Transcribing a melody

Transcription is learning by ear with a pencil. It forces you to listen precisely, and leaves you with a record you can return to. The method is the same every time: find the notes, add the rhythm, check against the recording.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Transcribe a short melody into note names and tab.
• Write its rhythm by counting beats.
• Check and correct a transcription against the recording.

Transcription is writing down what you hear. It trains the ear harder than any exercise because you cannot move on until you are right.

The method keeps two jobs apart.

1. Notes first. Work out the key (the home note). Loop one bar at half speed. Find each note on the guitar by singing it and matching it. Write the note names, then the string and fret.

2. Rhythm second. Tap the beat with the recording and count 1 2 3 4. For each note, write the count on which it starts: 1, 2, the "and" of 2, 3. Mark notes that last longer than a beat.

3. Check. Play what you wrote along with the recording. Any place where you hear a difference is a mistake, either in the notes or the rhythm. Fix the first one, then play again.

Short and slow is the right size. Four bars at half speed teaches the method completely, and a four-bar transcription done well is worth more than a page done carelessly.

Worked example: the first two bars of Twinkle, Twinkle in C.

e|---------3--3--5--5--3|--1--1--0--0----------|
B|---1--1---------------|--------------3--3--1-|
G|----------------------|----------------------|
D|----------------------|----------------------|
A|----------------------|----------------------|
E|----------------------|----------------------|

Notes and counts for bar one:

• C on 1, C on 2, G on 3, G on 4 (quarter notes).
• A on 1, A on 2, G on 3 held for two beats (a half note).

The same layout, written plainly, is your transcription: notes, string and fret, count.

Transcribing bar one.

1. Hum the first note until you are sure of it. Find it on the guitar: the B string, fret 1 (C).
2. Listen to the second note. It sounds the same: C again. The third note is higher by a wide jump. Try the e string fret 3 (G): it matches.
3. Write: C C G G.
4. Tap the beat. Each note falls on a beat. Write the count under each: 1 2 3 4.
5. Play it along with the recording. If one note is wrong, find the first wrong one, fix it, and start again.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Notes first

  5 min

  1. Choose a simple four-bar melody and find its key (home note).
  2. Loop the first bar and find each note on the guitar.
  3. Write the note names, then the string and fret of each.

  You have it when

  • You have the notes of the first bar written down and they sound right when played.
  I practised this one

• 2.Add the rhythm

  5 min

  1. Tap the beat along with the recording and count 1 2 3 4.
  2. For each note, write the count where it starts (for example 1, 2, & of 2, 3).
  3. Mark long notes (held for two or more beats).

  You have it when

  • Each note has a start count and a length written next to it.
  I practised this one

• 3.Check and fix

  4 min

  1. Play your transcription with the recording.
  2. Find the first place it differs and fix it, in notes or in rhythm.
  3. Play it through again from memory.

  You have it when

  • You can play your four-bar transcription along with the recording.
  I practised this one

Slow the recording to half speed and work a bar at a time. Transcription is slow work: a bar a minute is a good pace.

• Transcribing notes and rhythm at the same time. Do the notes first and the rhythm second. Two jobs at once means mistakes in both.
• Never checking against the recording. Always play along. The ear is a better judge than the paper.
• Choosing a melody that is too long or too fast. Four bars at half speed is plenty to learn the method.

Use this to learn the melody of a song you love, or a phrase of a solo, and keep your transcriptions in a notebook. Over time it is the best ear-training practice there is.

Short version (10 minutes)

Transcribe the first bar of a melody you know: notes only.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises on a four-bar melody and keep the result in your notebook.

• Find the key, then the notes, then the rhythm.
• Write notes and tab, then counts and lengths.
• Check against the recording.
• Short and slow is the right size.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can transcribe a four-bar melody into notes and tab.
• I can write its rhythm using counts.
• I can play it along with the recording.