I used to start transcribing music by picking up my bass and trying to find the notes.
I’d listen to a little bit of the recording, search around the fretboard, then listen again.
Now, I spend most of that time with my hands off the bass.
First, I listen. Over and over and over again. Then I try to sing back what I’ve been hearing. Once I can sing the phrase back, I start finding the notes.
Singing before transcribing lets me check how much of a phrase I can recall before I try to play it. I’ve also found it to be one of the fastest ways for me to internalize a sound. And when I’ve internalized a sound, I’m more likely to draw on it in my playing.
I’m currently working on a four-bar run by Jonathan “Boogie” Long. Here’s what that looks like.
My Process for Transcribing Music: Listen, Sing, Then Play
In this article, I’m using “transcribing” to describe learning a phrase from a recording by ear. You can write it down too, but the focus here is getting the sound into your ears and onto your instrument.
My time breaks down roughly like this:
| Stage | Approximate time | What I’m doing |
|---|---|---|
| Listen | 60% | Repeating the phrase with my hands off the bass |
| Sing | 30% | Trying to reproduce what I’ve been hearing |
| Play | 10% | Finding the notes and checking them against the recording |
These aren’t percentages I measure with a timer. Some phrases take much more work to figure out on the instrument. Others are hard to remember even after a lot of listening.
The useful change has been giving listening and singing more of my attention before searching for notes.
First, Listen With Your Hands Off the Instrument
I start by listening to the phrase at the original tempo. Over and over. Until I can hear the sound in my head.
This lets me focus on the sound, its overall movement, and its feel before I work through the details. I’m not even concerned with note names or theory at this stage.
On those first listens, I pay attention to:
- The beginning and ending: Where does the phrase enter, and where does it land?
- Rhythm and accents: Where do the notes fall, and which ones stand out?
- Melodic contour: Does the melody move up, move down, or repeat a note?
- Phrasing and articulation: How do the notes connect? Which are short, sustained, or sharply attacked?
- Familiar ideas: Do any smaller ideas stand out or remind me of something I’ve heard?
- Expression: What mood or attitude does the phrase express?
You don’t have to identify every pitch to start noticing those details.
Try listening to a short phrase without playing along. After a few repetitions, pause the recording. Can you hear any of it continuing in your head?
If something disappears from memory, return to that part of the recording. It gives you something specific to listen for on the next pass.
If the original tempo is too fast to make out what’s happening, slow it down. Listening at full speed is a starting point, not a requirement you have to satisfy.
For me, if I can’t even sing the gist of a phrase at the original tempo, that’s an early signal to try a slower playback speed.