It is often hard to figure out where to go next in your own musical learning. Sometimes you find yourself lost, not knowing which way to head. Of course there are many solutions, but one that never fails is transcribing. But what exactly is transcribing? Although the most accurate definition would be "to arrange for one instrument music written for another, or to write down or notate what is heard," in this case I would rather define it as the act by which, from something we hear, we repeat the sequence on our instrument and then write it down on paper.

It is undoubtedly an excellent way to expand our musical language. Of course there are many levels of transcription; depending on how deep we want to go, we will get different results. So if at some point you don't know what to study, or what to start working on, you will never go wrong if you start transcribing. In fact, I often say the following: "it's all on the records." That is, instructional books, lessons, etc. help us acquire the tools to get the information that is on the records and then be able to play it. Whenever we come across a good musician, they usually share a couple of common denominators with their peers: a great ear and, of course, great time.

For a long time I thought the ear was something innate. As I have progressed, I have come to another conclusion: it is a really important factor, but with effort and work, the ear develops and improves. The difficulty lies in knowing how to work on it; that is, what is known as "ear training."
On the other hand, we should bear in mind that transcribing gives us different levels of refinement. For example, how to relate a sound we hear to a sound our instrument makes. This means that every time we hear that sound, we will associate it with that position on the guitar, or vice versa; that is, before playing a given note or chord we will know how it sounds.

In the course of our learning, we will find songs, or even entire albums, that deserve to be transcribed in full. I think this technique is valid for any instrumentalist, although the choice of song or album will depend largely on the instrument we play. In this case, the main focus of the article will be the guitar. And we will also try, as far as possible, to place each album/song in a different style, to cover a wide musical range.

Funk
In funk, the rhythm guitar is the center of attention. I have always thought that James Brown's album "20 All-Time Greatest Hits!" is one of the key references for learning a great deal about funk. On it we can find most of his classics, but above all the most instructive ones. From "I Got You (I Feel Good)" to "Think," by way of "Sex Machine." In them we find both straight sixteenth-note subdivisions and swung sixteenth-note subdivisions. Keeping the same groove throughout the song, and generally "laid back," that is, a little behind the beat, makes it really challenging and illuminating.

There are more funk options to keep transcribing, many of them ranging from Lenny Kravitz, his funkiest songs, to The Meters or Tower of Power.

Blues
Here we enter one of the broadest sections, since there are many options, many albums and many players we could follow. If we start with Texas blues, it is essential to have Stevie Ray Vaughan's album "Texas Flood." The album dates from 1983 and is the first by SRV, a guitarist known for his great talent on six strings in the blues. Songs you absolutely must have in your repertoire are "Pride and Joy," "Lenny," "Love Struck Baby" and "Texas Flood" itself. You will find countless guitar licks to transcribe. Crushing rhythm parts; the one in "Pride and Joy" is highly recommended, as is its intro. The timing on all the songs in general is really tricky, since they tend to be "laid way back," which makes them harder to play.

Moving on to another of the greats of the blues, we come to B.B. King. His discography is immense. Which album should I have? A real dilemma, given the huge number of options. Since we have to name one, I personally think it is the album "Blues on the Bayou." Released in '98, it has been around a while, but considering the artist's career it is a relatively recent album. One of the most important songs in the whole repertoire is the opener, a clear example of how to use harmonic minor in a blues. Lifelong songs from the master, but with a relatively modern sound. How to play and choose notes in the third and fourth pentatonic fingerings, and how to get that special vibrato that has defined him throughout his career, not to mention how to mix major and minor pentatonics. You can find all of that on this album.

There is one album that is personally one of my bedside albums, and from which I have managed to extract a great deal of information. It is called "Showdown!" and it is performed by three greats of the blues: Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray. It is a 1985 album, and we can make use of everything on it. From Albert Collins-style funk blues, where we can learn great licks using just two strings, to more classic T-Bone-style blues, by way of Robert Cray-style minor blues.

Jazz
It is impossible to sum up an entire style for transcription and draw general information from one, two or three albums. At the very least we will offer a few names to keep in mind when we get down to work. The word Jazz is something really big that encompasses several styles of its own. Let's make a general summary, because otherwise we would spend several months talking about just one style of music to transcribe.

