about the transcription process

  • hi,  

    in this year i will try to transcribe as much as i can, so i just began with a bud powell solo in off minor from the "a portrait of thelonious" album.

    but now i have a "problem"... i finished the first chorus and it´s already learned but trying to analyse the notes he played with the progression some things doesn´t make sense.

    there are a few things i don´t understand.

    what i did??
    i transcribe the entire bass line for the same first chorus, looking for some "help" from the bass player to decode the chord progression used..... but guess what??  i ended with more questions.... if the chord is this, why the bass player played this??

    i am very confused, and beginning to get frustrated.

    how should i handle this situation??

    thanks in advance for your advices

    by Chacky on 01/21/2010, 15:17:28 # 46606

  • it's hard to answer your question without knowing specifically what you are talking about.  bass lines can feature many tones that  do not appear to make sense on paper, but may sound very cool.  they are sometimes referred to as "passing tones" or "cool lines":)  sometimes they will use pedal tones (a single bass note repeated underneath some moving chord changes) so you need to listen to the bigger picture to decipher what the actual progression might be.

    say for example you hear and a being played under an eb chord and it makes sense because of where it is going or from where it hath cometh you might want to remember that the b5 (or #4) sounded cool in that context

    by Dr. Whack on 01/22/2010, 07:50:51

  • also, we have to take in count "human errors". it's common for giants - even bud powell - to occasionally "play wrong". however when they do it, it still sounds good...

    by elvis79 on 01/22/2010, 08:22:44

  • i understand dr. whack..

    maybe i can do something. trancribe another chorus of the solo and the bass line... then upload it so we can analyse it together.

    it can be a nice exercise for all and maybe it could be helpfull for a lot of people also.

    what do you think??

    by Chacky on 01/22/2010, 08:23:33

  • sometimes a transcription can be so difficult that it turns you off to transcribing altogether.  i'm not too proud to say that i've put down quite a few transcriptions if i just didn't "get it".  most of them i've picked back up and finished over the years, after i knew enough stuff to understand what i was hearing.

    i'm not saying put the transcription down, but if it's getting really frustrating, why not set it aside and go for something that's easier to hear?  every transcription you do helps strengthen your ears quite a bit, so if you do something less challenging now and come back to the monk tune next month, you might be able to hear those bass/harmony relationships easier.

    by Scot Ranney on 01/23/2010, 18:30:47

  • thanks scot..

    the problem is not hearing and learning the notes. it is about understanding why those notes over those chords.

    by Chacky on 01/23/2010, 23:13:20

  • i don't think anyone here can help you without knowing what notes and what chords you're talking about.

    and remember, music theory never explains "why" something sounds good, it's only a catalog of common practices.

    by jwv76 on 01/24/2010, 15:14:49

  • there are many ways to determine what note fits depending upon how it is incorporated into a scale or a chord. there are so many scales, chords, and extensions that it is harder to determine what doesn't fit (until it is played). even avoid notes can sound appropriate in the right circumstances. just accept that if it sounds good then it is good. i am really excellent at finding notes that don't fit.

    by wdennissorrell on 01/24/2010, 17:17:40

  • we've all heard the ones that fit.  i like to hear the ones that don't but yet, they do:)

    by Dr. Whack on 01/25/2010, 08:52:12

  • https://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc?action=files&sub=file_details&id=1075846998  

    is a file i put together a few years ago dealing w/this subject in detail....

    by smg on 01/25/2010, 14:52:34

  • question-
        when i click on the link above in smg's post nothing happens.  how do i access this file?  thanks!

    by james3 on 02/06/2010, 12:37:54

  • first of all, be sure you're logged into ljp...then click on the red italicized link that reads:  

    by Dr. Whack on 02/06/2010, 13:27:25

  • james3, did you get it? it worked fine for me. it opens a sew web page for me within the site and then downloads it as a word document. if you still have a problem, i can email it to you as an attachment.

    by wdennissorrell on 02/07/2010, 21:22:43

  • duh, "new web page", not sew, i cannot figure that typo out. i type like i play, all over the place.

    by wdennissorrell on 02/07/2010, 21:24:44

  • to do a transcription is the most advanced step in music learning.  
    you must have a lot of patience and much practicing for learning it.

    i recommend writing music in 3 staves for doing a basic score in a transcription:
    actually there are lots of resources for writing music, as to play it more slowly.

    do it by steps:
      1)write the melody in top staff.
      2)write bass line in bottom staff.
      3)define the chord progression, and write them over melody.
      4)use the middle staff for piano/guitar rhythmic figures.
      5)add counter-melody or counterpoint lines, and brass/saxes fills, and rhythmic brakes, and other characteristic points of the arrangement. do it in lower part of first staff, or in second staff, or in upper part of third staff.

    so you will have a basic score of the arrangement in 3 staves.
    once you have done it, write in separate sheets the different parts for each instrument.

    please work, and work, and work, and someday you will be an expert in transcriptions and a good arranger.

    by albetan on 02/08/2010, 10:12:01

  • yes i did get it.  thanks!

    by james3 on 02/08/2010, 12:37:01

  • these are good tips by albetan.  i will add this.  the same thing prevents most of us from doing good transcription work that prevents most of us from writing good compositions.  we never complete the first step which is by far the most important one.  step number one.
    get a pencil, a piece of manuscript paper and write down a note.

    by Mike on 02/08/2010, 20:32:36

  • i haven't been over here in a while...just checked in and saw some people were interested in using the file i uploaded back in 04..any questions re-specifics,e-mail me(smg20032000@yahoo.com)

    by smg on 04/15/2010, 13:18:26

  • on the link page
    leads to "404 not found", at least for me...

    by crsto2 on 04/15/2010, 23:23:01

  • try this-

    by smg on 04/20/2010, 14:23:30

  • https://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc?room_desc=1&room_id=1075217954&hall_id=1074923352

    this will get you to my "personal room"(360 degrees),then you can access the files from there.........

    by smg on 04/20/2010, 14:25:35


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