[nfcbmusic]

Dear forum users,

Any "easy" tenor solo sugestion that beginners should start transcribing ?

Waiting your kindly sugestions.

Cheers,
Nuno

 

[Dr G]

In what genre? Who are you listening to?

An "easy" one is a tune that you can listen to, then hum or sing. Get it in your head, then take it apart phrase by phrase.

Dear forum users,

Any "easy" tenor solo sugestion that beginners should start transcribing ?

Waiting your kindly sugestions.

Cheers,
Nuno

 

[nfcbmusic]

My favourite tenor guys (to the reply of genre ):
- Coleman Hawkins ( I sing Body and Soul completely but don't dare to transcribe!)
- John Coltrane
- Joe Henderson
This are the 3 main ones. But of course, Lester Young ( I start now to appreciate more ), Wayne Shorter, Ben Webster.

 

[Constadinr]

In what genre? Who are you listening to?

An "easy" one is a tune that you can listen to, then hum or sing. Get it in your head, then take it apart phrase by phrase.

This is right!
And i would suggest Dexter Gordon's "Three O'clock in the morning"

 

[JayeLID]

Gosh !

Oliver Nelson's on Stolen Moments (Blues and the Abstract Truth).

 

[Samusax]

When I started transcribing the first solos my teacher had me do were Dexter Gordon "Second Balcony Jump" ("GO" album) and Hank Mobley "Three Coins in a Fountain" and "The best things in life are free" ("Workout" album). Based on the players you listed I think you'll also like Dexter and Hank, give them a listen.

 

[lydian]

My teacher had me transcribe Hank Mobley's "Remember" when I started. Very melodic, plus many great bebop licks.

 

[jolind]

I recommend Lester Young for the beginning. His lines are usually easy to identify even if you're not yet that familiar with the jazz vocabulary. And one can only benefit from imitating his phrasing.

 

[Mrblackbat]

An "easy" one is a tune that you can listen to, then hum or sing. Get it in your head, then take it apart phrase by phrase.

This, so much this. Learn to vocalise it, then play that vocalisation on your horn. Lastly, write it down. By doing that you're training yourself to be able to vocalise what you yourself hear, which is the name of the game!

 

[Nevillesax]

maybe try one of Sonny Rollins' solos on "But Not For Me"; it's a useful standard tune .
This one HERE has some nice lines to learn and the solo is simple, melodic and concise, you might not even have to slow it down. Rollins solo after 1:50

I did this one when I was young waaaay back in the day when we used to have to put the vinyl on an even older turntable which went down to 16 2/3rd revolutions to then record it at half speed (and unfortunately down an 8ve of course) onto a cassette tape so I could play and rewind bits to transcribe it.

Now there's just so many resources out there and slow-down programs to use, just playing a MP3 in Media Player you can slow it down without affecting the pitch...
Have fun!

 

[lesacks]

Small observation, as another beginner.
One possible place to start learning to transcribe, seems to me, is etudes, such as those from Randy Hunter or Greg Fishman... You get the score, demo and backing tracks - but no one said you have to learn an etude from the score; you can start by transcribing the demo, then you have to score to check yourself against and a backing track to play your result with. As a bonuses level - play spot to chord with the backing track. Also, as etudes are roughly beginner/intermediate/advanced - you can pick a work as your technical comfort level.

 

[jazzman1945]

Dear forum users,

Any "easy" tenor solo sugestion that beginners should start transcribing ?

Waiting your kindly sugestions.

Cheers,
Nuno

The first solo for transcription, which I always recommend to all instrumentalists: solo of Paul Desmond in Blue Rondo a la Turk -

from 02: 13

It is simple and beautiful, like Michelangelo's marble statue of David!

 

[Randy Hunter]

Small observation, as another beginner.
One possible place to start learning to transcribe, seems to me, is etudes, such as those from Randy Hunter or Greg Fishman... You get the score, demo and backing tracks - but no one said you have to learn an etude from the score; you can start by transcribing the demo, then you have to score to check yourself against and a backing track to play your result with. As a bonuses level - play spot to chord with the backing track. Also, as etudes are roughly beginner/intermediate/advanced - you can pick a work as your technical comfort level.

Thanks Lionel! Great tips and I always appreciate mention of my materials! I also have a YouTube playlist called Transcribe This Lick that might be helpful for folks. Here's a link:

 

[JayeLID]

I dunno...some of these suggestions....for a beginner player not only to transcribe but (I assume) to play ?

Great solos all of 'em, but step back and consider the player's level....

Some of these begin sorta 'basic' or pared down but as they proceed they start getting anything but simple...

Just sayin'....

 

[AndyW]

I'd advise against starting with Dexter, if only because he plays around and behind the beat so much, especially on ballads , it's difficult to notate the time correctly.

"Blue Rondo a la Turk" is in the rather uncommon 9:8 time which isn't really "beginner transcription" level, if we're honest.

Lester Young, Hank Mobley, Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster have all been mentioned - start there.

 

[jazzman1945]

"Blue Rondo a la Turk" is in the rather uncommon 9:8 time which isn't really "beginner transcription" level, if we're honest.
.

Starting from 4/4 part. The first transcriptions in my student groups were Blue Rondo (1 chorus) and BB King's solo from a duet with Eric Clapton. Almost everyone did the job. In addition, a beginner transcriptor is not a novice player by notes.

 

[TenorGuy]

Sonny Rollins- Oleo & St. Thomas
Dexter Gordon- Cheesecake

This is where I started when I began transcribing in college. Being able to sing the solo or phrase makes the process much easier.
I'd recommend starting with Sonny because he takes his time developing his solos.