One of the albums that has helped me most to understand and get into this genre is Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. On it you have legendary, much-celebrated pieces such as "So What," a clear example of how to play over Dorian, or "Blue in Green," ten bars played "so laid back" that they are very hard to follow, and also with an intro by Bill Evans that is simply incredible and instructive to transcribe, whatever your instrument. Then there are "All of You" and "Freddie Freeloader," both well worth considering. All in all, a great album that will give you a lot of vocabulary and will also help you play over the changes.

Another album that has really helped me a lot in understanding jazz phrasing is Coltrane's "Blue Train," in which the title track itself is a clear example of how to use pickups (anacruses) to resolve phrases. It also has other songs worth considering, such as "Lazy Bird" and "Locomotion," which will help you internalize swing.

Rock/Heavy/Metal
In this category we can put the heaviest sounds. We can use albums like these to gain more vocabulary in these styles. A couple of pieces to keep in mind to begin with are Whitesnake's "1987" and "Slip of the Tongue." In the first case, John Sykes's vibrato, bends and tone are worth studying if you have a Les Paul and want to get the most out of it. There you can find great classics. The same goes for "Slip of the Tongue," where Steve Vai gives us some very considerable melodic ideas.

Then we have Ozzy Osbourne, who has had mainly three guitarists who are, or have been, standouts in the style: Randy Rhoads, from whom we can highlight songs to transcribe such as "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley"; Jake E. Lee; and Zakk Wylde.

We can't forget AC/DC, where the trilogy "Back in Black," "Highway to Hell" and "The Razors Edge" must be in our repertoire. But most important, without forgetting Angus, is his brother Malcolm, whom you should not lose sight (or rather, "earshot") of for a second. Keeping up with his rhythm parts is simply extremely difficult.

In the more Metal sections, we have Metallica, a band with an extensive discography. Of all their albums I would highlight "Master of Puppets," perhaps not because it has the best sound, but if you are looking for riffs, all downpicked, this is the album, and once again, although Kirk Hammett sounds great, the one you should not underestimate for a second is James Hetfield.

On another level, we have Pantera's album "Cowboys from Hell," with Dimebag Darrell. What makes it more than important are its incredible solos and dizzying riffs. Highly advisable, I would even say necessary, to be able to play that kind of sound.

Another band to keep in mind is Mr. Big. There are many options from them, but you should keep the album "Lean into It" in mind if your concern is maintaining solid alternate picking. The man responsible for that incredible phrasing is Paul Gilbert.

In rock, we can highlight the Black Crowes album "Shake Your Money Maker." Marc Ford's guitars make it more than essential if you are after a Southern rock sound.

Pop/Rock/Misc
In this section we will include all those albums that don't have a specific, easily classifiable style, or that we could simply put in several boxes at once. So we will make a kind of catch-all. We can start with The Allman Brothers Band. If you are interested in slide and want a good number of licks, don't hesitate: go for the album "At Fillmore East," a live recording that belongs on your shelf / iPod.

Changing gears, we can highlight several Michael Jackson albums if you are interested in the funk/pop sound; "Bad" is a must, along with individual songs such as "Beat It," etc.

Of course, if you need to get a completely Pop sound, and you also need to learn more about ninth chords, you should study The Police's "Greatest Hits" album. Songs you need in your repertoire include "Roxanne," "Message in a Bottle," "Every Breath You Take," etc., and that way you can get a little closer to Andy Summers.

Another important link is provided by Johnny Cash; we can say it is a country sound, but completely visual and instantly recognizable. That makes it very instructive. I recommend any of the American Recordings albums, especially IV: "The Man Comes Around."

Of course there are other greats who, with work and dedication, will reward us. Jimi Hendrix, for example. I can only say that any song you transcribe will be useful, although if I have to choose one album to keep especially in mind, it is "Axis: Bold as Love." Along the same lines we can highlight Rory Gallagher and, above all, the live album "Irish Tour." It is a style of guitar playing that went on to influence many guitarists. Pay attention to the rhythm parts as well as the solos. Use of slide, Dobro and mandolin: what more could you ask of an album?

Conclusion
I have summarized a series of suggestions that have helped me over time to expand my musical vocabulary. But, of course, the list is unfinished. There are a thousand more options that I don't know about, or that I simply didn't know how to get the most out of. What matters is the concept: listen, transcribe and learn.