Moose the Mooche Omnibook Transcript Questions

[charlieparker]

I tried transcribing the head to Moose. Unfortunately, I can't tell whether most of the time whether a note is on the beat or anticipating it.

So, I popped open the Omnibook and it wasn't quite the same as what I guessed. For instance, for the first phrase I had my second F on 3 and the Eb on 1 of the next measure.

My second question is on the phrase right after that. The Omnibook has Bb G Eb C Bb G. I couldn't hear all those notes and ended up with Bb G D Bb. The second time a similar phrase comes up, I do here something closer to that.

I am working off the original recording here where it's really hard to hear much besides the horns.

[Mick-7]

I tried transcribing the head to Moose. Unfortunately, I can't tell whether most of the time whether a note is on the beat or anticipating it.

So, I popped open the Omnibook and it wasn't quite the same as what I guessed. For instance, for the first phrase I had my second F on 3 and the Eb on 1 of the next measure.

The Omnibook note rhythms are correct.

My second question is on the phrase right after that. The Omnibook has Bb G Eb C Bb G. I couldn't hear all those notes and ended up with Bb G D Bb. The second time a similar phrase comes up, I do here something closer to that.

I hear Bb-G-Eb-Bb-G - no C, it's an Eb arpeggio.

From this recording:

[PMB]

The placement of that first 'F' relates to another recent thread here about delaying the upbeat to the point that it basically becomes the next downbeat:

The swing feel IS truly a feel

The Omnibook transcription of this tune is better than most. I quibble with some of the notated rhythms, ghost notes and a couple of pitch errors (in bars 7 & 12). The line here is played very cleanly but in cases where Parker is doubling the head with either trumpet or tenor sax, it can be difficult occasionally to hear the intended note (especially if there's a clam in the other part). It can be helpful to listen to the head's repeat (if there is one) or the version occurring at the end of the tune to determine what the written part may have been.

[Christian Miller]

There’s quite a few split notes in the original recordings of Parker heads which makes it hard to pick out certain notes.

It speaks to the conditions in which these things were recorded, but also maybe why they sound so fresh.


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[Mick-7]

There’s quite a few split notes in the original recordings of Parker heads which makes it hard to pick out certain notes.

Yeah, Miles kept messing up the intonation of the doubled lines.

[PMB]

Here's my own transcription as a comparison:

[PMB]

Forget the chord symbols - they were added as a placeholder. I'll have to go back at some stage to hear what was actually played on the recording (most likely just Bb6 or Gm7 for bar 1).

[charlieparker]

Here's my own transcription as a comparison:

Thanks. I appreciated your Blues for Alice transcription, too. How long does it take you to transcribe something like Moose? I find getting the notes is relatively fast but I can't hear rhythms accurately at all.

[PMB]

Thanks. I appreciated your Blues for Alice transcription, too. How long does it take you to transcribe something like Moose? I find getting the notes is relatively fast but I can't hear rhythms accurately at all.

Thanks CP, I've transcribed for many years (I even wrote a whole book of transcriptions about 15 years ago that was about to be published by Hal Leonard before the bottom fell out of the market) but don't do much these days as I'm too busy performing, practising and teaching. However, I like to make up my own charts from recordings and I'll generally take down a head like Moose in one session. The actual time can vary depending on the level of detail.

I started playing guitar and piano in 1969(!) when I was 8 years old. The first album I ever bought was released that same year, The Beatles' Abbey Road and I worked out most of the parts by ear. I didn't consider it ear training - it was simply that popular sheet music books in those days were generally inaccurate reductions into a basic piano/vocal format and I was desperate to play the tunes with some degree of accuracy!

Getting back to transcribing complex rhythms, the trick when you get stuck is to find the next clear attack point from wherever you are and work between the two. Clap the main beats out to see how everything lines up. Also, if things get too crazy, it's sometimes better to indicate the intention behind a phrase rather than getting caught up with the impossibility of exactitude.