How do I transcribe?

[Froggy]

I've just become the bassist for a country/southern rock type band but unfortunately I'm a bit stuck.
I can't read notation and play. I could convert notation to tab, but the problem I have is that it's hard, if not impossible, to find even the notation for a lot of the songs we plan to cover, so I'm left having to learn how to work out the basslines by ear. I can find the rhythm fairly easily, but for the life of me I can't work out the notes. Does anyone have any tips for a complete newbie to transcribing?

Edited October 17, 2016 by Froggy

[Grangur]

Others with more experience will be along in a minute, but I find it useful to slow the track down. For this I use "Transcribe!"
https://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html

I also use a Tascam GB-10. This allows you to slow the track and play along.
http://tascam.com/product/gb-10/

Both of these also allow you to change the key, so you can hear the bass line more. I hope this helps.

[Froggy]

Thanks. I have a trial version of transcribe but I really need to read the how to that's part of the program because it's managing to confuse me more 😁

[ambient]

Start with the chords. Ask the guitarists/keyboard player what chords they're playing, and take it from there.

Start simple with root notes, and add the relevant 3rd/5th etc.

[TKenrick]

I've heard lots of good things about Transcribe but never used it, my default is to use Quicktime 7 (which is free) as it allows for looping, slowing down and changing the key - it also has a rudimentary EQ that lets you boost the bass.

My advice is to start by doing little and often - 10-15 minutes at a stretch is plenty as ears tend to get fatigued quickly. Try to hum or sing the bass notes from the track and match them on your instrument (a good singing voice is definitely not necessary!).

Being able to work out the key of a song can cut down dramatically on guesswork. As country/southern rock mostly sticks to conventional major scale harmony, having a half-decent grasp of how chords work in a key will save you lots of time as most of the songs will stick to the rules.

On the ear training side of things, the first thing is to get really comfortable with the sound of the intervals that make up the major scale. There's a great iphone app called 'Functional Ear Trainer' that I've found very beneficial to my own ear training efforts. Again, little and often is the key to this - your ears will take time to develop but it's definitely worth the investment.

[Froggy]

Thanks guys. I'll take another stab at it when I get home at the weekend.

I'll try to find the ear trainer app for android, it sounds really helpful.