To be fair, it’s really hard to help without giving the answer directly, I fear. At least for “Satisfaction”, as it is quite a short one.
Have you done the ear training course as well? All I know from my own journey is that transcribing is a skill that really takes some time to develop and become fond with. It is definitely not my favourite part of the journey, too. But it is beneficial for sure so I try to stick to it and do at least a few sessions every few weeks. Regards the transcribing lessons of Grade 3 I’m still far behind. But if I do and what I notice over the course of months: It becomes easier, the more often I do it and also with interval ear training or playing melodies I know by ear. Don’t give up on yourself and come back to it from time to time. Patience is key here.
While waiting for an official response… I remember that the tabs from ultimate-guitar were pretty accurate for those 5 riffs. Or simply writing for instance “Satisfaction guitar riff” on youtube.
I got as far as the first two lessons of the Introduction. I couldn’t play Happy Birthday in the Play What You Hear exercise! Not done any more.
You may be right but I’m not seeing any benefit for me. I can’t see how any transcribing is going to help me play the guitar any better. May be I’m shooting myself in the foot, I don’t know. All I know is that with the limited time I have for practice there are other things that I can spend the time on! Thanks for you input though.
I had a bit more luck doing this than the previous transciption thing. it helped (or did it? ) having my annoyingly-perfectly-pitched wife correcting me whilst reading her book. She didnt even know any of the riffs - no fair! The difference in how much she can hear if a note is even the same or slightly up or down compared to me is really startling. Hopefully as I muddle through with these and the ear training the gap will narrow.
How much of an issue is playing the correct note, but not in the correct position on the fretboard? I’ve had a few where I’ve gone up the neck instead of down a string.
I’ve been moving through these beginner courses quite well, except for two areas, and transcription is one of them.*
The way transcription is being taught stands out from everything else in the material - in that it isn’t actually taught at all. Justin just says stick at it, without saying how, or what steps to take. If it truly is a matter of gritting it out, then I suggest removing the word ‘easy’ from titles, etc. It is obvious that for many people, me included, it just isn’t easy at all, enthusiastic exhortations notwithstanding.
Another suggestion is to somehow separate the learning of the riff from the key, perhaps by using humming. I find that even when I’ve learnt a riff, the key still proves elusive.
My other issue with transcription is just how important is it for beginners these days? Now that guitar tab is available for free online for practically every popular song, it seems perverse and masochistic not to make use of this. Why explicitly tell beginners to stop using tab? Surely the ability to work songs out by ear comes in the long run anyway? Why spoil the learning process by repeatedly coming back to transcription? It really seems a bit old-fashioned and schoolmasterish.
Anyway, just for the record: Satisfaction - not too much difficulty. Redemption Song - the embellishments were not helpful, but I think I got it, or something that sounds nice anyway. Another One Bites the Dust - probably got it, though the quick run-down to the 1 is a guess for me. Black Night - came to me instantly. I may have learnt this one in the deep past. Pretty Woman - again, I have something I like, but it doesn’t match Justin’s descriptions of which fingers are involved.
Result: unsure what has been achieved here.
* my other area of difficulty is finger style (lack of interest).
“Easy” is not an objective qualifier here. There are much more complicated riffs out there than these ones, but these are good to start out. Think of e.g. Ten easy pieces for [insert instrument name here] by various composers. Sure, beginners might find those pieces also challenging.
Although I can understand your frustration, this lesson is close to the end of the beginner grades. I think it’s worth giving a little taste of transcribing to those who are interested. It’s one of many paths to pursue when people move on from being complete beginners. Also, there are a lot of unsourced tabs out there which are not guaranteed to be 100% correct. Transcribing (to me at least) is not only about a note-for-note reproduction of a melody or a chord progression but also about training your ear to recognize certain patterns more easily. And like everything else, it takes time and everyone will progress at their own pace.
I think this is a bit of hyperbole on Justin’s part (if this is actually what he said). Think of it as a goal to aspire to. I think the idea is that once you gain some competence in transcribing, you can figure out easy (sorry) riffs just by ear and pretty quickly. And the better you get at transcribing, the more complicated things you’ll be able to figure out. That’s a good super power to have!
BTW, Justin is hard-selling transcribing, because he knows it’s hard and most students give up after struggling with it. (Like me, though I intend to get back to it). He believes and wants to convince us that it’s worth the hard work and frustration.
BTW, if you want more details on the “how” of transcribing, Justin has a couple of modules on that:
As well as developing the ability to learn songs by ear, I’ve always found that transcribing really gets my ear into the music. I personally feel like I pick up much more subtle information about how something is played, which in the long run helps me develop more as a musician. I remember once trying to transcribe an Albert King lick. It took me a few hours to both figure out what he was playing, and to phrase it the same way.
That said, I think it’s fine to also use tab, especially as a beginner. But do also give yourself the opportunity to develop your ear through transcribing.
It’s hard to do, and that’s absolutely normal. At first, you probably won’t get things right, and that’s perfectly fine. We’re in this game for the long run right
Yes, that’s what I do. I made the assumption that for these easy riffs, that the notes would be in or close to the first position and have some open notes.
Hey guys. I’m sorry if someone has asked this already, but are you aware of a mobile app that does what Transcribe! does? As far as I can tell, Transcribe is for labtops and desktops. I’ve seen Melody Scanner, Moises and MusicTrans. Do have any thoughts on those, or any other app suggestions? Thanks.
At least for “Satisfaction”, as it is quite a short one.
