Prince - When doves cry

 

Level: Hard

Another legend lost in 2016! It's a quite hard to keep up with the energetic funk of this classic song from Prince but there are several common outlines and word groupings which transcribing these lyrics will certainly sharpen up.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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