Okay, I have to admit, this is my first really serious attempt at transcribing something on this level. Iām in the early stages and Iām sure I picked a section that is way too advanced for me, but for the past few hours Iāve been working on the first several bars (10-12) of the piano solo. My goal is to learn the first 16. Heās using mostly his right hand. Towards the end he starts using both hands and I believe the left hand is just playing the same notes down an octave. Anyway, at this point Iāve picked out all the notes and Iām just attempting to duplicate the way heās swinging them. After many, many repetitions playing at 50-70% speed, I can sort of duplicate the feel and sound. To play it the way heās (seemingly effortlessly) playing it at full speed seems super human to me. Itās been a real learning experience and has given me a real appreciation for what that guy is doing. I guess the next step would be to attempt to write down what heās playing. Hayden, I can understand why it took you a week to do what you did! But hey, Iām lovin it. Itās great fun! 
Thanks for putting together another great lesson.
Great stuff. You have made a startā¦ and thatās the most important partā¦
Now your learning journey with jazz improvisation has truly begun! 
Yes thatās correct, in that section he plays both hands in contrary motion so heās playing the same notes in each hand. He also uses some beautiful counterpoint in his left hand at 5:06 ā¦
Itās an advanced piano solo for sureā¦ heās very talented.
Continue with your study of the piano solo, but alsoā¦
Maybe try something a bit simplerā¦ how about this, try the sax soloā¦ from bars 3:06 to ~3:17 (this way you also arenāt temptet to look at the keys - we are working on our listening skills here 
)
This is the 2nd A section of his first time though the form (bars 17-25) - listen to how he takes the original āarcā of the melody and repurposes it so beautifully over the next 6 bars. Brilliant!
First of all, always play left hand voicings underneath before you start to work out the notes.
The 1st note of his solo is on D-7b5 (bar 3) - Iād recommend you play left hand voicings underneath from when his solo starts, just to get in sync with what is happening. Play your left hand voicing on beat 1 of each bar.
I will transcribe the 1st 32 bars of his sax solo and post in here in a few days. Have a go at it too.
First focus on accuracy, ie. get the right notes, and the right rhythm and feel. Then gradually speed up, in small increments.
If you noticed, i recorded the transcription exercise lesson at 120 bpm, when they were playing around 160bpm. (After 1 week I was comfortable with 120 which is 75% of the original speedā¦ it will take more practice to speed it up whilst keeping accuracy)
Even at 120 bpm, some of his trumpet lines are difficult to execute on the piano!
So donāt worry about slowing it down Markā¦ itās essential when you are starting outā¦ slow it down as much as necessary.
Mark, to transcribe a whole solo, it takes weeks/monthsā¦ And even then you can revisit it, better emulate it, and speed it up.
Itās very challenging but also very rewarding and hugely beneficial to your playing.
As you say you have to listen to it over and overā¦ and that is how you absorb jazz phrasing and feel. Essentially, itās how you learn to improvise.
My pleasureā¦ keep an eye on this threadā¦ Iāll transcribe and post the first 32 bars of the sax solo in a few day. I also really like the piano solo from 6:20 to ~6:50 - I will transcribe that too and post it here.
Remember you donāt need to transcribe the whole thingā¦ just pick the bits you like. Perhaps just a couple of bars or a 251 lick/line.
Cheers.
Hayden, I took your advice and moved over to the sax solo. The first thing I did was work on playing only the chords, in the left hand on the first beat. The transition between Arturo and the sax player is a bit tricky, and it took me a long while to hear and recognize where in the form the sax player starts playing. Iām glad you mentioned that he starts his solo on the D-7b5 chord. That was a big help. I had to listen very closely to those few bars over and over again and finally realized that I could hear the piano player playing the chords, and got to where I could hear him ending the previous section with the the Fm7 Bb7 and then playing two measures of the Ebmaj7 before the sax solo kicks in.
Once I was able to play the chords in the left hand on the first beat through the entire solo, I moved on to learning the solo at bars 17-25 as you suggested. Playing the solo in the right hand and the chords in the left hand on the first beat. I agree - that little section is quite nice, and much easier to work with.
Working through all this for several hours last night was a very fun, interesting and valuable learning experience. I agree with you that all of us students should to be working on transcribing on a regular basis.
