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    Transcribing a song is not just for music scholars, Just about anyone can figure out how to play a song by just listening to it. The process is tedious and time consuming as well, If you want to break down a song to transcribe it or play it then be prepared to spend some time on. There are a few things that you must do and all of them will take time.

•  Listen to the Song - You cannot do two things when 'listening' to a song, Not even think...
    
•  Write down the words - The vocal parts should be considered an instrument in itself, You should be able to 'say' all of the words without any reference. Singing along to a song and knowing the words are two different things, If you can't write out the words so a song that you are learning then you don't know them...
     
•  Determine the Key - Most great music is so predictable, The key of a song tells you what chords and scales to expect.  

    If you are just starting out then it is realistic to spend five months learning a five minute song, Its also realistic to try to learn a song and then not like the song anymore, And even more realistic to never learn the song at all. Nothing irks me more than 'play like a pro in two days' books, Learning to play a song is something that simply takes time...

    You can easily determine the key of a song with our 'octaves' worksheet, If the song is in an open tuning then you can still determine the key using a standard tuned guitar. You are going to be listening to the song while you try to find notes on your guitar that they are playing, This is a one note at a time process, When you find one note that you know for sure they are playing then you set down your guitar and find that note on the octaves work sheet and click on it. The octaves worksheet will show 'all' of those tones and there will be at least one on each string, Each time you fill in one tone then it will be harder to find the next one - This is because you will find a tone and see that it is already showing.

    The Octaves Worksheet lets you fade out the 'tone names' and the circles as well, You should fade these out which makes it easier to look at.

   Above we have faded out the tone names and the circles and 'half' faded out the tones that are selected. The only tone that was selected was the one at the sixth fret on the biggest string, Even after you find all the tones that you can then you will still have to analyze the results. The 'minor' positions offer a great reference because all six strings will have a tone showing on the same fret.

If you put in these tones...

Then these show...

   There are three points of this pattern that have a tone on all six strings, These are the 'capo' points and should be used as a guide. The pattern as a whole can be broken up into chunks starting with the capo points and extend out three frets >>> The easiest point to spot in the pattern showing above is at the 10th and 12th fret where both use all six strings, This 'pattern' can be found in all twelve keys. (find what key this pattern is showing)...

   The tones you find can be scattered too and the result will be the same, The octaves 'worksheet' should be seen as a valuable tool. You are not limited to the tones of the guitars and the other instruments, The vocals stick out alot more than the music does so try to find the tones that the words are using...  Some music changes keys which will result in odd and confusing results, If you combine the Key of C and the Key of G then the pattern looks like this:

If you combine the Key of C and the Key of G then the pattern looks like this

  Even though this is two keys combined you can narrow it down to which two keys by looking for the common patterns, The points where all six strings are used on the same fret can be spotted in this pattern, Even if you combine three keys like C G and D you will still be able to spot capo points and narrow it down.

   Most times you will find the song to be in one key, After you determine the key that the song is in then you know what chords and scales will most likely be used, This is not really a lesson but more of an extended tutorial on our octaves worksheet. The act of actually writing down the results is important too, Its not enough to just have it mentally written down - Get a notepad just for the songs you are learning, Even if you bypass the transcribing part by purchasing sheet music you still cant bypass the first two steps which are listening to the song and memorizing the words...