In January 2004, I transcribed Charlie Parker's Just Friends solo, probably the hardest solo I've ever worked on. It's also my favorite! The way his ideas are so effortless, it has always boggled my mind! Back then, I was a transcribing machine, and nowadays, I transcribe less and less, at least when it comes to doing complete solos from start to finish. This solo has always stayed with me, though, because it enabled me to work on so many things simultaneously, but over the years, parts of the solo have drifted away from my fingers.
. Which leads me to now, September 2011, almost 8 years later, and really missing being able to play this solo. I've also been studying a ton of Charlie Parker over the last 3 years, and I feel it does an incredible job of improving my ears and improvisation. He's my idol, of course, and has been since I first heard him on one of my first jazz CDs back in 1997. His recording of Just Friends is nothing short of magnificent, and I really wanted to relearn it. Piece by piece, it came together over a short couple of days, mostly because I had played it so many times and learned it so thoroughly all those years ago. Still polishing it, though. Here's what I have so far:
Just a thought that I feel is very, very important when it comes to transcription: When you transcribe something that is very fast and difficult to catch everything, such as this Just Friends solo, or any other Bird w/ Strings recording, where he plays line after line of very melodic, but very articulate (which is extremely creative articulation!) ideas. try doing the solo without assistance, which would include something like Transcribe (a program which slows down the recording), or the sheet music, if you can find it. This may seem overwhelming at first to not be able to slow it down, especially with the first line of the solo in Just Friends. This is an advanced concept, obviously, but no beginner or even intermediate player would attempt this solo as one of their first transcriptions, most likely, and should start with something a little easier. In other words, transcribing at the original speed, no matter how difficult the solo, is your best bet to improve your ears and musicianship significantly. I've never used Transcribe, but will if I want to write a book and get the notes 100% accurate on paper--that's a different kind of accuracy. But for style, articulation, and better flow of the idea you are learning, and connecting it all together, the original speed (although tortuous at times) is the way to go for the best results in terms of being a better musician and improviser.
The first line of the solo probably took a week when I tried it the first time to get it flowing the way it should. That was an extreme amount of work. I compare it to memorizing a poem by Shakespeare: If you memorize maybe 4 or 5 lines at a time, and work really hard at it, you will nail those 4 or 5 lines during your memorizing session of let's say, 30 minutes. Then you come back maybe 2 hours later, and try it again, suddenly. you freeze. it's gone. It's kind of there, but you must relearn it. Then it starts to flow. Now you have completed phase one of memorizing the poem. When you recite the poem the very next day, you can do it with much more ease. Phase two is memorizing another set of lines in the same fashion, but then connecting it with the part you had already learned. Connecting both newly learned parts can be very tough, especially when you are aiming for perfection. This is the same process I go about when transcribing a Charlie Parker solo, or any solo for that matter.
When you transcribe, you should be the biggest stickler in the world towards detail: blending with the solo (playing softer underneath it), articulating the notes the same way, shapes and phrasing, etc. It's beyond the notes, really. it's how he plays them. Sometimes you can get crazy and try to relate to his emotion, which Bird w/ Strings really in my opinion is Bird's best, simply because I know that he loved the strings the most.
I remember watching Bird, the fantastic Clint Eastwood film based on Charlie Parker's life, as well as Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker, and both films displayed Charlie's love of the strings, especially in Celebrating Bird, which is a documentary rather than a movie. I don't remember the details or exact quote, but it was something similar to, when they took the strings away, he was devastated.
When it comes to picking a transcription, you should pick the solo that is challenging for your current level, whatever that may be. It shouldn't be extremely more challenging, but should be a challenge. It should serve the purpose of making you a better player. I pick Charlie Parker solos most often because they are extremely challenging to emulate, and I feel that even after a lifetime of doing them to completion, I still could learn more. That's incredible!
. In the next blogpost, coming very shortly, I will discuss my next step in the journey, which is taking what I learned and using it for improvisation on a tune, and in this case, Just Friends.