So thatās where I left off last night. Came in this morning and found out that my PC wonāt turn on. I think itās the power supply. Bummer! Itāll probably take me a few days to get up and running again.
Hayden, thanks again for everything you do! Youāre the best!
Yes playing left hand voicings underneath on the first beat of the bar is very importantā¦ the pianist will not be doing this, he will be syncopating and anticipating his comping which can make it harder to follow the changes.
A tip is to listen to the drummer. After every 8 bars, the drummer will add a subtle āfillā and when you move back to the top of the form (and also into the bridge to a lesser extent), this āfillā or ārollā is slightly more pronouncedā¦ listen out for that as it is a very useful hint.
Thatās exactly rightā¦ more often than not, the soloist will āwind downā towards the end of the formā¦ but Arturo caries on in this instance. In some ways this ads to the spontaneity of the performance, but from a transcription standpoint it is tricky.
The main point is that you had to listen to it over and over, just to hear whats happening. This is the whole point of transcriptionā¦
Music is an aural art form, and thus listening is the best way to learn itā¦ particularly in the jazz idiom.
Thatās great newsā¦ and itās why i directed you there.
Iād recommend staring out with transcribing from players like Chet Baker, or Miles Davis, as they leave a lot of space in their solos.
If you try transcribing Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, or Kenny Barron, you will find it much more difficult.
In the upcoming study of blues, I will post a number of different F Blues recordings that I would recommend transcribing fromā¦ this isnāt a compulsory exercise, but for those looking to improve their improv skills, itās essential.
The blues is a short form too, with few chord changes (and the jazz blues form has both major and minor 251s) so itās perfect. More on this when the section is finished
My pleasure Markā¦ itās very encouraging on my end to be able to teach this side of jazzā¦ and itās very much aligned with the direction I want to push PianoGroove.
And good luck with your computer!
ps. if you were wondering, when i quote you, i manually add in your name, iāve spoken to my tech guy to get this fixed (as it quotes the username by default) which is ugly due to the how the forum integrates with the membership side of the website. But anyway, I am working on getting it to quote the persons name by default. cheers.
Transcription Exercise 3 - F Blues
Howdie PianoGroovers,
If youāve struggled to get stuck into transcription. The blues is a very nice place to start. I have included 4 records below that you can transcribe from. Start with the āBill Evans Blues In Fā as this is the most accessible.
In the latest lesson on the blues, I demonstrated the value of transcribing from these great musicians
Check out the lessons here:
Blues Licks Tutorial: Blues Licks Tutorial | Blues Licks & Riffs Lesson
Passing Tones Tutorial: Passing Tones Tutorial | Chromatic Passing Tones Lesson
Hereās the records I transcribed from and some notes to help you get started:
Bill Evans Trio - Blues In F
- A great record to get started with transcription
- very simple melodic ideas to start with
- longer jazzy lines typical of Evans
- interesting chromatic sections
- locked hands technique towards the end of the tune
Hank Mobley - Greasin' Easy:
- Wynton Kelly Piano Solo starts at 3:55
- Wynton pulls of some very long lines
- Brilliant example of locked hands technique
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Moaninā
- Bobby Timmons solo starts at 5:02
- this is a minor blues, not a jazz blues, but you can still get some nice licks to play over the simple or jazz blues progressions.
- very minor blues scale orientated, but also some use of the major blues scale.
- quite challenging - start with the Bill Evans recording if you are new to transcription
Cannonball Adderly - Straight No Chaser:
- piano solo starts at 4:40
- great examples of blues scale licks
- use of major and extended blues scale
- great use of motifs to tell a narrative
Remember to learn the blues form before attempting transcription... you need to know the chord changed inside out!
Any questions or if you need any guidance just let me know
These lessons are great. I recently learned Moanin and now I can hopefully improve my improvised section. Thanks for this great set of tutorials
Wow Hayden, you have been very busy these past several days!
Itās like you were āOn a mission from God.ā 
Thanks for all the great blues lessons. Youāve given all of us students quite a lot to work on!
Itāll be great fun!
Thanks Michael, Iām glad you like them. Yes the concepts covered in this series will be very important.
