Traditional - Away in a Manger

Level: Easy

A nice, easy festive number which incorporates lots of theory. I might post another seasonal song this month so if you have any suggestions leave a comment or contact me on Facebook or Twitter.

Lyrics
Buy on

Abba - Dancing Queen

Level: Medium

The Swedish popsters are a great choice for Teeline practice with clear, easy to follow lyrics. You'll need to use plenty of shortcuts and word groupings to keep up though.

Lyrics
Buy on

Steve Harley - Make Me Smile

Level: Medium

Thanks to Joe Sturdy for suggesting this. It's a bit difficult to make out all the words on the first listen but the lyrics are worth studying and it goes at a challenging but manageable pace.

Lyrics

Buy on

NCTJ Awards for Excellence

Musical Teeline has been shortlisted for an NCTJ Award for excellence in the multimedia category. Thanks to everyone who has used the site, especially those who have shared it, tweeted about it and suggested songs. I look forward to developing the site to make it resource that everyone can use to make learning Teeline a bit easier and a lot more fun.

The Undertones - Teenage Kicks

Level: Hard

Two reasons for posting this: First it's a short but tough test of Teeline dexterity and secondly it was the favourite song of legendary DJ John Peel who died ten years ago this month. 

There are not many words in the song and the outlines are not that tricky but they go at quite a speed and repeated use of easily confused words like hold, her and have make it the shorthand equivalent of a tongue twister. The verses are repeated so you get two bites of the cherry.

Lyrics

Buy on

Whitney Houston: I Will Always Love You

Level: Easy

An easy slow one with several common words and useful word grouping. This is great for beginners but also a good break if you've been struggling with 100wpm dictations. Concentrate on getting those outlines nice and smooth and neat.

Lyrics

Buy on

Green Day: Basket Case

Level: Hard

Green Day's classic song is great for word groupings and special outlines and also dealing with unusual words. The opening lines are full of easy words including 'time', 'listen' and 'all at once' then you're suddenly hit with words like 'melodramatic' and 'neurotic.' You may get one or two such awkward words in the exam. The trick is to roll with the punches; get something written down and carry on. The fact that it's an unusual word will help you recall it afterwards but if you stop to think you'll get left behind.  For example, I've written 'melodramatic' in full in the sample transcription below but I only managed to write 'md' when I first attempted it. That's about as much as you need to recall it if you've got the rest of the sentence down.

Good luck and don't become a basket case.

Lyrics
Buy on

Bob Dylan: Blowing In The Wind

Level: Medium

A nice steady piece with some good vocabulary from Bob Dylan. It's useful for practising CN blends. Cannon is a particularly tricky one but unlikely to come up in an exam. With a bit of practice this song's easy to do.

Lyrics

Buy on

Musical Teeline on Spotify

You can now practise all the songs on Musical Teeline with this handy Spotify playlist. Make sure you subscribe to the blog to get the latest songs with sample transcriptions and handy hints.

Radiohead - Creep

Level: Easy

This early classic from Radiohead goes at a gentle pace but is packed with essential vocab and theory.  There's the 'A' indicator for 'ang' in angel, the 'cn' blend for skin and perfect abbreviated to perf. 'Creep' could be written with the 'P' intersecting the 'C' but I prefer to write it in one stroke. I've transcribed the clean version because you're not going to get the f-word in an NCTJ exam!

Lyrics

Buy from:

Lucy Spraggan - Tea and Toast

Level: Hard

This was suggested by Emma Marie Webb who has now passed 100 wpm and you will too if you can keep up with Lucy Spraggan's bitter sweet tale.

Lyrics
Buy on

Blur - To The End

Level: Easy

Having featured an Oasis song it's only fair to feature one by Blur. To The End is a nice easy one to transcribe. I'll let you off the backing vocals. As with any NCTJ dictation there are one or two words that might trip you up but it's mostly plain sailing.

Lyrics

Buy on

The Goo Goo Dolls - Iris

Level: Medium

Thanks to Douglas Adams for suggesting this one. Douglas is working toward 80wpm at the moment. If you can do a solid transcription of this, the 80 should be no problem. It's worth practising a few times to really nail the useful vocab and word groupings it contains.

Now that I've passed 100wpm I feel I can write with some authority on how to learn shorthand. Check out my tips for passing your exams here. They're ideas I found most useful and things I wish I'd known earlier.

Lyrics

Buy on:

Oasis - Cigarettes & Alcohol

Level: Medium

All the songs on Definitely, Maybe the debut album by Oasis are good for Teeline practice. This is fairly slow and short but with enough tricky outlines to make it a challenge.

Lyrics

Buy it on

Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Coming Down

Level: hard

Kris Krisofferson's often covered classic covers a range of vocabulary with some complex outlines making it a great challenge but slow and clear enough to be achievable.
'Breakfast' is a cumbersome word to write out in full. I've shortened it to 'b'fast' but there are other ways of shortening and simplifying it which may work better. Also don't bother writing the title out in full. Stick to the first letters.

The site now has a Facebook page. Please like it here or in the box in the sidebar.

Lyrics

Buy it on

Nick Cave - Into My Arms

Level: Medium

Here's a great one for all levels. Some lines are slow and simple others zip past with some tricky outlines but if you get the first letter at least you should be able to read it back.

Lyrics
Buy on

Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

Level: Easy

Sinéad O'Connor's classic is a nice easy one to transcribe with plenty of common words and some handy word groupings.

Lyrics

Buy on

The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

Level: Medium

A smashing tune from The Kinks and a good Teeline dictation. You don't want to be writing Waterloo Sunset out each time so I've shorted it to WS. I put the S over the W to make a distinctive outline; it even looks a bit like a sunset. You may find something else works better for you. It also includes slightly fiddly but handy word grouping 'as long as.'

Buy on 

Lyrics

Rod Stewart - Maggie May

Level: Hard

This classic by Rod Stewart takes a fair bit of stamina but there are a few instrumental breaks to get your breath back including a mandolin solo famously mimed by Radio 1 DJ John Peel on Top of The Pops. Thanks to Emma Marie Webb for the suggestion.

What songs have you transcribed? Please share them here or on Twitter.

Lyrics
Buy song on

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Level: Hard

Johnny Cash's Nine Inch Nails Cover shouldn't be too painful. It goes at a moderate pace with time to catch up but it took me a couple of attempts to get outlines which were legible. There are a number of common words and word groupings. The 'in the end' word grouping is a crucial time saver.

Thanks to Teeline Tweets for the suggestion.

Lyrics

Buy from

Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On

Level: Medium

The Canadian songstress's Titanic hit is clear and sung at a steady pace so you should swim not sink with a bit of concentration.

Lyrics

 Buy on

The Crash Test Dummies - Mmm mmm mmm mmm

Level: Medium

No prizes for transcribing the chorus of this one and the lyrics are easy too if you remember the special outlines and word groupings. This song is full of them. The first line could have been lifted from a Teeline textbook.

Among the word groupings is the very useful 'all over the' written with an 'a' indicator over the following word. Three words with a single small dash makes this an essential time saver. All over the place / world / country are more likely to come up in NCTJ dictations.

Buy on iTunes
Lyrics

The Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life

Level: Easy

The Manic Street Preachers' 1996 hit is a comfortable length and pace and full of special outlines which frequently come up in the NCTJ. The verses repeat a couple of times giving you a chance to perfect your outlines.

Lyrics
Buy on iTunes: