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Good Tunes to Transcribe

 
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woland99



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 155
Location: Austin, TX

PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:32 am    Post subject: Good Tunes to Transcribe Reply with quote

I thought that might be a useful thread - basically a set of jazz tunes
that would be worthy of transcribing - have lots of reusable phrases
and that would be not be too hard - well recorded with good instrument
separation, with solos that are not too difficult rhythmically.

Here is one list that was suggested to me - perhaps we can compile
a larger list separated into beginner and advanced level tunes.

Miles solo from 'So What' off of Kind of Blue
Miles 'All Blues' solos from Kind Of Blue
Miles 'Freddie the Freeloader' (Kinda Blue),
Miles 'No Blues' (At Carnegie Hall or other album?)
Miles 'Pfrancing' (Someday My Prince will come)

Grant's solos on "Grantstand"
Grant's solo in 'The Best Things in Life are Free',
on Hank Mobley's CD 'Workout'
Grant Green, anything he did on blue note

Pat Martino or maybe Mark Elf
Clifford Brown's solo on "Sandu".
McCoy Tyner's solo on "Have You Met Miss Jones".
Kenny Burrell's "God Bless the Child" (or any ballad)
Chet Baker - anything

So what are you suggestions?

JT
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Those are some great suggestions. I notice that like many of us, you focus on horn and keyboard players. Here are a few that I have transcribed to great benefit:

Miles - Bemsha Swing from the Jazz Giants CD

Miles' solo on Four from Blue Haze. It's so lyrical it could be a song by itself.

Chet Baker - Let's Get Lost - same comment as above

Bird - Bloomdido, Bongo Bop

Bird and Diz - Groovin' High

Barney Kessel - Yardbird Suite from Hampton Hawes' Blues the Most CD.

Stan Getz - Ipanema, So Danco Samba

I also try to transcribe the piano and bass to get an understanding of what those players were doing.
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Larry_DC wrote:
Those are some great suggestions. I notice that like many of us, you focus on horn and keyboard players.


Larry,

JT's choices struck me right away, too. And for the same reason, because like yourself, transcribing non-guitarists has been such a critical part of who I am as a player, composer, and instructor. As you know, my main jazz influence is pianist Oscar Peterson, and I can't begin to imagine my work without what I've learned from horn players like Bird, Miles, and Trane on the jazz side, and Junior Walker, King Curtis, Tom Scott, and many others on the rhythm & blues side.

To me, any song is a "good song" to transcribe if it bridges an artistic gap. The reason why my Swing Blues jazz course has been so popular is because it centers on a progression common to so many great improvisers, and is therefore based on cross-referencing how Wes would approach those changes, as opposed to Benson, Pass, Garland, etc, as well as the non-guitarists cited above.

Both of you listed terrific song choices, but there are literally countless to choose from. The great thing about blues and 16/32-bar standards is that you can draw comparisons between influences as you acquire and build your knowledge and language vocabulary. In the past I've typically based my decision on a given standard, a given artist, or a known weakness in my playing, and often you can combine all three at the same time. Smile

- Mark
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my transcribing, I am trying to pick material that sounds like what I want to ultimately sound like. For example, if I want to incorporate more double stops into my blues playing, I try to find solos that use double stops.

It seems logical to me that you eventually will sound like the music you transcribe (at least if your learning is primarily transcribing based). So someone who transcribes a lot of Grant Green is going to sound different than someone who transcribes Clapton. This would be even more pronounced if the transcriber consciously attempted to sound like his mentor. In music, you probably are what you eat.
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also think it's a good idea to transcribe some material to build basic musicianship. I find transcribing James Jamerson's (Motown bass player's) lines to be great for ear training. Jamerson mixes arpeggios, scales (including chromatic approaches) and taste to create some of the most memorable bass lines in history. Just check out "Heard it Through the Grapevine," "Shotgun," or "My Girl."

I've found that transcribing Jamerson has given me the "skeleton" for remembering how things sound. For example, I will never forget the sound of a major pentatonic scale after figuring out "My Girl." Or the sound of a major triad after transcribing "Bernadette" (Four Tops).