Moanin is a minor blues and so the F Minor Blues will all have an important part in his solo, but listen to when he steps away from blues in his improvā¦ then he will be utilising chord tones, approach patterns and sprinkling in extensions and alterations.
Have fun playing with this stuff
My pleasure Mark, and yes, there is a lot of info in there.
Remember to start simple with your improvs and just cycle around the progression with iRealPro, try to get an aural appreciation of what each chord tone sounds like, and more importantly, what it sounds like to resolve into each different chord tone using the approach patterns outlined.
If I can help, or you need any guidance just let me know 
Love the transcriptioningā¦ however can not get the Gershwin Summertime.xsc into transcribe. I may haved replaced google maps with Gershwin and one transcribe monitor (i have 6) says it is Gershwin but is Bill Evans. Everytime I try to add file transcribe disappears, will keep trying.
i am flummoxed. againā¦transcribe says the xsc for summertime is a transcribed and not a sound fileā¦ tried the mp3 above it but how does ātranscribe file will open up directly within the transcribe softwareā. as written re Summertime.xsc and below it. I really have been going in circles and it is craze making. If transcribe is open as soon as i try to drag a file it closes and hides. I have wasted so much practice time trying to figure this outā¦and cannot locate help on transcribe either.
what to do???
Hi Cherly,
No problemā¦ let me help you out here.
Try this:
- Download this file by clicking the ādown arrowā icon:
-
Drag the file into Transcribe. You are using Mac if I remember correctlyā¦ you can either drag the mp3 file onto the Transcribe Icon, or alternatively, open transcribe and then drag the .mp3 file into the window.
-
Transcribe works by pulling audio files (.mp3 or .wav files) into Transcribe and then you have the ability to slow sown, loop sections, and also other features. If you donāt have the audio file on your computer, then it wonāt work.
The easiest way is to follow steps (1) and (2) above. Remember that anything you have in you iTunes can be pulled directly into Transcribeā¦ simply drag and drop the files.
Does this helpā¦ Iām happy to explain further if you need 
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi,
You are so kind.
I do not want to burden you with too many techno queries and have found a source to assist me.
But, if you have the thread and your Jan 17 response to my query perhaps you can quickly figure this out.
Per instructions for # 1, I cannot locate the ādown arrowā, ā¦ it must be hiding in plain sight but is it on transcibe or should I hit file or yikes hmmmmm ā¦ where the heck is itā¦???
congrads on the tutorsā¦
If ever there is a real basic simple beginning place to transcribe and put the pieces together so that one success can grow and roll on, that would be so helpful. I imagine it to be quite boring and challenging when you know so much and the pathways are so lubricated to revert back but I believe many would benefit.
You have given us the tools for a solid foundation, truly.
Gracious,
Cheryl
I
er umm, not sure how but i found a way to move gershwin to transcribeā¦ hurray
thank you
Hey Cheryl.
Glad to hear you have got Gershwin into Transcribe!
Hereās the down arrow:
If anyone uploads audio to the forum, you will always see this down arrow on the audio player.
Thank you!
I think thatās a fantastic idea - leave it with me.
I imagine you have watched the course on āHow To Transcribe Lines & Solosā - How To Transcribe Music By Ear | Jazz Piano Transcription Course
Iād recommend starting by transcribing a line over a 251, like in the first 2 examples.
The end goal is to be transcribing full solos - as in the later lessons of the course - but you will work up to this.
Itās tough to get started on Cheryl, but also very rewarding and in my opinion to the most effective way to improve at jazz piano.
Once you develop your ear you will feel very liberated as you can pull creative inspiration from any of your favourite recordings and have full control over the direction and development of your sound.
HI Hayden, I realize this thread is kind of old, so hope it will still be seen.
When transcribing do you recommend the Hear it, Sing it, Play it method, or do you go straight to playing? I have been seeing a local jazz pianist to supplement encourage some discipline in my practice routine, and he feels strongly that you need to be able to sing what you hear prior to playing it. I have found it very helpful, and it has made me realize that I donāt always hear what I think I hear! Using the Transcribe software is critical for me, as I canāt pick up some of the lines without slowing it down.
Thanks! Kim
Hi Kim 
Firstly, thanks for reviving this thread.
