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.
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.
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.
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
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!
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:
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.
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.
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.
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