UPDATE: we won a Grammy Award for this album!
I’m writing this from a beautiful recording studio outside El Paso, Texas where I’m spending a week recording Snarky Puppy’s next album.
We’re aiming to record roughly 20 new songs this week.
SIDENOTE: Recently I mentioned my “painter’s tape” preparation method for memorizing 24 Snarky Puppy songs in a week before a tour. I wrote about it here.
Yesterday we tracked an original of song of mine.
Let me tell you how ridiculously awesome it is to have this remarkable group of musicians interpret your music.
1 bassist, 2 guitars, 3 drummers, 3 percussionists, 4 horns, and 4 keyboardists. Each plays their tail off as a soloist, but also is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. The result is a studio full of people caring about the details, shape, and arc of each song. It’s an ideal creative scene.
Memorizing tunes in a hurry
So far we’ve learned and tracked 9 songs in 3 days—without a single note written down.
How is that possible?
Transcribing.
The word transcribing means different things to different people. To me, it has nothing to do with notation. It’s about learning music by ear, from recordings, one phrase at a time.
PS I’ve discussed this before. When we made We Like It Here.
I’m sure any of the 1,000+ people who’ve been part of my online saxophone studio over the past 5 years would tell you I’m a staunch advocate of learning to transcribe. It’s one reason we do a monthly group transcription challenge.
Transcribing: it’s not just for learning solos
The band wakes up each morning—after being in the studio until 2 am—to an email with a couple new songs to learn by lunch time. Everyone learns the music by ear.
Each person has their unique way of doing it. One guy will sit and listen to each song repeatedly in headphones until he feels he’s got the entire roadmap in his mind. Another uses a looping program on his laptop. Some just use play/pause/rewind on a Dropbox file. I’m using an iPhone app called the amazing slow downer. I’m not slowing anything down, it just allows me to create lots of mini loops for each section of the song.
This way I can repeat each phrase ad nauseum without having to keep touching the phone.
Bottom line
Years of transcribing solos gave me a tool that allows me to learn music faster and remember it longer. If transcribing is one of those things you keep putting off, I encourage you to start doing it…yesterday.
I’m so looking forwart to this. Thx for sharing Bob! Doesn’t look like you’re filming this time though?
Hey Bob, thank you so much for all the great advice. I’m not a sax player but even then all of your tips are immensely applicable.
I have one question I was hoping you would be able to help with. I’ve always learned tunes by ears, but sometimes certain sections can be too fast for my brain to process, so I slow them down to better break down the whole thing. I always try to transcribe at normal speed, but when that fails, I play it at a slower speed. Is this something you would discourage? Should I always try to transcribe at default speed, no matter what?
Glad you got something from it!
I know it can be difficult to learn EVERYTHING at full speed, but the goal is to use a slowed down version only as a last resort, or to really magnify a very small section. What I prefer to do is to loop that section at full speed. You can use any number of audio apps or programs for that (“Amazing Slow Downer” is one, and I know some people that do this in “Garage Band”). That way you don’t have to keep stopping and backing it up – which can break your concentration – and you can zero in on the section.
That being said, if you have something 95% there and there’s just one section that’s killing you because you can’t quite hear it, then I guess I’ll allow it. 😉 It’s a slippery slope so be careful not to rely on it (relying on slowing it down weakens your musical reflexes).
I have several lessons on this issue on my site (lots of people struggle with it, so you’re not alone!). If you’re a member, here are a few:
http://lessons.bobreynoldsmusic.com/transcribing-in-real-time/
http://lessons.bobreynoldsmusic.com/transcribe-harmony-to-tunes/
http://lessons.bobreynoldsmusic.com/transcribing-101/
Hope this helps!
Bob
Thank you so much Bob! I’ve downloaded the app, and will be doing it the way you suggest.
Wish you all the best in your musical journey. 🙂
I got amazing slow downer when it first came out but now it links to any track you’ve listened to on Spotify its definitely spot on?