Transcribing a Solo

[Litsa]

Hi Guys,

I was transcribing a solo and SWEAR I had it figured out. New what key and everything...Play it to the CD and it sounds very close.

Alright so here is my problem when I saw the guitarist play the solo on you tube. It was a live show where someone got a close up.

He looks like he is playing it the same way I am only the last part looks like he is doing something totally different then what I figured out. He plays the solo the same way on the CD.

So, my quesition is I am getting obessed...Should I just play what I figured out and not get so obessed on the you tube video...

thanks, Litsa

[khromagi]

Transcribing is an exercise in itself, the fact that you did it is what counts. Move on and do another. Different people play the same things different ways.

[rockinrob]

Sometimes it's important to just get the notes, so you can figure out what's going on harmonically, but other times you want to try and get the actual fingerings the guitarist used. It really depends on your goals and what you're trying to accomplish through the transcription. Don't forget that on the guitar you can play the same thing in several different positions and several different ways.

[Litsa]

Thanks Guys!

I guess I've become somewhat obessive on why his finger is a little different. I've tried to play the part where he is playing it but I am not to far off on the original transcribing part.

Because in the you tube his finger is on the Root fifth E minor scale.

Thanks and I will do more transcribing!!!

[rockinrob]

The question is does it sound the same? It don't mean do you have the right notes, but does the playing sound like the original? Some things you can finger in another position and get them to sound right, but others you can't.

[Litsa]

Hey rockinrob,

To me it sounds the same!!!! I've slowed the song down with Sound Forge and E.Q. it and stuff....

However, the part that the guitarist plays with different fingering was the same exact part I was having trouble figuring out....I thought I nailed it and it sounds pretty darn close....

I am just wondering if transcribing gets easier. I still find myself second guessing...I have good ears, but man sometime I still have trouble with figuring solo's out.

The thing that I've been doing is listening to part slow without any guitar in hand...I'll listen for about five minutes before playing or sometime at the end of practice I'll just listen to a solo with out attempting to play at all..

Thanks, Litsa

[Swain]

It'll get easier. However, there are always certain recordings, tones and timbres, or arrangements that can be hard to discern.

Also, your Ears can become fatigued. Like a muscle, they get "stronger". But, they still get fatigued. So sometimes, just take a break.

[JonR]

Hey rockinrob,

To me it sounds the same!!!! I've slowed the song down with Sound Forge and E.Q. it and stuff....

However, the part that the guitarist plays with different fingering was the same exact part I was having trouble figuring out....I thought I nailed it and it sounds pretty darn close....Close is not exact... ;) (Maybe close enough, but that depends on how close you want to get....)
I am just wondering if transcribing gets easier.It does. You get familiar with certain sounds (chord changes, chord types, intervals, melodic phrases, etc), and recognise them quicker next time.
But you do still have to be careful checking. Sometimes something sounds kinda familiar, and your ear gets misled.
I've been doing it over 40 years, and I still have to go note-by-note a lot of the time.

The thing that I've been doing is listening to part slow without any guitar in hand...I'll listen for about five minutes before playing or sometime at the end of practice I'll just listen to a solo with out attempting to play at all.OK, that's good to maintain that kind of distance, keep an ear on the overall picture. (Also good to be able to sing the solo before you try playing it.)
But do you take the trickier parts note by note, beat by beat (guitar in hand)? My ears may not be as good as yours, but I often need to do this. I use Transcribe software, btw, sometimes slowing to 1/4-speed and cycling single beats (eg for 16th runs). Quite often, things turn out not quite the same as I'd guessed to start with.

Having said all this, the point of transcribing solos is not to play the same solo the same way! The point is to understand how the solo works: as an expression of the chords, and as melodic invention. You should be able to play a different solo on the same chords; and there may be one or two good licks he uses that you can lift and use over similar changes in other songs.
A solo that's played the same way every time is all well and good, but it's really a composition, not an improvisation. Transcribing solos is (IMO) about learning how to improvise. So next time you get a song with those chords, you have some ideas about what to play - live! (no preparation).