Summary of the Transcription Process
Summary of the Transcription Process
Anyone who has studied with me privately or in a master class situation, whether advanced or not are aware of my feelings about transcribing solos. My DVD on the subject, The Improviser's
Guide To Transcription (Caris Music Services), provides a step by step analysis of the how and why of this process. In my opinion, it is the most efficient and productive technique for learning to improvise in the jazz tradition, or in any tradition for that matter. It is the closest one can come to the age old master apprenticeship system which existed for centuries as the accepted method for learning the arts and crafts. In a contemporary sense, transcribing a master is the next best thing to having an accomplished improviser in front of a student as a model to copy and inspire.
Another positive aspect of this process is that one's progress can be measured without the aid of an institution or system. Transcription is an unbeatable tool as a means to an end. The end being artistic creation, musical freedom and hopefully, a recognizable style of playing. Knowing what came before is the only way to realize what there is left to do. Imitation as a stage of learning is timeless and inevitable.
This mode of thought holds especially true in jazz because outside of the specific notes and rhythms, the intangible essence of this music cannot be notated exactly. This includes but is not limited to the subtleties of rhythmic feel and how the artist interprets the beat as well as the use of expressive nuance in one's sound, aspects of which are usually lumped under the word
“phrasing.” In transcribing, a musician is forced to hear and duplicate everything-even the intangibles. Finally, with the notes written out on paper, it becomes possible to analyze the thought process of the improviser. This can help the student initiate his or her own ideas and inspire one to go further in their own research.
In summary, transcription
Anyone who has studied with me privately or in a master class situation, whether advanced or not are aware of my feelings about transcribing solos. My DVD on the subject, The Improviser's
Guide To Transcription (Caris Music Services), provides a step by step analysis of the how and why of this process. In my opinion, it is the most efficient and productive technique for learning to improvise in the jazz tradition, or in any tradition for that matter. It is the closest one can come to the age old master apprenticeship system which existed for centuries as the accepted method for learning the arts and crafts. In a contemporary sense, transcribing a master is the next best thing to having an accomplished improviser in front of a student as a model to copy and inspire.
Another positive aspect of this process is that one's progress can be measured without the aid of an institution or system. Transcription is an unbeatable tool as a means to an end. The end being artistic creation, musical freedom and hopefully, a recognizable style of playing. Knowing what came before is the only way to realize what there is left to do. Imitation as a stage of learning is timeless and inevitable.
This mode of thought holds especially true in jazz because outside of the specific notes and rhythms, the intangible essence of this music cannot be notated exactly. This includes but is not limited to the subtleties of rhythmic feel and how the artist interprets the beat as well as the use of expressive nuance in one's sound, aspects of which are usually lumped under the word
“phrasing.” In transcribing, a musician is forced to hear and duplicate everything-even the intangibles. Finally, with the notes written out on paper, it becomes possible to analyze the thought process of the improviser. This can help the student initiate his or her own ideas and inspire one to go further in their own research.
In summary, transcription