Butterfield
Can you recommend any resources for Butterfield transcriptions? Is his book worth picking up?
-Taylor
Cool. Thanks Winslow. How might I get my hands on some of those transcriptions? Are they for sale? I know I should be eventually trying to play the songs by ear but it really helps to have transcriptions that point out nuances that you just don't notice when you're new.
-Taylor
Ward -
Let me check into what I have.
Okeedokey. Let me know :)
The book "Masters of he Blues Harp" by Glenn Weiser includes a transcription of Butterfield's "Work Song" solo from East-West.
Checking my transcriptions, the only Butterfield one I've done is "Too Many Drivers." I've done several Little Walters, some of Stevie Wonder's stuff and a lot of Toots Thielemans.
I've been thinking about a way to make transcriptions available at reasonable cost. Getting the details right, and then putting it into readable form, takes a lot of work, easily about $100 worth of highly skilled labor.
But most individuals blanch at paying $100 for a single transcribed solo, while publishers aren't terribly eager to publish them either.
So here's an idea: Several folks get together and pledge, say, $15 each. When the subscriptions reach a sufficient level, I collect the money via Paypal and do the work. (Paying afterwards means I have to chase some folks down who are reluctant to pay, and I don't want the hassle.)
I do the transcription as a commissioned work and each subscriber to the commission gets their own PDF copy.
Anyone who's interested in this idea can get in touch with me: winslowyerxa@yahoo.com
I understand it takes a lot of work to transcribe every nuance. It's too bad publishers are'nt more excited about publishing trancript books for the harp. So if I understand you correctly, send you an email and once you get enough subscribers it would be a monthly transcription available at $15 a month?
-Taylor
I didn't mention a monthly component, but it's not a bad idea.
By subscribers I just meant people interested in paying into the project and then getting copies once it's done.
My original idea was for a one-off. You and enough other people get together to cover my time and effort for a transcription, and then I do the work and deliver to the subscribers.
Other one-off projects could follow as desired, but it would mean rounding up subscribers for each new transcription.
Doing it on a monthly basis would assure an ongoing flow of transcriptions. But everyone has to commit on that ongoing basis and has to agree on what they want transcribed - unless you all agree to makes suggestions and then leave it to me to choose.
Hmm. I wonder who else might be interested . . . .
Hello Everyone,
Winslow is correct, transcribing a song can be very time intensive. Having said that, it is still one of the best methods for learning a solo.
The only two Butterfield transcriptions I have seen are the "Work Song", that Winslow listed and "Too Many Drivers", that I used for my focus song at a few David Barrett's Harmonica Masterclass Workshops on Butterfield. I think you should query David and see if this is still available.
The Homespun produced Butterfield training is not what you're looking for--no transcriptions here.
Your Harpsmith,
Kinya
Kinya is definitely the Butterfield expert around here. But a few of my observations:
I've done a few Butterfield transcriptions for private parties.
Butterfield did an instructional audio tape (originally on cassette) with John Sebastian. I've never listened to it, but I understand from reports that Butterfield was not Mr. Instructor. I'm not sure if this is the same one now being offered on Homespun/Hal Leonard.