# Some thoughts about transcription

These are my personal thoughts and primarily based on my experiences as a teacher and working jazz musician. I do, however, think they apply to all kinds of musicians. Why transcribe? Musicians have forever been transcribing and listening to other musicians in order to learn. Listening and transcribing are a great way to learn a tradition that is, in fact, oral by nature. No book in the world can describe how something sounds! You are training your ear, your instrumental skills, note writing, phrasing etc. What should I transcribe? Is it “dangerous” to transcribe? Depends on whom you are and what you're transcribing. If you’re a beginner, this is the greatest way to understand what the big guys are doing (they've all been doing exactly the same thing). If you've come a bit further along the way, you should perhaps be a bit careful about transcribing your idols. There’s a risk that you’ll just become a copycat. Rather, transcribe musicians that you feel are different from yourself. Transcribe other instruments. Check out the older musicians that are the roots of your idols. Don't just transcribe the notes, play along and try to copy the general feeling of the musicians and the things they are playing. Be careful if you’re using headphones. It's very tempting to increase the volume in order to hear what the musicians are playing better. Doing so may damage your ears. Also, when playing in loud environments, always use earplugs of some kind. Tinnitus is becoming more and more common. How to transcribe? Begin by playing along with the tune. If you have the sheet music, learn the original version (melody and harmony). Continue transcribing the harmonies to see if they are the same. If you know the harmonies it's much easier to understand what the performer is doing. Start transcribing at full speed, slow down the speed only when it's too fast for your ear to comprehend or when your instrumental technique isn't up to it. As you go along, write it down. If your note writing skill is bad, do it anyway! This way you improve this skill, too. After a while, when you've forgotten what you learned, it's very easy to remember it with the help of the written score. Besides, many of you may, sooner or later, find yourselves in a teaching situation and this will give you some great material to work with. How exact should I be? That depends. If you're planning to write a book or to use the material for teaching, then you should be as careful as possible. If you're transcribing for your own personal pleasure, you don't have to be as exact. The point is to learn something new and improve your skills. Switch between transcribing and practicing. Often, a couple of notes or phrases is enough to give you a lot of new ideas to work on.