September 2017 Guitar Player Lesson Bonus Content

Transcribing guitar music is like an exercise in musical forensics. The goal is a lofty one: to capture and abstract with pencil and paper—yes, I still prefer a soft pencil and a ream of manuscript over computer notation programs—the essence of a musical performance exactly as it happened, with the only available information being an audio or audio-visual recording of the event. It’s also akin to being a news reporter who has to answer six crucial questions in order to accurately relate a story—Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why? The first two are easy. In this lesson, I’ll guide you through this rather challenging but very rewarding process.

WHO?
Your first step is to choose a subject. To keep things enjoyable, this should initially be an artist you are familiar with whose playing you admire. Consider also the level of difficulty involved: You may want to opt for something by Chuck Berry or Eric Clapton before attempting the complexity of an Allan Holdsworth transcription. Also keep in mind that just because we’re focusing on transcribing for guitar, your subject doesn’t necessarily have to be a guitarist.

WHAT?
Now that you’ve got an artist in mind, it’s time to determine what material you want to transcribe. Begin by choosing short segments, say one to four bars from a piece of music you’re familiar with. The more you know the music

Read more from our friends at Guitar Player