Transcriptions

Greetings and welcome to the Transcriptions page.
What's happening here is that I’ve decided to take transcriptions I’ve done over the years and post them, coffee stains and all. The majority of these will be hand scribed in a fashion that is space saving and in no way do I make a claim of complete accuracy with these written interpretations. Hopefully these will save you a couple hours if you’re in a situation where you need to get your head around a tune.



This first is Springsteen’s “Born to Run” from the album of the same name. Some thoughtful drum parts for each section of the song and the way it all stiches together is another great example of American song writing.

One of the most played fusion tunes of all time? Possibly.

Birdland brought Weather Report into the main stream in the late ‘70s and officially made jazz fusion the new wave of contemporary music. How fortunate we are that this tune and others from the group penetrated our culture.
Here’s “the drum part” for the studio version of that tune from the album Heavy Weather.

Steve Winwood's Back in the High Life Again

Okay, dig Steve Winwood’s and Will Jennings’ Back in the High Life (Again). A killer tune if you’re looking for a trance dance with a partner.
Best I can tell (and hope for) the drumming is John Robinson, but sequences programmed by Steve and Jimmy Bralower also grace the album of the same name.
So here’s 1987’s Back in the High Life Again as I heard it.

Mike Stern's Little Shoes

Mike Stern's "Little Shoes" comes from his second album as a leader, "Upside Downside". This particular album was my introduction to Mike and Dave Weckl actually. Thanks to my fellow Berklee'ites for that, but it wasn't until a wedding band gig that I sat and checked the tune more closely. It's about keeping it simple.

Billy Joel - This Is The Time

Here's a look at how Liberty DeVitto handled a medium tempo piece from Billy Joel's "The Bridge" back in '86. Again, simple rules here as well, but there are some really cool things he does with a four bar phrase not settling for just knocking out 2s & 4s, something I fall back on all too often.

Here's the LP version to check out: This Is The Time.

Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen

From the album of the same name, Tunnel of Love was the first tune from Springsteen that had that ’80s poorly programed sound. Not being a fan of Springsteen at the time yet knowing some works from cover band work, I wasn’t sure what to make of this cut. The bass drum for the first 10 bars is strangely out of time and the drum sounds in general are a little to “Miami Vice” for my tastes. True to form though, the songs strong construction and lyrics bring it home regardless of the technology used.

Abby Road Melody – The Beatles

Here's a page from my 80's notebook that helped me through the "Abbey Road Medley", regardless of my spelling knowledge.

Again, our Wikipedia definition helps us greatly with the details of each sections inspiration and lore, which is helpful and truly out of the scope of this post.

My attraction to this piece, and most of the Beatles' book, is the majestic setups and turn-around’s that beg for simple, perfect drum fills falling back into the half note grooves we take so long to respect.

The piece gives brother Ringo his few bars of solo glory and sets the bar for cover band drummers. It’s the execution of those 8 bars that always humbled me; if you get it right, the kids go wild, you don’t, FAIL! The key, IMO, is to play the straight 16th lines really straight, then in bar four and seven swing the crap out of the threes, and in bar eight fall way back in the pocket and re-introduce the eighth note groove. Simple tension and release on a four piece Oyster Black kit.

Jessica – The Allman Brothers

Just last week one of the groups I’m currently with decided to cover Jessica from The Allman Brothers Band album Brothers and Sisters. Now I’d heard this tune as a kid but never really listened to it until now and after rehearsing with the band the other night I’m really loving the southern rock style of groove here. First listen one might choose to play it square; 2 eighths on the bass drum, quarter note on the snare. What I’ve found is that I can play patterns sounding like dual drummers, one playing a half time feel, and then even drop some second line feels over that. In the end you get a sort of churning groove where listeners can hear what’s natural to them while the person next to them is hearing something completely different, but most importantly they’re both dancing!

A great tune for drummers with endurance.

Life’s Been Good – Joe Walsh, 1978

A tune I’ve been listening to since it was released so many years ago, but just recently was asked to actually pick it apart. Again, it’s the simple parts that make this tune an easy win, but you’ll still have to count through the 12 bar solo section and check what they do the second time through that’s not done the first.

Sorry I’ve not added the dynamics here, so check them out. It’s a mellow reggae tune actually, but don’t let the tempo drag ‘cause it can become real lethargic and un-danceable if it does.

Doctor Wu – Steely Dan
1975, 1979

From the album Katy Lied, we have a look at Dr. Wu.

Moving along at a clip of 122, drummer Jeff Pocaro this is a classic Fagen/Becker collaboration using some of New York’s finest musicians of the time. The song is blocked out nicely in groups of eights and fours until the second half of the chorus where they turn around with a five bar phrase that leads into the solo, and into the coda vamp. Great form too; Intro - A - Ch – solo – Intro – A – Ch – Coda.

As always the key to the Steely Dan book is the accessibility of the songs. Always a chorus you’ll remember, a story told about someone you’ve known and some extended blowing during the fade out.