Transcribing a Lick in All Positions and All Keys

[Nicholas BrunoParticipant]

Hey Rick,

When I transcribe new language/licks I always have trouble keeping track of what positions and keys I transpose them in. I know how to transpose them, I feel really disorganized and I don’t have a good systematic way to transpose licks. Is there a procedure that you go through when transposing licks? If so could you break it down into steps? (ex. step 1, step 2, step 3.)

Thanks!

[Rick StoneKeymaster]

Nick,

When transcribing, do you write out the lick or phrase you’re working on? Writing the idea down will help you to analyze it and break it into manageable chunks. Try to identify what structures (triads, chords, scales, chromatics, enclosures, etc.) are being utilized and their relation to the “key of the moment.”

Another kind of “quick and dirty” method that works real well is to look at how many strings the lick spans and what finger you started on. Does it start on the 1st finger and encompass strings 5-4-3-2? You should then probably be able to start on the same finger and and play it from the same finger on strings 4-3-2-1 or strings 6-5-4-3 (with some adjustments to account for the tuning).

Then look to see if it can be started from a different finger and repeat the above procedure.

Check out Part 2 of this lesson: https://www.jazzguitarlessons.com/building-bebop-lines/
I use the CAGED system to find 5 locations on the neck for the same lick.

I’ve also written a couple blog posts on transcribing that you might want to check out:
https://www.jazzguitarlessons.com/learning-from-the-masters/
https://www.jazzguitarlessons.com/some-tips-on-transcibing/

Hope this helps.

~ Rick

[Nicholas BrunoParticipant]

Yeah, normally I don’t write the lick down. I will start doing that. The blogs and videos were very helpful. How long does it take you normally to transpose a lick in all keys in all positions? Should I aim for transposing one lick in all pos. and keys a day for my practice routine?

Thanks!

[Rick StoneKeymaster]

Nick,

Yeah, writing them down at first will definitely help. After you’ve done it for awhile and are more familiar with a lot of the commonly used structures, it becomes easier to just remember, but keeping a notebook of licks and phrases as your learning is useful in that it becomes a log of what you were practicing at any given time. BTW, I’d advise that for every lick you put in your notebook, you write the date you learned it, the source of the lick, and the chords that it goes with. I wish I’d done this all along because years later, I’ve found tons of things that I wrote and after awhile, you’ll have so much of this stuff that it’s difficult to remember where they came from (and wonder; was it a tune that I was writing? a lick I was working on? something I transcribed? or what?).

It doesn’t take me terribly long to work out several good fingerings and play a lick in any key (usually just a few minutes) but I remember spending at least an hour (or more) on each lick or phrase when I first started doing this many years ago. As you get better at it, you’ll find that you learn and retain much faster.

I think learning one new lick a day is a great thing to add to your practice routine. Remember, we’re not talking about a ton of music here, just 2, 4 or 8 measures dealing with a particular chord change (or changes). Keep it simple at first and you’ll learn faster. Then expand as you feel able to.

Musically Yours,
~ Rick

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by  Rick Stone.

[Nicholas BrunoParticipant]

Awesome, Yeah I normally journal down the licks I learn and to remember them I usually record them. So I transposed a lick I was learning in the caged system all the way down the neck. How would you suggest I practice playing these new shapes in different keys?

[Rick StoneKeymaster]

I’d start with the obvious and just transpose each fingering up and down the neck chromatically. I’d also say the key and/or the names of the chords out loud for each key so that you form a really strong impression of the exact notes and location on the neck. Try to break the phrase down and analyze the chord/scale tones, chromatics, triads and other structures too.

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