LJS 112: Mastering the Art of Transcribing (feat. Greg Fishman)

Welcome to episode 112 of the LJS Podcast where today we have on special guest renowned saxophonist and educator Greg Fishman. Greg shares his story of how he has developed such a successful career in jazz and talks about one of his secret weapons: transcribing. Can you guess how many solos Greg has transcribed? Listen in!
Listen to episode 112







In today's episode, I'm welcoming on a very special guest, Greg Fishman. We go over his story of how he became such a successful and masterful jazz musician, as well as talk about transcribing, one of his practice room go-to's.
If you aren't familiar with Greg, he's a renowned saxophonist who's toured with the likes of Conte Condoli, Benny Golson, Clark Terry, Lou Donaldson and many more. But he's also a great jazz educator, having published many books both through Hal Leonard and self-publishing his own.
Greg is a phenomenal musician, and you'll learn a lot just by hearing his story and getting inside his brain. But he also talks a lot about transcribing, which is something he's done a lot of (you'll see what I mean!).
Here's some of what we talk about in this episode:
1. How Greg got started into music and jazz.
2. How many jazz solos Greg has transcribed (hint: it's a lot).
3. Some tips and tricks for effective solo transcription.
4. Greg's new membership course and how it can help you.
I know you're going to love this interview with Greg Fishman and get just as much out of it as I did. Prepare yourself for inspiration, awe, and tons of value bombs along the way!
Be sure to check out Greg's membership course at the link below.
Important Links
Greg's membership course and jazz books







Read the Transcript
Brent: Hey, hey, what's up, everybody? My name is Brent, I am the jazz musician behind the website LearnJazzStandards.com, which has a blog, podcast, and videos all geared towards helping you become a better jazz musician.
Welcome to episode 112. On today's show we have a very special guest on, it's saxophonist, recording artist, and jazz educator Greg Fishman. Greg is a masterful musician who's played with the who's who, who has an incredibly accomplished performing career, but not only that, he is an incredibly great educator, though. That's why I'm especially excited to have him on the show today, and Greg today talks a lot about just his story, and goes through how he became this incredible musician that he is. And I know that this is gonna be so enlightening for you, just to listen to his story. I know I got a lot out of it myself.
Now, specifically today, Greg talks a lot about transcribing and how that was such an important part of his jazz education and still is today. And what I want you to do, I want you to guess right now how many solos Greg Fishman has transcribed, okay? Make a guess right now, keep listening to the show. You're gonna find out exactly how many solos that is, and you're gonna be blown away. Okay, so make that guess.
You know, specifically I want to clarify this as well, in the past we've had other guests on the show that have talked about transcribing, but transcribing in jazz is sometimes used as an over-encompassing terminology just to mean you learn a jazz solo by ear. But Greg Fishman literally means writing it down. So just to keep that in mind as well.
Now, if you want to check out Greg's website go to GregFishmanJazzStudios.com. He's also gonna talk a little bit about a special membership program that he's got near the end of the show. So stick around for that. All right, let's not waste any more time. Let's jump into it and get on Greg Fishman.
All right, welcoming on the show is renowned saxophonist,...