Many posters say they record the fruits of their practice (practise?) regularly. My teacher is after me to do it more regularly. But getting a decent track down is a painful experience. No matter how well I know the piece, when I record, the hands find buttons I never intend to play and I make some mistakes I never make otherwise.
First- Recording practices (ises). Do people just hammer through, warts and all, or stop and start again until the track is 'presentable'?
Second- Aside from excessive drink (am sometimes accused of that) and beta blockers (I am normally opposed to 'better music through Chemistry') how does everyone approach recording.
You don't have to record yourself to get better. At least not when you're starting out. Save that for when you're more fluid and want to analyze the nuances of your playing.
I record everything on a project called Test. It's just a test, see. If it comes out good, then I save it as something else. If not, I close my Test project without saving. Takes the pressure off.
Also, don't forget to listen to your recording and pay attention to what you did RIGHT.
I used to stop and start but i got sick of that and now i just plough on through. After a while you just dont give a sh*te about getting it right and its only then that you stop making stupid mistakes.
I think it's very common. You brain tells you that a mic and recorder are mere inanimate objects but something deep inside tells you otherwise. All we can do is to keep doing it 'til we're brain-dead.
I don't record my individual practice, but I do sometimes record band rehearsals and gigs. Overall, our playing usually sounds better than I feared it would. All the mistakes are there, true, but also lots of good passages. For me, mistakes loom larger in my memory, so it's good to have an objective "opinion" from a recorder.
But I don't fuss with the recorder, I just turn it on and let it run. Don't tinker too much with technology--that way lies madness. Just play.
It is possible, but how easy or difficult it is depends on exactly what make and model minidisc player you have, what format the recording was made in, what operating system your computer uses, what cables you have or don't have, etc. In the worst-case scenario, your MD player doesn't have a USB output and your computer doesn't have an analog audio input. Then you'd need to buy an analog to USB converter, like the iMic, get some audio recording software for your computer, and record from the MD to the computer in real time. Then convert to mp3 using iTunes or some other format conversion software. If your computer has an audio input, you can skip the iMic.
The easiest thing to do would be to consult the user manual for your MD player. If they don't describe an easier way, chances are there isn't one.
I think recording yourself can be a useful tool. It can be handy for giving you an idea of what you sound like to other people, and can help point out potential problems with your playing.
But the music is *more* than what you will find on any recording. There is a huge difference between experiencing music live and listening to a recording - even if it's a recording of the very same live music. There is a deeper connection between the musician and anyone listening than we can really grasp I think. Case and point would be listening to recordings of sessions that you played in. The listening experience almost always leaves you with a different impression than the one you had while playing. You might have thought "oh, what a great session", and then go back to it later to listen, and think "hmmm, it wasn't as great as I thought". Or vice versa. But what really matters is the sensory experience that you had when you were actually there.
So don't rely on recordings of yourself for more than just giving you some pointers for things that you'd like to work on...
I used to freak out whenever I knew a recording device was running, but I record enough now that it doesn't bother me as much. I'm used to it. I most often record a tune to send it to someone else to listen to and learn from. So I usually try to make it accurate. Nowadays, most of my recordings are done in one take, although, occasionally if I mess up, I will stop, and restart the previous phrase, and then just edit out the mistake before I send it.
Zippy - Your recordings of yourself may not be truly representative of how you play. But the mistakes that you make when you are recording might actually reveal the bits of the tunes that you don't know as well as you thought you did, thus giving you pointers as to what you need to work on - it is when you are under pressure that the cracks show.
That said, recording yourself is not an *essential* aid to learning. If recording is such an painful and stressful process for you that it knocks your confidence and taints your overall enjoyment of playing, then perhaps you shouldn't do it.
Zippy.... I suggest, stop briefly and play the goofed part over, cut the stop and the mistake out in the edits. Should patch together decently.
