Trascribing through Eartraining or visa versa

[SunneyBoy]

Well let me try explain: i Have been using a program to train my ear but i have heard the best way to train your ear is through transcribing.

So should i abandon the interval trainer and jump straight into transcribing or should i carry on practising intervals ascending decending and harmonically until i can identify them with ease and then start transcribing.

take into consideration i am talking about trascibing without an instrument by me. i can learn songs by ear but my goal is to be able to transcribe away from my instrument.

[David Kaczorowski]

I'd say get good at transcribing by being able to sing the stuff you're working on and transferring it to the bass. If you're eventually able to write stuff down using only your ear, cool, but why make it a goal? It just seems like some pedantic bs to me.

[Mark Perna]

Originally Posted by David Kaczorowski

I'd say get good at transcribing by being able to sing the stuff you're working on and transferring it to the bass. If you're eventually able to write stuff down using only your ear, cool, but why make it a goal? It just seems like some pedantic bs to me.

I think David has a point here. What is your goal? To be a better bass player or to be a composer or to be a professional transcriber (all worthy goals btw)? Transcription to be a better bassist is a means to an end not the end in itself. If you have the time to put that much into transcribing without taking away from developing your bass playing, more power to you. But keep things in perspective. Of course, if you just have fun transcribing, then by all means, go for it. You could parlay the skill into writing transcription books for Aebersold or Hal Leonard.

mark