Vision Music

[nylenny]

Software like Transcribe! is helpful in many ways. I particularly appreciate its usefulness in adjusting tempo when I play along with CDs.

I've thought a lot about whether to play with recordings at slow tempos or at speed. I can think of a lot of reasons to play slow: capturing subtlety, playing clean, understanding what you are playing, etc., but only a few to play at tempo.

I think playing at tempo gives you the following: capturing vibrato speed (especially in the blues, which is a hard concept to grasp on a relative basis), getting the proper swing rhythm (I've noticed from transcribing that fast tempos are closer to straight eights than slow tempos are in swing tunes), working up the ability to use the idea in performance at tempo, and getting a macro feel for the solo.

I'd be interested in learning what others think are the pros and cons of each.

[Larry_DC]

I always transcribe at slow speed. For me it's the best way to pick up every nuance of timing and expression and to study the logic of the progression. But once I've got it I always try to ramp up to the recorded speed for the technical exercise. Not that success comes quickly. I've been practicing a particular Bird solo for about a year now and I'm just approaching the tempo.
But having practiced all this time I am honed in one every note and dynamic.

[nylenny]

Thanks Larry. Very logical response. BTW, after working on a solo for awhile, I've also found it helpful to practice the lines with a metronome. I am sometimes surprised by the improvements I've made when I go back to playing with the CD. It also has a tendency to highlight (by their absence) the cues I was picking up from the CD (notably, bass and drum tracks, especially drum fills).

[Mark]

[nylenny]

Thanks for mentioning verification, Mark. I, too, verify at a slow speed. I've found it helpful to sometimes loop as little as a quarter note when verifying notes.

One function I've found helpful for verifying notes with Transcribe! is the "divide measure" feature. It's easy to use. You just double click on the marker at the beginning of a measure and click on the subdivide feature. It allows you to visually verify the rhythm that your ear heard.

A trick I use for verifying is to compare rhthmic placement of the guitar part with other instruments. A simple example would be a rock guitar part. If the bass drum is playing on beats one and three; the snare, on two and four; and the hi-hat on every eighth note, you can use that as a "ruler" against which rhythms can be measured. This is often helpful when transcribing slow blues rhythms (one of the hardest transcription challenges IMHO). BTW, I've found this to be excellent practice for playing with a real drummer.

I've found it helpful to listen for slurs and slides when verifying position playing (to get the right string and fret). If you hear a slide or a slur, both notes are on the same string (thereby limiting position choices). Other things, like hearing a note repeat, but on different strings, is another good indicator. It is very hard for me, however, to figure out what position is being used. I'm usually happy just getting the notes and rhythm!

[Mark]

[thaydon]

Mark;

Thanks for the blues patterns....
_________________
sincerely yours,

Todd

[kbgtr001]

[Mark]

[kbgtr001]

[Mark]

[Larry_DC]