The MD question... if all else fails, and I have done this with already "transferred" MD recordings that I lost on the computer, since the MD only lets you transfer once... it's slow but get a cable that goes from the headphone jack into the mike jack on the computer, or to the sound card, and record it into something like Audacity, or a recording program. it flows through in real time. The cable is a few dollars at most.
You just need a minijack-minijack lead to do what Iris says. I bet you've already got one. That's the way I always did it. If you have a HiMD recorder you should have a USB cable and SonicStage software which is quicker than real time. The software should let you copy your own recordings more than once if I remember correctly, which I probably don't. Something to do with analogue and digital. Yet another reason why MD never caught on.
A fella {fiddle} called Dermi Diamond now living in the
Dublin or area,,Said he helped himself a bit while learning by-
First recording when first learning= Reel ,jig polka waltz, and
maybe a slow tune,, Then do it again = 6 weeks 6months a
year e.t.c, e.t.c. Then keep going back to see how you've
improved , what mistakes notes tone etc, you keep making.
Try to Improve on it and keep recording for a whie to see
how you can improve your playing. He said it cruel at first
but keep at it, and you'll improve,,
jim,,,
Ditch the MD -- splurge on one of these for portable high quality scratch recordings in uncompressed WAV format that is immediately uoploadable to computer and ocnertable to MP3 -- you can even recordin MP3 mode. I ahve one and it is simple as pie.
Don't fret over recording, use the recordings to indentify weak spots.
If most people are their own harshest critic, then recording yourself is like having a lesson with your harshest critic.
It's always hard to do at first, but it DOES get easier the more you do it, especially if you use the recordings to improve your playing--which is, of course, why your teacher wants you to do it.
At the end of the day, you almost always hear yourself differently in the 3rd person. But you have to acknowledge that how you sound on a recording is closer to how you sound to others around you than it is to how you think you sound when you're playing. If you don't ever listen to yourself, it's really easy to delude yourself into thinking that you're not making a bunch of really obvious mistakes (just if you never look in the mirror, you'll never suspect that there's a piece of spinach in your teeth).
It's just like exercising. Do it rarely, and you'll hate it, but do it regularly, and you'll actually come to enjoy it. There are few things quite as satisfying as (after having practiced recording yourself for a period of time), listening to a recording of yourself and thinking "Damn. That's some nice playing!"
From what I know from people in the past who recorded lots of ITM albums, the supergroups and the "stars", no one ever gets through without mistakes somewhere, some just terrible. Nope...no names! Everything is edited, EQed, cleaned up.
I record our monthly IAANJ session, it's how we support it, and also they are great tune learning tools.... but my fear in the beginning was people would be afraid and put off by the mikes, and if they were, we'd just stop it and figure out another was besides CD sales to support it. Au contraire.... we get people angling to be on mike! They know I do a good edit and cleanup and EQ and make them sound great. If a track is unsalvageable...out it goes.
So keep in mind when you hear the mistakes on your recording, that there is a good chance that the "greats" we all admire so much have a fair bit of "whoops" in their recordings before edits, and stop beating yourself up so much! Just to see what you need to improve is good though I suppose, but I sure know when I goof without a recorder.... and then beat myself up! The recording would only make me beat myself up twice!
And I am looking forward to your 30 Euro CD with the fancy cover!
Sure there’s the performance anxiety as you sit and try to play with visions of dollar signs parading by, but there’s also a certain psychosis you might experience when recording... at least that's what my experience has been. What I'm talking about is how it takes a while before you actually hear yourself objectively on the recording. It’s very hard to do this right after the recording is made and that’s why it's a good idea to have a producer helping you.
When I listen back to the recording on the studio monitors all of my imperfections seem magnified beyond reason and I can't stand to listen. The only solution seems to be trying again, and again, and again, or just scrapping the whole project. This is particularly true in your first couple of efforts, or at least it was in my experience. Regardless of my objections my band mates wanted to move forward. I would listen back to the scratch tape on my car radio and be so filled with anxiety that I nearly got into a wreck... but even though I pleaded to scrap the thing -- my band mates insisted on moving forward.
