How do you transcribe chords?

Boy meets Horn · Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 10:25 am Post subject:

So, how do you?

kzem · Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 11:38 am Post subject:

Chords aren't as hard as many people seem to make them out to be. I used to think it was too challenging. Then, in school, I asked Frank Mantooth about it. He asked what I was transcribing, and we went through a couple bars. He told me the changes almost as quick as they went by, and without the aid of a piano, which I thought was pretty impressive.
Anyway- he said first listen for the bass note. Then for the piano. Try and determine Major or minor, then any other qualities (9th, altered notes, etc). See where the melody note fits in. If you're still unsure, listen to what each soloist plays over that section.
It might be a tedious process at first, but stick to it- it will really pay off in the long run.

Kurt Z

cjdjazztpt · Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 12:38 pm Post subject:

As Kurt said...first and foremost listen to the bass note. Usually with walking bass lines the bass player for the most part is hitting chord tones on strong beats. Each time there is a chord change the first beat of the chord change is usually the root of the chord. Note: I said usually.
Also figure out the FORM of the tune. If its an AABA form usually the A sections are the same. With slight variants thereof..... The Bridge of the tune is usually in a different 'key'. Lots of standards are like this. Also, go through the tunes and figure out where the Tonic chord is and plug them in where they go. This way it will give you an ending point tp sections of tunes. Note that there are resolutions to tonic chords as well. (ex. ii -V7 - I, iii - vi - ii - V7 - I.....etc,....) IF its a minor key then resolutions to the minor one chord go ii-7b5 - V7(alt) - i ......Keep in mind that a lot of times the Melodic Minor (Jazz Minor as some call it)scale comes into play.

An easy exercise for you to do is to get a lead sheet of a standard that you like. DON'T look at the changes! Try to figure out the chords for the 1st 8 bars. Then Check your lead sheet. Lots of times you'll be close.....Just keep in mind that lead sheets are for general purposes and might not always contain the EXACT changes....It's a starting point though.

Also, as much as I hate them but Jamey Aebersold's books and CD's will help out too. If you have nothing else to practice with then they become quite useful. Hope this helps a little.

Cory

BeboppinFool · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 7:29 am Post subject:

Two great replies to your question so far. Not too much to add, really, except this:

Get started playing chords at the piano. Take some lead sheets or a fake book and sit at the piano and learn to plunk out the chords. Root position is fine at first to get you understanding and visualizing the construction of chords. Then start trying some voicings in the right hand (bass note and maybe the fifth of the chord in the left hand), 3-6-9 or 7-3-6. (Dan Haerle has a great book called Jazz/Rock Voicings for Piano that was originally published by Studio PR in TX.)

My point? When you start getting familiar with the way these chords sound while you're actually playing them at the piano, you'll start to be able to hear what the chord movement is when you're not at the piano. The more tunes you learn by memory, the easier it becomes to learn more tunes. You'll start seeing chordal similarities between various tunes, and you'll be on your way.

Plus what has already been posted . . . excellent topic!

Rich
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Puttin’ On The Ritz

cperret · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 4:46 pm Post subject:

Dangit! I had something to add until I saw that Rich had already posted it! I've found that every time I learn a new piano voicing, 'pop!', I suddenly start hearing it in all sorts of tunes, and can therefore quickly identify the chord. 'Boy meets Horn', with this advice, I think you're off to the races. Have fun!
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Cameron Perret

Horns: Bach 37GH, Marvin Stamm French Besson 92BA, Yamaha 6310Z Flugel

_londonhusker · Heavyweight Member Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 658

To add further to what Rich said, Dan Haerle has put together so many useful bits of material for just this purpose. On page 56 of one of his older books, "The Jazz Language (1980)", there is his "Mode Identification Guide" in outline form, but acts like a flowchart.

For example.... if you hear a major 3rd>> and a lowered 2nd>> and then a lowered 5th>> points toward super locrian.

The guide branches off to cover all familiar possibilities, but its terminology is scale oriented. It would be a simple task to convert the descriptions to describe chordal characteristics though, as these go together all the time.

Dave
londonhusker

cjdjazztpt · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 7:53 pm Post subject:

Also, great soloist play their solos in ways that you can hear the changes sing. Transcribe their solos and lots of times they are running the changes with 'color' tones and the chords are spelled out for you right out of their solos..... This was a great topic.

Cory

PH · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:38 am Post subject:

One additional comment to the excellent posts above...

A great part of having good ears is knowing the possibilities. If you know the bass notes in a measure, the melody notes, & the key of the piece then there are a certain limited number of harmonies that might fit any given situation. Within every style there are certain kinds of chords and certain harmonic sequences (or formulae) that can be expected. For example, in bebop or standards it is logical to expect that a I chord is probably preceded by a V7 chord or one of the two or three common substitutions for a V7 chord. It is logical to expect that most dominant 7th chords will be preceded by a companion ii-7 chord or some kind of secondary dominant.

In addition to being able to hear the bass and recognize chord qualities, this kind of knowledge of harmonic craft should fill in most of your questionable areas. After that it is largely a matter of trial and error. Like most things, it gets easier with repetition and eventually becomes something you do without a lot of conscious thought (most of the time).

Good luck! This process of discovery can either be frustrating or an adventure (like solving a puzzle). It is all in how you frame it.

jjohnson · Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 3:47 am Post subject:

FWIW I've been wrestling through a book entitled Hearin' the Changes by Jerry Coker, Bob Knapp, and Larry Vincent. It deals a lot with illustrating some of the structural similarities that exist in a vast majority of standard tunes. Once you familiarize yourself with some of the more common compositional devices it's easier to tell what's going on. It's a bit of a heady read but I'm picking up a lot of real useful stuff.
Jason