transcribing

In our last handwritten TAB example I add standard rhythm notation. Most of the time this isn’t needed while learning by ear, but if you’re having difficulty with the rhythm of a particular passage it’s beneficial to take the time to figure it out (better to spend the time to own a rhythm than cower from it when it comes up in the music). Note that I’ve also changed the 1 and 2 draw chords found on upbeats to a “P,” which indicates the technique Walter is using to sound those chords, the tongue block Pull.

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Here's my basic handwritten TAB for the fist line of Little Walter's "Rocker." When a hole number stands by itself it's to be drawn (inhaled). When a hole number is followed by a plus it's to be blown (exhaled). Each slash that follows a hole number represents a half step of bend. If two notes are connected by a arched line, the bend is to be slurred (slides from one note to the next). I use a comma to separate phrases, making breaking down the phrase for study easier. This is also helpful for seeing how the phrasing works for dynamic presentation. continue reading...

It's now time to get to work. Take a listen to the first four bars of Little Walter's "Rocker." I would like you to figure out: the key of harmonica; the key Walter and the band are playing in; where he starts in time; and how you would count this song in.

I'll get you started...

1) He's playing in 2nd Position

2) He starts with a 2" (2 draw whole step bend) that quickly goes to 2 (2 draw)

Here are your challenges in regards to timing... continue reading...

Now that you've figured out the key of the song, the next step is to dig in and work out what the harmonica player is doing. BUT, even though you may have figured out the correct key, you might be in the wrong position. As a young harmonica player I would often try to learn a new song and I would figure out two-thirds of it, with the rest being a mystery... continue reading...

If you use Method 2 from Tuesday's tip (see below) then I suggest you start with the C Major Scale starting on the 4+ (4+ 4 5+ 5 6+ 6 7 = C D E F G A B). Though F can be found on 2" and A on 3", your bending has to be dead-on for our purpose of key matching. If you don't think it's one of those notes, then use your Holes 1 through 4 range since it contains all of the chromatic notes that the middle octave is missing. The note Eb is not available in the first two octaves, so you'll need to jump to 8'+ for that one. I personally use this method for finding the key of a song. continue reading...

This is my process...

1) Transcribe everything at full tempo, without picking up the harmonica.

2) Slow the music down moderately (around 15-20%) and proofread my transcription carefully as I listen. This is very handy, I'll inevitably find little fixes (such as dips, slurs, pulls that were very soft, etc.).

3) If it's a very fast song, I'll do this again at around 40% slow. continue reading...

Before machines and software existed to slow music down we had no choice but to learn/transcribe music at its full tempo. You could change the speed on your record player or use your thumb to slow down the record’s rotation, but the result was a change of key (and not dead-on… it wasn’t like you could grab another key of harp and you were good to go). When Marantz came out with their tape recorder with half speed playback we teachers picked it up (it was expensive… around $600 if I remember correctly). continue reading...

It’s very common for students to come in after transcribing a bit of music to have parts written, that they're supposedly reading from, but they actually play something slightly different. For example... they may write 4 5+, but actually play 5 6+. To fix this, slowly play out of rhythm (one note per tap of the foot will do), what you wrote. This will stop your muscle memory, which is commonly linked to rhythm, from guiding you towards playing by ear, not what you wrote on the page.

Happy New Year to everyone!

This is pretty simple… you don’t know how to play something and you take the time to learn it and write it down as you go. There’s nothing wrong with learning solos by memory, but the added value of writing them down is that you have something that can be edited over time and is a reference when you want to revisit the song (it’s common to work on a song for a while and then move on to other material, which makes it a high probability that you’ll forget most of what you’ve memorized if you don’t play the song regularly). continue reading...

I realized that I just jumped into transcribing tips and that it would be a good idea to define what transcribing is in detail for everyone. Transcribing is simply listening to what someone else has played on recording and writing down what they did. In its most basic form you write down the hole numbers that they played (blows, draws and bends) and any treatments such as tongue blocking techniques or articulations they used. continue reading...