Hello ,

It’s great to transcribe solos. It’s good for your ear but you need to know what to make of this transcription. I realized I needed to analyze the melody (identifying scale degrees) and simplify the phrases to understand how these phrases were built. This is what I call “zooming out”, to the quarter note and half note level. The half note level shows you the targeted notes on beats 1 and 3, the quarter note level shows you the targeted notes on each beat.

Here are a few things to remember when you transcribe a solo:

1. Analyze the melody. Identify the scale degrees. Is this D the 9th of C-7, the 13th of F7, the flat 9th of Db7?

2. Identify what are the targeted notes on beats 1 and 3 (half note representation of the melody).

3. Identify the targeted notes on each downbeat.

4. Identify patterns, approach notes, II V phrases etc… and practice these in 12 keys!

5. Sing the phrases