Transcribing

[cossie]

Hey,

Maybe this should be in Technique - but it's not directly bass related.

I try to transcribe at least one new song a day, I always try to transcribe the bass and I've begun to occasionally try to transcribe the guitar as well.

Some days I can pick out the parts of a tune very quickly, then there are other days it feels like my eyes and ears have been switched around and I can't even work out a Ramones tune.

I was wondering if this is happens to anyone else or if it's because my ear just isn't good enough and that's what causes the inconsistency?

Cos

[Hoover]

I can transcribe bass lines trivially.

I can transcribe melodies and chord changes very reliably.

Yet for some reason I cannot transcribe idiomatic guitar licks to save my life. There's something about all those iconic lines and riffs that 12-year-old boys can apparently pick up effortlessly that throws up a mental roadblock and completely defies audible comprehension for me.