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Why Transcribe?

    Before covering a process for transcribing jazz, it is


    important to understand the point to transcribing jazz solos. Today we
    have access to a lot of written material giving advice on how to
    improvise and practice improvisation. There are books of solos that
    other people have transcribed for you. You can even get computer
    software that will transcribe music for you. With all this information
    presented for you already, why take the time to figure it out for
    yourself?
    Jazz, like all music, is an aural art form it is meant to be heard, not
    read or seen. Attempting to learn to play jazz well just by reading
    books will take you to a certain point, but will leave quite a bit out that
    is important to playing jazz. Only a part of improvising involves what
    notes to play, and you cant really learn how to swing, phrase, shape
    notes, or pace your solos by reading music or words. You have to pay
    your dues by listening to the music.
    Additionally, hearing good solos on recording and then learning how to
    play that solo helps many aspects of improvisation. It helps to train
    your ear after practice transcribing over time you develop the ability
    to hear a phrase and immediately repeat it. The imitation involved in
    playing someone elses solo will also help you learn more intangible
    aspects of good solos, such as building and pacing your own solos,
    phrasing, and proper stylistic interpretation.
    Before jazz education became wide spread jazz musicians rarely could
    take lessons or read books to learn how to improvise. So they went
    straight to the source, the musicians they admired and wanted to
    emulate. If they couldnt meet and talk with their favorite player in
    person they went to the recordings. By listening to the recordings and
    then learning how to play the solos from those recordings they began
    to be able to imitate that player well. After enough of this, perhaps with
    some help from more experienced local musicians, they would
    assimilate the improvisational technique and could create their own
    sound.
    Where to start Once youve made the decision to start transcribing
    you need to take the first step, find a solo you like. This can be one of
    the harder steps of the entire process.
    You should choose the solo carefully. Its really easy to choose one of
    our favorite solos by one of our favorite players, but often this can be a
    quite difficult solo to transcribe, especially if you have little experience
    with this. While it might be tempting to choose a solo by John Coltrane,
    Woody Shaw, or other major jazz innovator, solos by these artists are
    frequently too complicated for inexperienced musicians to be able to
    hear and play. Instead choose a solo that is simple, but still has a lot to

    offer you in the way of ear training and jazz vocabulary.


    It is also helpful sometimes to choose a solo from a tune you already
    know or can get the sheet music to. Eventually you want to be able to
    hear and transcribe chord changes too, but at first its often better to
    leave that aspect out. Furthermore, knowing what chord is being
    played during a particular line will offer clues to what the soloist is
    playing.
    You might also want to avoid transcribing a solo from a harmonically
    and rhythmically complex style at first. After youve gotten a few
    simpler solos under your belt you can move on to more complicated
    styles. It might be tempting to transcribe a ballad, because of the slow
    tempo, but ballads can be deceptively hard to transcribe. Very fast
    tunes can also be difficult to hear accurately, so try to find a medium
    tempo solo at first. Quite a few solos from the Swing Era can work very
    well for this.
    Here are some possible artists who have recordings that can be good
    places to start looking for a solo:
    Alto Saxophone Johnny Hodges (Duke Ellington Orchestra), Paul
    Desmond (Dave Brubeck Quartet)
    Tenor Saxophone Lester Young (Count Basie Orchestra), Dexter
    Gordon
    Baritone Saxophone Gerry Mulligan, Harry Carney (Duke Ellington
    Orchestra)
    Trumpet Chet Baker, Miles Davis
    Trombone J.J. Johnson. Carl Fontana
    Piano Count Basie, Duke Ellington
    Bass Jimmy Blanton (Duke Ellington Orchestra), Paul Chambers
    Guitar Jim Hall, Charlie Christian
    It is usually best to choose to transcribe a solo by a musician who plays
    the same instrument you do at first. Most of us hear pitches played on
    our own instrument easier than on other instruments.
    The Next Steps Once youve found a solo you enjoy, can learn from,
    and feel that is not too far above your ability to hear and play you need
    to start the actual transcribing. There are as many methods of doing
    this as there are musicians transcribing solos, and many people will
    change their process from solo to solo. The recommendations below
    work well for many, but eventually you will develop your own way of

    getting it accomplished.
    Before you even figure out one lick you should sit down and listen to
    the solo several hundred thousand million times in a row. Once youve
    heard it a few times start to sing along with the solo. You arent trying
    to be a great singer here, just learn to sing to correct pitches, rhythms,
    articulations, and style. Being able to sing along will allow you to slow
    down complicate licks on your own and work out the precise pitches
    and rhythms later. Once you can sing the entire solo with the recording
    practice singing it without the recording. If you have a play-a-long
    recording with that tune you can practice singing the solo with a
    rhythm section. But once you can sing the entire solo with the
    recording accurately youre ready to move on to actually figuring out
    what is being played. This should take 75% of your time.
    Some musicians will learn to play the entire solo before writing a note
    down. Others will figure out the solo phrase by phrase and write it
    down first, then learn to play and memorize the solo. It really come
    down to a matter of personal preference and what you are trying to get
    out of each solo.
    Singing the solo will also be invaluable in learning to play it. Work on
    being able to sing along with the recording, as well as singing the solo
    without the recording. If you have access to a rhythm section, a play-along recording, or a sequencer you can program with the tune,
    practicing singing the solo along with that.
    Be sure to practice along with the recording, and try to imitate every
    nuance of the solo you can. If the note is short, play it as close to the
    exact length as you can. Try to match vibrato, falls, scoops, and all the
    other subtle effects that jazz musicians like to use. Remember, the
    notes are only part of the vocabulary.
    If there are certain licks in the solo that you particularly like, learn to
    play them in all 12 keys. Dont be afraid to play those licks in your own
    solos. Even if you dont want to sound like youre copying another
    player you have to take the first step and be able to successfully
    imitate other players first. Eventually you will develop a vocabulary of
    your own.
    Lastly, take your time and realize that this is a lifelong endeavor. Just
    as you cant expect to be able to play your instrument with the same
    technical mastery as a professional who has been playing for 30 plus
    years, you cant expect to be able to transcribe complicated solos in a
    couple of hours. Just like instrumental technique, it is always better to
    do a little bit every day than to try to complete it all in one burst. The

    more you transcribe over time, the better you will get at it.
    Ol,

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