It actually ties in nicely with our new Practice Inspiration Category:
Myself and some of our other students are still fleshing out how it will all work and making good progress.
My plan has always been to add a subsection in there for transcription drills and exercises. Iāll get to work on this now.
Anyhow onto your questions:
I personally hum or whistle the tones of the lines Iām transcribing. Iāve always loved to whistle lol
But in effect, itās the same thingā¦ sing/hum/whistleā¦ we are using our body to emulate and internalise the sounds we are hearing.
So yes I think itās always a good idea to vocalise the lines. Itās a way to get the lines and melodies inside out bodies. Improvisation comes from within. Musical ideas that you are feeling, or hearing inside of you.
Yes I agree.
If you transcribe a 251 line. And then take it around all 12 keys, you should be able to sing it. I know after doing that I am able to. Thatās always been a vitally important step for me.
Yes Transcribe is a huge asset when it comes to transcription.
Depending on the tempo, sometimes I can transcribe straight from Spotify. But it also can be fiddly with the slider to drag it back etcā¦
Also if the recording is not the best quality, then Transcribe is essential for me.
The more I do it Kim, the better I get at it, and Iām sure this will apply to you to.
Transcription Exercises In The Practice Inspiration Area
I will recategorise this post now, and also plan out a series of exercises for students to transcribe.
Hope this helps answer your questions and Iām really happy to hear you are getting more into transcription.
It truly is the most effective way to develop your own sound. āStealingā little nuggets from different solos, and those little nuggets turn into āwordsā, which with more āwordsā then become āsentencesā, which then become whole solos.
A fascinating process!.. Enjoy!
Hey Guys - So Iām late to the party on this exercise, but came across in my recent work on Summertime. The past 2 days, Iāve been transposing this line thru all 12. Iāve found it very challenging and had to write out the numbers in relation to each corresponding chord. Iām very slow but itās also helping me think thru the 13 in particular as I find that Iām not always clear on what is the b13 or the 13 for a particular chord. But itās getting clearer, and the line today started coming out naturally towards the last 3 keys today. Iām going to keep working on this all week, and see if I can also sing along by Friday! Love this. Thanks Hayden.
Hayden, Iām trying to get started transcribing. Is this the best place to start?
Is there an organized course?
I have trouble refinding this page fir some teason.
Hi @Ngallure
There are a few ways to approach this:
1) Transcription Exercises
Firstly we have a list of transcription exercises here:
These are categorised by difficulty. These exercises are more focused on in-tempo performance and you will see that the PDF transcriptions have been half-completed so your job is to fill in the gaps.
Think of this as a stepping stone to selecting your own recording as a transcription project to work on. Ideally we want to pick a recording that we personally admire and want to sound like. Thatās the whole point of transcription - it allows us to take our playing in our own direction based on the sounds and styles that we personally like.
The exercises above can help to get you started, but ultimately we are going to have more motivation and perseverance to finish a transcription project if we absolutely love what we are trying to transcribe. Not to say that you wonāt like any of the recordings in the list above, but just something to keep in mind.
2) Solo Piano Transcription
Another approach is to pick any jazz standard that you are working on and compile an extensive playlist of recordings that you admire. I like to use Spotify for this.
Here are links to 4 playlists that I created for the ballad tunes that I like to play:
I create playlists like this for every tune that I am working on and it acts as my main hub of inspiration. We need to listen to the recordings regularly, make note of the things we like, and then transcribe from the recordings. This is a gradual and ongoing process that we follow for the rest of our lives.
After listening to the songs many times, youāll find that you can sing or hum part of the improvisations which shows that you are absorbing the material. Of course transcribing (writing down the notes) greatly speeds up this assimilation process.
I hosted a seminar here where I share some information on how to get started with this style transcription:
3) Ear Training
We have 160 ear training exercises here:
These exercises will teach you how to hear and detect intervals, chord qualities, bass movement, and common chord progressions - all of which are very important skills for transcribing.
Spend 15 minutes per day on the ear training exercises and in the space of a few months you listening and transcription skills will be greatly improved.
I hope that helps - check out the links above and let me know if you have any further questions.
Cheers,
Hayden
Many thanks, Hayden.