Improve Your Improvisational Ability With Transcribing

Introduction

Quite a lot of guitarists start one-on-one lessons with me because they really want to improve their ability to improvise. Often they are feeling frustrated because they think that their solos sound mechanical and unmusical. They also feel that they are just running up-and-down scales when they improvise.

And too be honest, I had exactly the same feelings when I first got interested in improvisation. Maybe you can relate to that too?

So What's The Solution?

Well, obviously there are a LOT of things that need to be mastered before someone can improvise with great skill. Here are just a few quick examples off the top of my head...

• You need to develop a large vocabulary of licks, rhythms and other musical ideas appropriate for the style of music you want to improvise in.
• You need a well-developed technique that allows you to execute musical ideas with no conscious thought.
• You need a killer set of ears.

Let's pause on that last one for a second...

"You need a killer set of ears".

What do you think I mean by that? Think about it for a few minutes and write down your thoughts. (I'll be waiting right here for you to finish).

Why Great Ears Are Essential To Improvisation

What I've noticed over the years of teaching improvisation is that guitarists who have trouble improvising have often neglected the development of their ears. They often have very good technique, a good knowledge of scales and arpeggios, a fairly large vocabulary of licks, but they still can't improvise well. In most cases they are missing one essential ingredient...

They can't hear what they play.

In other words, they haven't developed their ears to the point where they can clearly hear melodies and rhythms in their mind's ear.

When I notice that they have this weakness, I usually ask them...

"What transcribing are you doing?". Usually the answer is "None".

This is a major problem. Why? Because transcribing is one of the best ways for a musician to develop their ears. 

[Side Note: In case you're wondering, transcribing is just a fancy word for working out music by ear and writing it down].

The (Sometimes) Neglected Art Of Transcribing

I need to say this right now...

I don't personally know a guitarist who can improvise REALLY well who hasn't done some form of transcribing at some point in their development. And you'll find that in styles of music like jazz it's exceptionally rare to find a good musician who hasn't learned how to transcribe...

Now, you might hate jazz with a vengence. (And I promise that I won't hold that against you). :-)

But I feel that the importance of transcribing applies to ALL styles of music that involve a lot of improvisation. Transcibing will help your improvisational skills for a few main reasons...

• It will help you to develop your sense of pitch, rhythmic perception and overall listening skills.
• It will help you to internalize the language of the music that you like through repeated listening. It's impossible to fluently speak ANY new language without hearing it. And music is no different.
• It helps you learn from master improvisers. When you listen in a deep way repeatedly to master improvisers you learn things that are very hard to learn any other way. The repeated listening that you do when transcribing imprints certain aspects of their playing into your brain. And this means that these same aspects are much more likely to come out when YOU are improvising.

How To Get Started With Transcribing

I recommend adding transcribing into your practice schedule in the following way. (I'm assuming that you work fulltime Monday to Friday. Obviously, feel free to adjust the schedule to suit your own circumstances)...

• Monday to Friday: 15 Minutes Ear Training
• Saturday and Sunday: At least 60 Minutes Transcribing guitar solos and licks that you like.

Ideally you would want to do 60 Minutes of transcribing on Monday to Friday as well. But I'm being realistic here. If you work fulltime, then this may not be possible. So just do the transcribing on they days that you have off work.

Recommended Resources

Recommended Resource For Ear Training Practice: 

I recommend buying and using "Ear Training For The Contemporary Musician" by Keith Wyatt, Carl Schroeder and Joe Elliott (ISBN 0-7935-8193-1). This is a great book. It has helpful exercises and tips to help you develop your ears and learn how to transcribe.

Recommended Resource For Transcribing Practice:

Unless you have done a LOT of transcribing before you may need some software or other device to slow down the music. This allows you to work it out those solos and licks much more easily. (And no...it's not cheating. Listening at a slower speed can help you notice subtle details that you just don't notice when the music is playing at full speed).

The software that I personally use and recommend to my one-on-one students is: RiffMasterPro

I've found it really easy to use and feel that it's a great little piece of software. (And last time I checked their website, there is a free 10-day free trial period).

But It's Too Hard!

I must admit that I found transcribing just about impossible to start with. But as I did it each day, it got easier. So if you find transcribing hard, then remember this...

It gets easier with regular practice.

I recommend sticking to doing regular transcribing for at least 12-months before you decide that it's "too hard". It will almost certainly help you become not just a better improviser, but also a better musician.

Until next time. Practice hard!

All the best,

Craig Bassett