Talk to just about any great saxophone player and they will tell you that transcribing has been an integral part of their learning.
The reason for this is simple: studying the great players that came before us is without doubt one of the best and fastest ways to develop our own skills. So how do we get started with transcribing if we haven’t tried to do it before?
Methods
There are two main ways to tackle transcribing although sometimes a combination of both works great. We can either simply work aurally and recreate what we hear on our instrument, or we can write down our transcription as we learn it and keep it as a reference for later practice.
If you are not a confident music reader, the thought of writing out a complicated solo can seem a huge hurdle, but even writing down the notes in your own shorthand is a step in the right direction.
Some people however prefer not to write down their transcriptions, and simply rely on their memory. Personally I find writing down my transcriptions of phrases or whole solos is best, because over time I have built up a resource of these transcriptions which I can draw on in my practice sessions.
Regardless of which of these methods you use, the first steps in the process are exactly the same.
Start here
The very first, most basic step for transcribing involves hearing a note and replicating it on our instrument. Regardless of whether you are wanting to copy a recording of a saxophone legend, or another player in the room with you, it is the same technique.
If you are brand new to transcribing then getting started with this most basic step can seem daunting. But, it’s important to remember that every one of us grows up practicing the skill of copying – with our voices. In fact, we use copying to learn just about everything as a child from language to movement.
As saxophone players we just have the extra element of our instruments to overcome in the process.
Keep it simple
Rather than trying to learn a whole solo, melody or even phrase, just start with the first note. It doesn’t matter how complicated the phrase is you’re trying to learn, chances are the first note will be pretty easy to identify. Thinking of just a single note makes the process so much easier – after all, every phrase or melody is just a collection of single notes.
Listening
Begin by listening carefully to that first note. Try to picture it, feel it. Can you see it visually (this works for some people). Or perhaps try visualising where it is in a physical sense ( high or low?).
Now try to sing or hum that note. Regardless of what you think of your singing voice, I’ll bet you make that note with your voice (even if it means making sure no one else is listening!).
Think about the register of the note you’re trying to sing. Can you sing it in the same octave?
Next, try to find that note on your instrument. This may take some trial and error, and that’s ok. If you are struggling, go back to the listening, then singing steps.
Once you’ve found the note on your instrument, make a note of it either mentally or on a piece of paper. It’s ok to just sketch out the note at this stage and tidy up your chart later with all the rhythm details.
Got the first note nailed? Move on to the next one. Repeat this process to build up a phrase. It’s as simple as that! So, the sequence I find works best for finding your first notes looks like this:
1.Listen
Visualise the note, feel it, see it – is it high / low.
2.Sing
It doesn’t matter what your vocal skills are like – sing it, hum it, just make the note. Think about the register.
3.Find
Trial and error is ok here, just locate that note on your instrument any way you can.
4.Write
If you are planning on writing out your transcription then you can start by just sketching out the melody notes. You can always tidy up the rhythm later.
5.Repeat!
Move on to the next note and so on.
Next Steps
You’ll be amazed at how quickly you will become confident with this process. In fact, most people find that very quickly they are able to progress from looking at single notes to working on whole phrases.
To do this, use a similar process but this time, once you have identified the phrase you are working on, sing the whole phrase before finding those notes on your horn.
Work with a friend
Another excellent way to hone your transcribing skills is to work with another saxophone player. Set up a tempo and take turns at playing a bar of melody while the other player has to play it back to you. Try facing in opposite directions so you can’t see each other’s fingers!
It’s a good idea to set some parameters when doing this kind of exercise. Agree on a key or perhaps a scale when you’re starting out. You can expand your note choices as you get more confident.
Challenge yourself
Why not set yourself the goal of transcribing a phrase from your favourite recording. For an easy start, begin with the melody. If you’re feeling more confident then tackle a solo section.
Remember to begin with a single note and build up your phrases gradually. If you are writing down your transcriptions, why not use this challenge as the start of your transcription collection. You may want to begin with a certain player or perhaps a style.
Final thoughts
Remember that when you are transcribing, learning the notes is only half of the story. To get the most out of any transcribing practice, pay careful attention to the details of how those notes are played. Watch out for the dynamics, tonguing, vibrato and the energy of that phrase. If you can recreate all of these elements then you are beginning to get real value from the exercise.
As your confidence grows you will become quicker at the process of transcribing, although it is a skill that requires constant practice. As saxophone players, we should all aim to be able to repeat any phrase we hear on our instruments. Just imagine how much you could learn with that skill!
Nigel McGill