TR-003 • Beginners Transcribing Hints

[MousPotato]

I just wanted to add a suggestion book for beginner transcribers like myself.
Guitar for Dummies with CD. It was not intended as a book to teach transcribing but I had it laying around so I figured why not use the CD included and try and transcribe them.
It's really great for a beginner as it just plays the guitar part and the lessons progress slowly so the complexity of the music also progresses slowly.
Basically any of those lesson books that come with CD can be used.
It's not the be all and end all of transcribing material but it's sure a good start.

[headrix]

hey im having alot of trouble transcribing peices with other instruments like piano sax strings etc i tried simple stuff by the fray neil diomond and the sax part from dancing in the moonlight by thin lizzy but i just cant seem to put the notes onto the guitar. im pretty good at transcribing guitar songs but when other instruments come in i may as well be deaf lol does any1 have any advice on transcribing other instruments

thanks in advance

chris

[close2u]

Okay - this question concerns the actual physical process of writing down the tabbed notes on to the page ...
I have downloaded and printed out the paper from the resources section ...
I have listened to and figured out how to play the Albert King style solo and rhythm from RUBS ...
I have sub-divided the 6 lines corresponding to the strings into bars by measuring them out = 6cm per bar ...
I went for 6cm as you can get 3 bars per line and 24 bars per page ...

My question is ... where do you place the tabs in relation to the beat? In other words, how do you sub-divide the bar to fit the tabs in ... where is the 1 beat ... right at the start, part way along, if so, how far along ? Shall I measure them out?

taking the example of the Albert King style solo and rhythm from RUBS ... the rhythm falls in to a 1+2+3+4+ tempo with strummed notes on the beat and off ... the first two notes and on the 1 then the + respectively ... where shall I write the tab notation?

I know this seems to be a very small matter ... but I'm thinking ahead to writing my transcription of the solo (and then others too) that may need more notes squeezing in to the same space and a bit of accuracy will be needed I imagine.

[Bootstrap]

Great question Close - I have done the rhythm and am about a 3rd the way through the solo (I'm finding the solo hard because I'm not that familiar with bending) and to keep me interested I've done the rhythm for Clapton.

My problem is, not being familiar with the pieces when I come back to play them from my transcribed notes I find I have to listen to the pieces again to get the timing right.

I've actually now downloaded the blanks Justin has that have both tabs and staves(?) and writing it both ways - if you look at Justin's lessons he pretty much does this too.

But if there is another way I'm happy to hear it.

Cheers, Bootstrap

[close2u]

mmmm okay
progress report

I have successfully transcribed the solo on to paper ... without taking any notice of where the bars are ... so it is just a string of tabbed notes ... the only indications about how to play concern bends / slides

I found this thread
http://www.justinguitar.com/forum/index.php?topic=18649.0
and used TB-AV's working link at bottom of page 1 and downloaded TuxGuitar and after some playing around I am getting the hang of it ... the midi sound is a bit rubbish but I have been ptting the notes in, playing it, hearing where I need to change the note length or note starting point etc ... it is fantastic...

I am not a theory student ... all I know is 'every good boy desrves favour' and 'face' form the lines and gaps of the music notation ... but with this software I think I could quite easily grasp how musical notation and tab notation work together ... it's fantastic


it still leaves me unsure about the 'accuracy' of my pencil hand-written tabs on paper when I come to transcribe the next thing and unclear where to place the notation inside a bar ... but I think I will have more of an idea as I do more transcribing ... I think I will have to slow everything right down and use a metronome to get a real handle on the timing of the notes

and the main thing - my ear - is going to be learning too


 

[Celt.Kevin]

I have successfully transcribed the solo on to paper ... without taking any notice of where the bars are ... so it is just a string of tabbed notes ... the only indications about how to play concern bends / slides


**snip**

I'm in a similar boat to Close2U:  I've been working on a slow but intricate guitar intro (Zachary Richards' "Shades of Blue" - style is a bit like Knopfler).  I've got the basic tab, chords, etc., down, but transcribing it into std notation is making me crazy.

(BEFORE YOU START:  Don't suggest I don't do this - I need to learn it and it'll help me determine which fingerings to use.)

I'm using Transcribe!, and I set beat markers according to where you would tap your foot.  However, when I try and identify the timing for the notes, at one point I counted 14 notes in one measure of four beats.  Now either most of those notes are 32d, 64th, or grace notes, or I've mis-counted the beat.

Does anyone have any suggestions for syncing tab to timing?  Once I get the basic measures down I think I can measure the duration of the various notes (thanks to Transcribe!).
 

[MxSmack]

Hey guys I got a question,

When I started transcribing for the first time I tried "Stand by me" by Ben E. King and it was terrible difficult for me but since it was the first time , and I figure out some notes , all the notes that I got I followed the bass line.

About a month later I tried to transcribe Encosta-te a mim by Jorge Palma and it was quicker and easier after listening to the tune , but this time I found the notes through/using chords.

Now some questions about what I typed above:

Should I look for the chords sometimes instead of the bass line to transcribe if I find it easier or it's a better method stick with the bass?

Is it normal after trying transcribe just two times and one went terrible and another went really well? Because I really think that I got half of the chords with pure luck.

Anyway Thanks.

[XamTheOne]

Hey guys I got a question,

When I started transcribing for the first time I tried "Stand by me" by Ben E. King and it was terrible difficult for me but since it was the first time , and I figure out some notes , all the notes that I got I followed the bass line.

About a month later I tried to transcribe Encosta-te a mim by Jorge Palma and it was quicker and easier after listening to the tune , but this time I found the notes through/using chords.

Now some questions about what I typed above:

Should I look for the chords sometimes instead of the bass line to transcribe if I find it easier or it's a better method stick with the bass?

Is it normal after trying transcribe just two times and one went terrible and another went really well? Because I really think that I got half of the chords with pure luck.

Anyway Thanks.

Hi MxSmack,

Some days music just flows under your fingers and some other days you just want to quit because you don't see how in a life time you will understand what's going on in a particular song.

Don't ask yourself to much questions.  If you found the chords, even by pure luck, you've learned something anyway.  Music is about feeling, not so much about thinking.

Finding the chord instead of the bass note is better !  With the right chord, you've already found the bass note and sometimes the melodic note, so you can move to the next chord.  With the bass note, you're just back to guessing what chord is played.

Wish you many good years of transcribing experiences