Any tips on how to most easily transcribe music?

[JakeSquierTB]

Hi, I’m relatively new to the bass and most of my progression so far has come from learning as many of the James Jamerson basslines as I can. A lot of the songs I can’t find tabs or notation for so I’ve been trying to transcribe a lot.

My problem is that I have a hard time hearing the bass distinctly in a lot of recordings. I’m wondering if there is software or a site that puts the bass up front/makes the bass more discernible.

I’m trying to learn “For Once in my life” and that mf didn’t play any bar the same in that song so something like this would really help me suss out those lines!

 

[smeet]

Part of it is just practice, you will get better as you do it more. But, boosting low mids can help. Also if you have an app that can change speed and pitch independently (I use Amazing Slow Downer), shifting the pitch up by an octave can really help. I also find that headphones sometimes make it easier than speakers to zero in on the pitches.

 

[jallenbass]

I've got Beyerdynamic DT550 headphones and the bass notes are pretty clear. What are you listening through?

 

[ddnidd1]

Check out Transcribe! (Seventh String Software), DeCoda (Zplane) and as mentioned Amazing Slowdowner

 

[SteveCS]

Transcribing those types of lines is always a challenge, but I wouldn't get too hung up over it. You already have the key to the door in your hand:

...
... and that mf didn’t play any bar the same...
...

I am in no doubt that each take of each song was also different, and not much was ever played the same way twice. The important thing is to transcribe enough to get inside the style and approach rather than getting everything note for note. YMMV

That said, I believe that the book "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" is considered a bit of a bible when it comes to those records, although I don't have it myself. No doubt someone else will substantiate (or debunk) that claim.

 

[WrapRough]

I've got Beyerdynamic DT550 headphones and the bass notes are pretty clear. What are you listening through?

Yeah, 770's for me. Great sound, well worth it. I find it hard with old Motown stuff. It's much easier with more modern music the way it's produced nowadays.

I'm fairly new to transcribing myself, but have found using headphones works best for sure. Also, if you're using Spotify, crank up Audio Quality to high in settings....

Question... when you say transcribe - are you doing it in musical notation with rhythm and everything? Or creating a tab? I'm trying to do notation with rhythm and man it's hard as nails. I'm doing tunes like Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (16th notes), Take Me Out (Franz Ferdinand) etc.. just nice and simple stuff at the moment.

Good luck with For Once... it's a beast

 

[JakeSquierTB]

Transcribing those types of lines is always a challenge, but I wouldn't get too hung up over it. You already have the key to the door in your hand:



I am in no doubt that each take of each song was also different, and not much was ever played the same way twice. The important thing is to transcribe enough to get inside the style and approach rather than getting everything note for note. YMMV

That said, I believe that the book "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" is considered a bit of a bible when it comes to those records, although I don't have it myself. No doubt someone else will substantiate (or debunk) that claim.

I actually just bought Shadows of Motown a couple days ago. I'm so stoked to get it! And yeah I think you're right - i can start by focusing on the bones and the style. Thanks!

 

[JakeSquierTB]

Yeah, 770's for me. Great sound, well worth it. I find it hard with old Motown stuff. It's much easier with more modern music the way it's produced nowadays.

I'm fairly new to transcribing myself, but have found using headphones works best for sure. Also, if you're using Spotify, crank up Audio Quality to high in settings....

Question... when you say transcribe - are you doing it in musical notation with rhythm and everything? Or creating a tab? I'm trying to do notation with rhythm and man it's hard as nails. I'm doing tunes like Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (16th notes), Take Me Out (Franz Ferdinand) etc.. just nice and simple stuff at the moment.

Good luck with For Once... it's a beast

I'm transcribing to a tab with the rhythm notation above it (idk what that's called). Yeah I keep hearing that I need to study the bass clef so I can just read straight notation. It seems pretty pertinent if I want to learn jazz

 

[JakeSquierTB]

Check out Transcribe! (Seventh String Software), DeCoda (Zplane) and as mentioned Amazing Slowdowner

Thanks thats very helpful!

 

[JakeSquierTB]

I've got Beyerdynamic DT550 headphones and the bass notes are pretty clear. What are you listening through?

yeah it seems like proper headphones are the next step. I'm listening through an old cheap TV speakers. makes everything sound like a P-bass haha

 

[BrotherMister]

Decent headphones, the rewind button, singing and patience are the big things for me.
Sometimes it will take weeks or months to complete a challenging transcription but that’s all part of the process. I personally don’t slow the track down because I feel the real benefit to your ears happens through the longer process or constant repetition and immersion. If I slow it down I can lift each individual note easily but I might never hear that overall sound and context of the line as a whole. Others will feel differently about that.

Writing it out is often the last step for me now because I’m trying to retain as much as the information as possible. That hasn’t always been the case though. The more you transcribe the easier it gets. Transcribe everything you can because it all benefits your ears.

