Transcribing music by ear is one of those skills that feels impossible until it suddenly isn’t.

In this episode of The Composer’s Life, I talk through how I approach ear transcription — not as a perfect process, but as something you get better at through repetition, patience, and breaking things down into smaller parts.

When you start listening more closely, you begin to hear patterns instead of just sounds. Melodies become shapes, harmony becomes movement, and rhythm starts to make more sense without needing to look at it on paper.

This episode is about that shift — from hearing music passively to actively working it out by ear, and why that process is so valuable for anyone learning composition or working as a composer.

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