Transcribing (Not So Easy) Riffs

Transcribing these 5 riffs will help you increase your ears’ ability!

That was (and still is) quite a lot of fun.
Thanks for the advice also on the songs to try.

Waiting for the hints rather to check if I somehow got that stuff right or completely wrong. :wink:

What I had also fun with “transcribing” were the following songs one might try as well:

  • boys don’t cry
  • ghost riders in the sky

Cheers,
Toby

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Hmm 50/50 for me. Hate transcibing, makes me feel so bad when I miss the obvious. But great buzz when you get it right.
Got my answers off various web sites.
Gave myself a ‘complete’ on the lesson, but hmmm not happy - :laughing:

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I’ve only done the Metallica one so far(took half an hour incl. cross-checking on Ultimate Guitar) and got 1/3 of it wrong :frowning:

This transcribing exercise is definitely trickier than the earlier ones. :+1:

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Which part of Money by Pink Floyd is the target riff? There’s a very obvious bass riff, then several different guitar parts scattered around, one of which (around 1:08-1:15) is similar to the bass line - I’m guessing that’s the riff we’re supposed to transcribe?

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Hi, yes you guessed correctly. Hope you are finding it ok.

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I’m also not sure, just like coolAlias, what some of the target riffs are.

For Money, is it the bassline? Because that took me about 30 seconds to nail down. But if it’s the various guitar parts scatted throughout then I have no idea because they aren’t clear in the mix.

Same with …High by Arctic Monkeys, what guitar riff? I only hear a bass line. I actually decided to transcribe Do I Wanna Know instead, clear guitar riff and seems about the right level of difficulty as the rest in this lesson.

How about for RHCP’s Otherside, are we targeting just the opening riff? Or also the notes for the verses?

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Wow, super surprised how quickly I got the Otherside one, literally 30 seconds. I struggled significantly more with the rest.

Hi Justin, I totally concur that transcribing opens up a whole new world. I gave up guitar years ago as I got frustrated learning songs of sheet music and being taught. I’ve finally picked up the guitar again and determined to keep going and transcribing helps you learn so much easier. While I’m getting most of the Notes it’s the position that I’m not nailing down. For Money I just initially used the low E String and then played around with the open position in the first 3 frets, before figuring out the Key and the correct Pentatonic position. I guess it’s all about playing in position and listening for the correct tomber of the Notes - am I on the right track (excuse the pun)?