And use it to learn how to read! If you can notate the rhythms you’ve done the hardest part of reading. A low G hasn’t moved off the lowest line of bass clef for hundreds of years! It’s not going anywhere any time soon either. Notating rhythms is far more variations. So if you can write the notation you’ll be able to read it.

 

[iiipopes]

Take a music theory class which involves lessons in ear training and transcription.

 

[CallMeAl]

I’ll +1 Amazing Slow Downer, and headphones. On ASD, even slowed to 90 or 95% can make a huge difference.

And good idea on the SITSM book, it’s fabulous. I just learned For Once in My Life, it’s a doozy!

To strengthen your ear, I’d start with easy stuff, country and blues, work up from there. I consider myself an intermediate player, most often learning by ear- but for Motown I typically go straight to the book.

Have fun!

 

[RGerhart]

Buying SITSM was one of the best purchases I've made, for sure. Hearing What JJ is playing is difficult sometimes, and the book is very useful for understanding his chromatic approach and his ability to develop a line throughout a song. I still to this day practice each tune from the book every day. "Darling Dear" is a favorite!

 

[Killing Floor]

All the above is true. And all of the above is the proper path.

But if you're looking for "easy" go to tabs.ultimate-guitar.com and you can select every instrument, etc. Is that cheating? Yes, totally is. Is it easy? Also yes. While you're copying or printing you can take the time to pay attention to the patterns and relationships you see. And don't be scared to take some beginning theory classes, you will be a better player if you do.

 

[WrapRough]

Decent headphones, the rewind button, singing and patience are the big things for me.
Sometimes it will take weeks or months to complete a challenging transcription but that’s all part of the process. I personally don’t slow the track down because I feel the real benefit to your ears happens through the longer process or constant repetition and immersion. If I slow it down I can lift each individual note easily but I might never hear that overall sound and context of the line as a whole. Others will feel differently about that.

Writing it out is often the last step for me now because I’m trying to retain as much as the information as possible. That hasn’t always been the case though. The more you transcribe the easier it gets. Transcribe everything you can because it all benefits your ears.

And use it to learn how to read! If you can notate the rhythms you’ve done the hardest part of reading. A low G hasn’t moved off the lowest line of bass clef for hundreds of years! It’s not going anywhere any time soon either. Notating rhythms is far more variations. So if you can write the notation you’ll be able to read it.

Hey Brother, what's your thoughts on pencil and paper over software for this? I was watching the recent Talkingbass interview with Janek and he preaches the paper method.

 

[RGerhart]

@JakeSquierTB you might also try transcribing easier parts from songs or bass lines that are easier to hear. James Jamerson is like jumping in the deep end.

 

[Element Zero]

Check out the free app “Moises”. It analyzes pretty much any song and allows you to separate the track out via some (I’m guessing) eq magic. Pretty much I’ve only used it on some worship music to play along with by muting the bass line. Soloing the bass track produces a rather washy bass sound full of artifacts however. It IS free so you get what you pay for. It’s a fun tool to get you in the ball park of the notes that are being played. Check it out.

 

[BrotherMister]

Hey Brother, what's your thoughts on pencil and paper over software for this? I was watching the recent Talkingbass interview with Janek and he preaches the paper method.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t use both, and both have benefits.

If I'm transcribing something to use as a teaching resource or for a gig etc I'll just do it straight into Sibelius. Usually in the interest of time and being able to send pdfs and no guessing what note is where on the line. So the benefit there is the time saver and clarity of the work.

Pencil and paper I use for my own sake, always. If I'm transcribing a solo or a bass line for my own interest then I still do it old school. I fall into the very weird gap of being maybe the last pre-internet generation and the first broadband generation, so I think that due to the technology at the time being so primitive, so expensive and so new that it hadn't ousted any traditional method for a few years. I have friends only a few years younger than me who came up on the software side of it all and had access to a lot more because the rapid pace it became available. Bit of a sidestep there, but I find that a fascinating thing! Anyway, pencil paper and a cd player still work best for me because that's how I learned to do it and did so much of it that way.

I feel by adding just a touch of labour into the process you force yourself to retain information longer and commit to decisions. I can't use a playback feature to check my work, and fall into hunting and peck for right notes/rhythms so I have to focus on hearing them and identifying them.

In my experience of gigging with older musicians who grew up transcribing from vinyl they all have incredibe ears and the retention of information is unreal. My theory is because the process was so laborious it forced them to hold onto it to save another drop of the needle. Every chance I'm wrong, but I'd be interested to hear from someone who grew up with that talk about it.

When I'm giving theory exercises and stuff I ask for it to be handwritten because handwriting helps aid learning more and the act of doing it makes you think about it anyway. It's also a great way of learning about proper formatting and note spacing as well. Also I'm just sad and find handwriting music really therapeutic.

 

[getBAK]

I use something like Chordify to get the changes. Once you know the key, the notes are limited
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