Transcribing a solo

Before the notes: key and position

1. The key: sing the note where the solo comes to rest. For a recorded song, the site’s Transcription tool finds the key, the tempo and the chords: drop in the file and it gives them to you.
2. The scale: in a blues or a rock song, almost always the minor pentatonic of the tonic.
3. The position: listen to the register (low, middle, high) and try the matching pentatonic position. The notes often fall into place on their own.

Techniques by ear

For a bend, first find the target note, then look one or two frets lower: that’s the note being pushed.

The solo to transcribe

A short blues solo in A, written for this site.

e|-------5--------------|
B|-----5---8p5----------|
G|-7b9---------7-5h6----|
D|-------------------7~-|
A|----------------------|
E|----------------------|

Transcribe it phrase by phrase: the starting note, the direction, the technique. Write your tab, then compare.

With a recorded song

Pick a short solo you love. Slow it down with a playback app (many can slow down without changing the pitch), transcribe two bars a day, and play them along with the recording before moving on.

You’ve got it when…

• You find the key and position of a solo before looking for the notes
• You recognize a bend, a slur, a slide and vibrato by ear
• You’ve transcribed the lesson’s solo, techniques included, without looking at the tab