Also, Paul McCartney's lines are great transcription fodder. Just transcribe "Day Tripper," and I guarantee you will always recognize the sound of a flat third resolving upwards.

Transcribing bass -- at least for me -- has been the easiest way to get down the rudiments: the sound of scales, approach tones, and arpeggios. As an added bonus, you really learn how to subdivide the beat (transcribe Jamerson's 16th note subdivisions -- you'll never have trouble figuring out a 16th note rhythm again) and hear root motion (which helps to keep you from getting lost in a solo).
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark, Above you mentioned:

Quote:
transcribing non-guitarists has been such a critical part of who I am as a player, composer, and instructor


I have found that, by transcribing bass lines, I remember charts better (because all the harmonic information should already be in a good bass line). Do you think this is a good idea?
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thaydon



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 80
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Presently I am transcribing Mike Stern lines and approximating the notes based on a suggestion of David Baker (i.e., if the lines are double timed get the note on each quarter note and fill in the rest). Transcribing guitarists has been enjoyable for me because I can somewhat make sense of what they are doing because the lines seem to fall easier on the fretboard.
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Todd
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Mark
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Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:34 pm    Post subject: Re: Transcribing Bass Lines Reply with quote

nylenny wrote:
I have found that, by transcribing bass lines, I remember charts better (because all the harmonic information should already be in a good bass line). Do you think this is a good idea?


Lenny,

Just spotted your recent posts in this topic. Well... transcribing bass has been HUGE for me over the years, and the resulting benefits have been so numerous that I wouldn't know where to begin. Besides the "fun factor" in learning classic bass themes like the ones you mentioned and others, the role of the bass in determining the feel, harmony, and rhythmic attitude of any tune regardless of genre makes the information gleaned priceless. Bass is without a doubt the most important instrument in any ensemble.

What I've learned from the R&B side has impacted almost every single pop or groove original that I've composed dating back over twenty years. When students and fans ask me how in the world did I come up with such a cool bass theme, I can only point back to the time spent transcribing these signature parts heavily associated with hit songs. I always say that you become what you practice, and this is another example of how transcribing (in this case non-guitar material) can positively affect your work in a way that most guitarists will never experience unless they get a clue and do likewise.

Then there's the jazz bass influence. When I was a teenager it was my father (trombonist) transcribing bass lines for me, from the likes of upright legends Sam Jones, Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, Scott LaFaro, and others. I often joke that "I learned how to walk before I could run" as a result of that influence. Smile Years later, when the Jamey Aebersold play-a-long series debuted, my eyes lit up when I realized that you could isolate the bass channel and transcribe unbelievable walking lines. At one point I had transcribed the entire "All Bird" (Vol. 6) edition, which features Ron Carter throughout. If you haven't heard my most recent bebop original, Have We Met? was composed on bass using Sonny Rollins' "Oleo" as a rhythm changes vehicle. The head (doubled with guitar in duet) is Bird-influenced, but the bass walk on the fake bridge is classic Carter from his work on "Anthropology" in the Aebersold edition. Another example of a guitarist pulling influences from other instrumentalists via transcribing, which is a rarity among guitar players in general and the reason why I am always on the soap box preaching about this subject. If you or other readers would like to hear some of the more contemporary, groove-oriented bass lines in my originals, just let me know and I'll post a few examples.

Todd wrote:
Presently I am transcribing Mike Stern lines and approximating the notes based on a suggestion of David Baker (i.e., if the lines are double timed get the note on each quarter note and fill in the rest). Transcribing guitarists has been enjoyable for me because I can somewhat make sense of what they are doing because the lines seem to fall easier on the fretboard.


Todd,

Solid advice, my friend. Just make sure that when you "fill in the rest" you stop/pause after every single note to verify accuracy. Otherwise the tendency is to replace the real deal with something similar that you've heard previously.

What I used to do was place vertical "hash marks" in pencil above all beats in a measure. This modification of Baker's philosophy worked better for me, because a solo is not just endless streams of notes on the beat, but involves rests and syncopations (e.g. delays, anticipations) that are integral parts of a well-phrased solo. Once the hash marks were in place, I would work one beat at a time in breaking down both the harmony and rhythm. All for now...

- Mark
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"Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple" - Mingus
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