Justin mentioned “it takes years but you’re never gonna get there if you don’t start”
Reminds me of the Chinese proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”
1 Like
I’ve never transcribed anything before and it was so rewarding - it was tricky but really fun
First off, love the lessons. I’ve made more progress in the last 7 months than I ever thought possible.
Noticed that 5 of the 6 songs suggested for transcribing (all but song #2) have links in the title that take you to a Justin tutorial video telling you what the chords to the song are. I guess there is a bit of self discipline required here.
Just wondering if that was an oversight or intentional?
I know this question was a few moths ago. I have found that using good headphones or in my case really good ear buds helped me isolate individual sounds in songs much easier.
1 Like
That experience was great! 
I ve made Polly from Nirvana in my 1 hour transcribing. I ve found it very easy to find the chord progressions and all the chords and i ve tried to find also the strumming patterns and all the embellishments of the song. That part wasn’t going so well. 
Justin said to not try to find the embellishments and the details… But i had a lot of time to spend.
Can someone please tell me what to do? Are there any lessons on transcribing in the near future that are showing how to find the strumming patterns/embellishments/ details of the a song or to try this alone?
Thanks a lot! 
I followed the link to Molly’s Lips and the first thing Justin does is tell us the chords! That’s that, then. If we were told explicitly not to use those in-house links I must have missed it. I’ll go and find the next song on YouTube…
So Blitzkreig Bop - it might be simple, but after many listens I was still completely wrong about the chorus. I definitely feel lost.
Keep trying, you are not completely lost, that would be picking up an clarinet and trying to play the Ramones. So go ahead and pick another song and keep working on it. Man, I know it is not easy, I was having a really tough time on a blues solo piece a couple of weeks ago. Another tip is down load the free program Audacity and listen to it in there. Use the control that slows the song down and re plays at a set spot. Both will help you immensely. There are better paid programs but free is free.
Sitting on the Dock of the bay or Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from Elton John both are super basic and close barr chords. Then do ‘Where is my Mind’ by the Pixies. Much slower than the Ramons and Nirvana. I get they are not super cool punk style and pixies are rad but it will work your ear. I started slow also.
I just worked out Going Ape by Nirvana it was hard, but I figured it out after time. I was so stoked when I got it. Now to sing it at speed while playing and record it.
Dont give up. You can do it, every mistake teaches your brain even if you dont realize it.
1 Like
Coming back after about a year away consolidating to say that yes, THIS is the lesson.
Transcribing is difficult, time-consuming, and yes, sometimes extremely frustrating (particularly when the guitar track(s) are not very audible or clear), but it has been very slowly but steadily getting easier.
It makes me really pay attention to the rhythm and various nuances that are often omitted or otherwise easy to overlook when learning from a tab or video, and the best part is I don’t have to rely on someone else having figured out a song I want to play - I can do it myself!
1 Like
Am I the only person who can’t do this. I thought I had it I checked other notes and was so confident but just bombed at the end. I also failed in the ear training too. Is there something wrong with my ears or do some people just suck at this like me?
Hi Kristina @Elle
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun 
And to keep it fun … keep in mind that you are never the only one who faces all the difficulties with the guitar stuff you encounter 
and that why en when this community kicks in …
and in the field of Transcribing you belong to a very very verylarge group… many people are desperate in the beginning… but after a month/six months/year or longer, with all the knowledge you have acquired, it becomes so much easier … put it away now and come back quick and regularly… small steps and don’t get frustrated, if this doesn’t come easily on its own, it will just take a little longer, no problem…
It is a very nice and important skill (for way more than one reason) to have and should not be underestimated… but as with so many things, what is easy for me is very difficult for someone else and vice versa…
Greetings,Rogier
1 Like
No you are not. See my posts above. I’ve decided that I’m not going to get transcribing so haven’t progressed any more of this in Grade 3.
Ditto!!
1 Like
Hi,
I just want to drop huge thanks for all of your courses, but this lesson in particular. I started Grade 1 year ago and I thought I was awful at transcribing, but those songs were really easy for me!
Im sure it is partial sure to easy songs to begin with, but still I didn’t expect I’ve made so much progress. Last song I’ve even figured out mostly during first listening! I didn’t noticed chord change in chorus and verse one fits as well 
Anyway, this experience boosted my confidence 1000x and I am really grateful for that!
PS. I noticed how I was referring a lot to songs I associated to each interwał during Ear Training 1 course, so I guess I have to go back to this and finish grade 2 
1 Like
I have found an online program to transcribe songs: soundslice.com. It let’s you copy a YouTube link and the software let’s you loop a section, and you can change the speed. Because it’s online, I can open it on my iPad, iPhone or Macbook. Now all I have to do is learn to transcribe 
1 Like
I have been using the software Audacity for years. More than just for guitar work of course but it can do so much. You can seperate out vocals and instrument parts. Lots of cool plugins.
Great opensource software.
Give it a look. Start your transcribing now, its such a game changer.