Think its an A note S2,O or a minor chord.
This is really my first crack at this stuff and its not easy though.
Especially when your trying to match a minor chord sound to a single note.
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Iām finding this exceptionally difficult. I agree with @CorynF, itās a huge jump in difficulty and feels very out of reach based on what Iāve learned thus far. From transcribing a couple of power chords to thisā¦
Iām starting with Let It Be and Iām not actually sure exactly what a melody is? I think itās the tune the singer is doing? It doesnāt seem to be what the piano is doing. I got three bars down and then checked UG & the lesson videoā¦ mostly wrong 
.
Iām curious to know if any beginners who have come through Grade 1 & 2 and are now trying to do this are having much success?
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Hi jkahn, Iām not going through Justinās course and Iām not a beginner, but I am a beginner at transcribing. Iāve always considered myself to have a terrible ear (I donāt sing at all), so transcribing is a big challenge.
The melody that youāre trying to figure out is the vocal melody, not the piano. After a lot of time, I managed to figure out Let it Be. I used Justinās hint of the first 2 notes (E - G) and then went one note at a time, trying to figure out if itās going up or down. I often had trouble when 1) the note stayed the same (I was hunting for a lower or higher note) or 2) when the jump is larger than one or two notes.
I was probably helped by the fact that I know the song well: I learned the solo (not based on the melody, though) in addition to the chords and play it often. I think it also helped that I wrote out the chords on tab paper and wrote down the correct notes (together with the corresponding word in the lyric) as I found them.
I would encourage you to keep at it. Iāve since tried doing Hallelujah and, though I havenāt gotten all of it yet, parts of came pretty quickly. It feels like itās getting easier, somehow.
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Iād add that āmelodyā is used here in the sense of what is sticking out, or what you are likely to hum to yourself. In most pop/rock songs, it would be the vocal line or an instrumental solo.
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Thanks for the tips @jjw and @Jozsef.
I think what sticks out is different for different people, I find it a huge challenge to hear melody in vocals. On guitar I find it much easier (but not easy).
Yes the hardest parts are where notes are repeated or have large jumps for me as well. And finding the first note is super hard.
Iām still curious to hear from other beginners that have come through grades 1 and 2.
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Have you tried slowing the video playback speed down? Canāt help with the note.
I assume the S is String and the O is open? If so then it would be A note S5, O. The string numbering convention is for the high e string to be string 1.
Needless to say that I am no expert, that said, yes, the melody would be what the lead singer is singing during the verse and chorus. I say lead singer as there may be backing vocalists singing in harmony. I canāt hear Let It Be fully in my head and would probably be beyond me anyhow, so canāt say what the piano is doing. It could be harmony, could be chords played as arpeggios, who knows, I donāt?
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Hereās an example of two Beatles songs and their cover versions that may make it clearer what āmelodyā refers to. In the covers, the guitar follows the original vocal melodies the most closely.
And a slightly different cover of Eleanor Rigby that still retains the vocal melody (with Larry Carlton on guitar):
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Thanks David, starting to get a picture now. Listening to so much grunge/metal/hard rock & electronic music has not helped me develop a good ear for this melody stuff!
That helped illustrate it, thank you @Jozsef. I wonder how a 2 minute song gets turned into a 12 minute cover 
.
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The song I would recommend to play around with as it was something I was practicing at the start of my journey of transcribing the melody (as in vocals line and main riff) is The Man Who Sold the World by Nirvana from their unplugged concert. Try it out you should have lots of fun doing it and main riff is literally very close to where melodic notes are hiding on the fretboard 
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Great tip Adrian! I know that song well. Thanks
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The Man Who Sold the World by Bowie covered by Nirvana in their unplugged concert 
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Have you ever listened to Luluās version? Itās a keyboard riff but it could be played on guitar. The rhythm guitar is good too
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I hadnāt, Gordon. I gave it a spin and enjoyed it.
That said, I canāt be sure Iāve listened to Bowieās either, my Bowie being largely the Ziggy Stardust album and some of the other hits. Iām rectifying that now.
And while confessing, never listened to the Nirvana unplugged cover either, not being into Nirvana (Iāve tried Nevermind so many times and it doesnāt do anything special for me). As for their āunpluggedā version, the riff sounded quite āelectricā to my ears. But I am probably on shaky ground already without opening the pandoraās box as to what constitutes āunpluggedā
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I am aware David, however Bowieās version does not do anything special for me 
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Coolio, though the comment was as much in jest as wanting to be pedantic
Nor me, having just listened to it now, prompted by Gordonās post of Luluās cover.
Of the three Iād pick Luluās, based on her vocal and I liked the keyboard interpretation of some of the lines.
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I am glad David stepped in to clarify matters in respect Mr B. Think I listened to the Seattle version once. Lulu on the other hand was a very feisty take but heck you get what it says on the tin. Now I have listened to her version many times but I was smitten after her first TotP appearance mid 60s. Iām an old softie at heart!
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From transcribing a couple of power chords to thisā¦
I donāt understand, why are we transcribing anything other than power chords?
Iāll take let it be and transcribe from there direct to powerchords. Then up the BPM and now its Let It Fkn Be. 
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Add loads of palm muting and youāre done
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Hi Jk,
I donāt have this lesson above in my head anymore and maybe this was given as an option but didnāt see it quicklyā¦ but as an exercise to start with you have to start with something that is absolutely in your brain /ears is burned in at all timesā¦ so just start with happy birthday, and then another melody that you can keep āplayingā in your head even after playing a wrong noteā¦ ā¦I hope this helps you, but start nice and simple,ā¦
Greetings
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Who needs to transcribe power chords? 
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