Transcribing, is it worth the effort

Buco · July 2020

As our friend The Slavic Savant once memorably said, "Ain't no fun, won't get done!"

Better than a certain menu menu item to be known for.

Actually Stephane Wrembel said exactly that, something like; don't even try to remember what you transcribed, let it leave free and then some day it'll come back to just like a bird and land on your shoulder. I was like hmmm ok well that certainly makes things easier. In February I transcribed the first A of Django's Limehouse Blues and I'm pissed at myself for not making a video of it. Do I think it benefited me any? Zilch, is how I feel...hope I'm wrong and Stephane is right.

vanmalmsteen · July 2020

Man can’t tell you how many Django solos i’ve worked so hard to memorize over the years, and couldn’t play any of them right now. Lol?

mac63000 · July 2020

I’m suggesting that something else happens when we transcribe. Something that goes beyond “my ear improved”. We develop a kind of instinct/sixth sense. The gypsy jazz gods sprinkle us with Django dust. I dunno.

@Twang , not sure about the Django dust but I think what you're describing comes down to learning how to play what you hear. Whether it's a solo you're hearing in a song or a melody you're making up in your head, you're learning where to make the connection on the guitar. You can read sheet music and know how all the theory works etc, but if you don't know where that is on an instrument, it's a bit lost, right?

Not saying it's the right or wrong way to do it, certainly tabs (read: good, correct tabs) will get you in the right position, and sheet music gives you key, notes, etc. But I think there's something about using your ear and fumbling about that helps you as a player, and you become more aware of what you're hearing. Just like being a good author requires you to be a good reader, being a good player requires you to be a good listener.

matthewkanis · July 2020

No worries. I feel very blessed that we have this place where we can discuss and debate these concepts. I think it's very personal for all of us because we pour so much of our heart and soul into it. For me, I don't care about being right, I just want to learn, so I appreciate everyone's ideas and experiences.

Twang · July 2020

@mac63000 I’m thinking about what you’re saying. We’ve all seen how often great players seem to just play a tune, no mistakes, unrehearsed. I studied piano alongside guitar in my youth. Did all the grades blah blah yet ask me to play a piece and the chances of me playing it without a load of mistakes is nil. I have a mate who plays piano and he seems to be able to sight read the music and never makes a mistake. I asked him how he does that once and he said he just sees/feels the chords/harmony/shapes as he’s playing. Not really helpful.

Antoine Boyer said in an interview he still doesnt know the names of the notes on the fingerboard. That can be more common on classical guitar because we play in positions and well written music tells you where the notes are just by looking at the fingering. But in jazz, how would you know where you are?

I watched a youtube video of Remi Harris jamming at Samoreau and he wasn’t even looking at what he was doing. He was people watching and turning his head to see what was going on around him all the time. Now don’t be too quick to tell me that what he was playing was so well rehearsed he didn’t need to concentrate.

These guys know a secret and I’m gonna find out what it is 😁

@Buco Looks like the secrets not transcription then 😥

Bones · July 2020

Like Lango and Buco said, if it isn't fun don't do it. Conversely, if it is fun, do it. Personally I like transcribing just for the fun of it but it takes me so long that I just don't have time for it much anymore so I don't do whole solos.

pdg · July 2020

To me, soloing is so much based on "relative" notes, by the sound of it -- e.g., "the chord is moving up three frets," or "oh, I'm on the third (major third) of the next chord, with my second finger on the 3rd string, so I know what to do shapewise," etc. Intermittently I find an actual pitch located on the fretboard.

Not sure if this makes sense!

Buco · July 2020

@Buco Looks like the secrets not transcription then

Haha, no why? I don't know either way. If anything I'm suggesting that opposite is true because as I mentioned in the beginning I've yet to meet and hear a high level player that didn't say they transcribed a ton.

I was very surprised when I heard Stephane say that. Not sure but maybe some people do have some kind of natural ability to absorb and start using new material almost immediately and for some it's a long road and lots of effort. That's definitely not me, the former, but I'm not really worried because I've heard plenty of master musicians that said some things took several months for it to just show up in their playing, as Stephane would say like a bird landing on your shoulder. But they continuously practiced it all the time.

Oh I'd love to see that jam with Remi if you have a link...