• Try looping by adding one note at a time.
• This initial looping can be creatively used with novice transcribers by "baby" stepping as one hears first and then watches the finished transcribed solo in manuscipt form. Hal Leonard in the Jazz Transcription Series offers over 100 books featuring the top jazz artists such as Cannonball Adderly, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Mile Davis and others with over 2,000 solos transcribed. Novice transcribers catch on to transcribing by listening and seeing the actual transcribed solo unfold before them.
• If you know the form of the piece, sketch it out in notation manuscript.
• If you know the chords of the piece, sketch it in notation manuscript.
• Most people play/think in four bar phrases. Never try to work on long phrases. Working in a loop by adding one note (rhythm and pitch) at a time is the best formula for an entry level transcriber getting started.
• Have your transcribing machine/software play a couple of measures before the first note of the solo so you can concentrate on the time and meter first.
• Try to identify the last note of the ensemble part right before the first note of the solo. Usually identifcation gives you a solid start on accurately transcribing the first note of the soloist.
• Some the note grabber feature in Transkriber by Reed-Kotler. Basically, it allows you to focus in on a particuilar note or chord with a selection. You initially set the position of the note grabber by click on the "Grab" button. This ican be done while the Transkriber is playing or while it is stopped. It will be set to the current position in the playback. Once set, the note may be played by clicking hte "Play" button that is within the note grabber section. By default, the note is one second in length. The note may be lengthened or shortened by lusing the arrows next to less/more. Consequently, the grabber makes it easier to identify the note(s) in question.
• The "Keyboard" control can be resized by holding and dragging an edge and the Transkriber will remnember your resized keyboard. Clicking the mouse on the key will cause the key to sound. Holding down shift and clicking/clicking the mouse will cause the note to stay down so that you can form chords.
• The musical staff control displays a musical staff. By click the mouse on a note, the note will play. If you shift/click the mouse on a note, the note will stay down so you can form chords. If you click above a note, it will be the sharp of that note and below the note, the flat of that note.
• Recommend you don't use your instrument or keyboard to transcribe. Use your ears instead. In fact, there are three vital parts of transcribing:
  1. Listening
  2. Seeing the notation appear on the music manuscript.
  3. Sounding like the original recording in terms of musical nuances

• Most entry-level transcribers don't count and subdivide lwell. Must focus on subdividing the beat to nail the rhythms accurately.
• Professional jazz musician still transcribe regularly even though they are proficient improvisers. Learning from each other is the essence of transcribing your favorite licks and solos. Most transcribers notated what they are tranascribing. There are some musicians such as the Clayton brothers that listen only with their photographic memory ears