Jazz Guitar Lessons
Zakk Jones Explains Why You Should Stop Transcribing Solos!
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JGT contributor and guitarist Zakk Jones starts a conversation about transcribing melodic interpretations.
Iβll start with an anecdote…
The great Canadian jazz guitarist Ed Bickert legitimately knew thousands of tunes, so calling something he didnβt know was quite rare. Apparently, so the tale goes, a saxophonist happened to want to play a song he didnβt know. So he writes the changes out so they can play the tune, and after the saxophonist takes his solo he looks to Ed who declines to take a chorus. Afterwards the sax player asked Ed βhow come you didnβt blow?β. Edβs reply was simply βwell, how can I take a solo if I donβt know the melodyβ?
ThereβsΒ almostΒ nothing more important in a song than its melody. You can of course find tons of examples where a riff, groove, chord progression, or even a counterline is the most memorable part, but by and large, we connect with songs through melody. In the tradition of jazz, melodic paraphrasing and interpretation is our most obvious gateway to improvisation. In fact, it very much IS improvisation. Most students when tasked with a transcription assignment typically run to their favoriteΒ solo. This involves literally and figuratively βskippingβ past the melody in order to get to the juicy bits. We have to remember that playing a melody is not simply a chore we have to do in order to get to the βfunββplaying chorus after chorus of divinely inspired lines that will captivate our bandmates and audiencesβ¦or so we hope. Then after 12 minutes of soloing, we get back to the head in a triumphantly uninspired final 60-90 seconds. Why even bother playing the melody again if itβs not going to be a reflection or summation of the mood, spirit, and energy that youβve created? In my mind, the question should be βwhy do we evenΒ soloβ? Iβll leave that up to you to ponder.


If you want to get to the heart of a personβs sound and truly start to internalize elements of their playing, your first task is to dissect how they play and interpretΒ melody.Β Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald are typical Mt. Rushmore figures along this journey, but I guarantee that all of your favorite musicians have a unique brand of paraphrasing. The following is a brief smattering of recordings that I find to be particularly valuable, and serve as a good starting point in understanding melodic interpretation.Β
Keep in mind these elements that are often found in paraphrasing. In this process, we are comparing the melody in its original written form, versus what we actually hear someone do in real life.Β
- Changing the length of notes
- Starting or ending a phrase in a different part of a measure (anticipations, delays)
- Adding fills, turns, scoops, growls, chromaticism
- Changing octaves/range in any way
- Articulation, how notes start and end, emphasis or lack of (ghosting a note)
- Playing with the time, laying back, rushing, keeping it straight down the middle
- Altering the melody entirely
- Leaving out parts of the melody
Some important listening…
Mahalia Jackson-Go Tell It On The Mountain
Miles Davis: Someday My Prince Will Come
Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto – So Danco Samba
Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You (Remastered)
Nina Simone – I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free (Official Audio)
Earth, Wind and Fire Can t Hide Love

(By the way, use my code JAZZGUITARTODAY onΒ https://www.donnerdeal.com/Β to get yourself 15% off a new piece of gear, like this guitar you see me playing here!)
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