Lucas Pickford - The Art of Transcription

The Art of Transcription
By Lucas Pickford
The ability to transcribe, or write down on paper what you hear on a

recording, is one of the most valuable tools a musician can possess. It
enables you to do many things that are of great use in a wide variety of
musical situations. First and foremost, it allows you to learn from the
masters via their recorded works. When you are able to write down or at
least figure out on your instrument, what someone is playing on a
recording, it is just like taking a private lesson with that person.
Therefore, you can sit down with your tape machine or CD player and
take a private lesson with anyone from Chick Corea to Eddie Van Halen.
All of their musical ideas are there for you to study and absorb for all
time.
It is also the best ear training that there is. It makes you concentrate on
recognizing intervals, chord progressions, rhythms, and single note lines.
All of these can have direct applications to "on the gig" situations. For
example, if someone calls a tune that you don't know, you can follow the
root motion of the pianist, hear the chord types, and recognize forms.
These are extremely useful things to be able to on the spot. When you
transcribe regularly, you focus in on these skills and refine them so that
they can become available to you in an instant.
How does one actually begin to transcribe? It all starts by choosing

something relatively simple and just diving in. A knowledge of intervals
and music theory is helpful but not required. What is required is the
ability to listen very closely and recreate what you hear onto your
instrument. Pick out the first few notes of a solo. I started with artists like
Chet Baker and Miles Davis. I chose the simplest melodies at first. Some
people transcribe without writing anything down on paper. I find it more
useful to write things down so that I can refer to them in the future. It is
nearly impossible to remember everything that is contained in even eight
or twelve bars of someone's solo.
Nevertheless, some people prefer to learn by ear and commit it to
memory. That is cool too if you can do it. There are also some basic
techniques and tools that one should have when you sit down to
transcribe. First is a good half speed tape deck. Some things you hear on
records go by so fast that having the ability to slow them down is very
useful. Many "Rockman" type tape decks have a speed control that you
can use to slow the tape down. I also think that having a good set of
headphones is important. By putting the music right in your ear, you can
hear things that you might otherwise miss.
I prefer to transcribe with my instrument on hand. Some experienced

transcribers sometimes have the ability to transcribe without any tools
other than their ears. At first though it is a good idea to have whatever
instrument you play with you to check your accuracy. As I mentioned
before, the more theoretical information you have, the faster you will be
able to recognize things like root motion, intervals, and chord
progressions. If your goal is to transcribe somebody's individual solo on a
particular song, it is helpful to know the chords that are in that song. If it
is a standard type tune, you may be able to find the chord progression in
some type of fake book. These progressions are notoriously inaccurate
however, and can't always be depended on. Also, there are often
substitutions that the artists makes in his/her solo and you will want to
know what those are. It may be a good idea to transcribe just the chord
progression of a particular song first before attempting the solo.
The best way to begin recognizing chord progressions is to get near a

piano or guitar. Play the various chord types, (major, minor, altered,
dominant, diminished, augmented, and sus 4 etc) and get these sounds
in your ear. Be able to recognize the difference between them. Listen for
the "color" tones such as the 9th, 11th, or 13ths. These tones are often
altered in some way especially in the improvisation. After you have the
chords, you will be ready for the solo itself. Be aware of the meter and
form of the song. This is the skeleton upon which the person is hanging
their improvisation. I recommend taking no more than two measures at
one time. Listen for the starting note. Sing it to yourself. Singing is
crucial. After you sing the note find it on your instrument. Write it down.
Fast! Before you forget! After that it's a matter of hearing the intervals.
Where does it go from the first note? Is it a whole step? A minor third?
This too requires practice. Play all the different intervals on you
instrument. Become comfortable with recognizing them and their
different sounds. Only by doing this a lot will you begin to be able to pick
out the different intervals quickly. I will often listen to the whole solo
several times in a row. I listen for the overall shape of the lines and any
landmarks that may help me such as turnarounds, or repeating figures.
I also pay attention to the rhythms. This is a whole other field of study in
and of itself. If you plan on writing down the solo, the rhythms are going
to be crucial. Many times it is the rhythm of what you are transcribing
that makes it so compelling. The notes may be ordinary in the sense that
they are within the scale of that particular chord but the rhythm of it is
what makes it special. I have even done what I call a rhythmic
transcription. By that I mean I've written down the rhythms first and
plugged in the notes later.
Different people do it different ways. There is no "correct" way to

transcribe per se. The only thing that matters is that the transcription is
accurate to whoever is reading it. Music is a language and by studying
transcriptions, either your own or someone else's, you are studying the
language of music. I have learned more by transcribing than by any other
means. I went to a major music school in the Northeast and I can
honestly say that I learned more from transcribing than I did from any of
my private lesson instructors. It wasn't that the instructors weren't good,
it's just that in my particular case, the information that I was really after
was contained in and easier to absorb directly from the music of the
artists that I really loved. Before music schools musicians learned from
each other much more. There were very few books on improvisation, and
if you wanted to learn a tune or someone's solo on a tune you sat down
and transcribed it by ear. Unfortunately, this art has died out among
many younger players.
Most of all though, if you haven't transcribed something before, don't be
afraid. You really can do it. When you begin to transcribe you will see a
whole new world of information opening up. It will be very frustrating at
times. It will be monotonous at times. It sometimes will seem like you will
never get those two measures no matter how many times you listen to it!
Persevere though. The rewards are worth it. Good luck.

Lucas Pickford - The Art of Transcription

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lucas Pickford - The Art of Transcription

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lucas Pickford - The Art of Transcription

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Art of Transcription

The ability to transcribe, or write down on paper what you hear on a

How does one actually begin to transcribe? It all starts by choosing

I prefer to transcribe with my instrument on hand. Some experienced

The best way to begin recognizing chord progressions is to get near a

Different people do it different ways. There is no "correct" way to

You might also like