After it was in the can and we were selling them at gigs I felt guilty every time one sold -- especially if they asked me to sign it. I couldn't help but feel it was a scam or we were sideshow snake oil salesmen. For this reason I didn't listen to the first recording for years. One day I walked into a friend's house and some nice Irish music was playing on their stereo and I thought, "This is nice -- this is the way I'd like to play." I asked who it was and they said, "It's you ya numbskull."
The moral of the story is that the next time we recorded I remembered this experience and it helped me to lighten up on myself a bit.
recording anxiety
recording anxiety
Many posters say they record the fruits of their practice (practise?) regularly. My teacher is after me to do it more regularly. But getting a decent track down is a painful experience. No matter how well I know the piece, when I record, the hands find buttons I never intend to play and I make some mistakes I never make otherwise.
First- Recording practices (ises). Do people just hammer through, warts and all, or stop and start again until the track is 'presentable'?
Second- Aside from excessive drink (am sometimes accused of that) and beta blockers (I am normally opposed to 'better music through Chemistry') how does everyone approach recording.
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by zippydw
Re: recording anxiety
You don't have to record yourself to get better. At least not when you're starting out. Save that for when you're more fluid and want to analyze the nuances of your playing.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by Farr
Re: recording anxiety
I record everything on a project called Test. It's just a test, see. If it comes out good, then I save it as something else. If not, I close my Test project without saving. Takes the pressure off.
Also, don't forget to listen to your recording and pay attention to what you did RIGHT.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by sbhikes
Re: recording anxiety
Jeez do I know what your saying.
I used to stop and start but i got sick of that and now i just plough on through. After a while you just dont give a sh*te about getting it right and its only then that you stop making stupid mistakes.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by session savage
Re: recording anxiety
I think it's very common. You brain tells you that a mic and recorder are mere inanimate objects but something deep inside tells you otherwise. All we can do is to keep doing it 'til we're brain-dead.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: recording anxiety
I don't record my individual practice, but I do sometimes record band rehearsals and gigs. Overall, our playing usually sounds better than I feared it would. All the mistakes are there, true, but also lots of good passages. For me, mistakes loom larger in my memory, so it's good to have an objective "opinion" from a recorder.
But I don't fuss with the recorder, I just turn it on and let it run. Don't tinker too much with technology--that way lies madness. Just play.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by mickray
Re: recording anxiety
this a little off topic but does anyone know if its possible to send/transfer a mini disc recording to your pc to convert it to mp3?
mabey its not possible at all. wouldnt be the most gifted with tech info!
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by tommy_ie
Re: recording anxiety
It is possible, but how easy or difficult it is depends on exactly what make and model minidisc player you have, what format the recording was made in, what operating system your computer uses, what cables you have or don't have, etc. In the worst-case scenario, your MD player doesn't have a USB output and your computer doesn't have an analog audio input. Then you'd need to buy an analog to USB converter, like the iMic, get some audio recording software for your computer, and record from the MD to the computer in real time. Then convert to mp3 using iTunes or some other format conversion software. If your computer has an audio input, you can skip the iMic.
The easiest thing to do would be to consult the user manual for your MD player. If they don't describe an easier way, chances are there isn't one.
You can find tons of information at http://www.minidisc.org .
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by GaryAMartin
Re: recording anxiety
I think recording yourself can be a useful tool. It can be handy for giving you an idea of what you sound like to other people, and can help point out potential problems with your playing.
But the music is *more* than what you will find on any recording. There is a huge difference between experiencing music live and listening to a recording - even if it's a recording of the very same live music. There is a deeper connection between the musician and anyone listening than we can really grasp I think. Case and point would be listening to recordings of sessions that you played in. The listening experience almost always leaves you with a different impression than the one you had while playing. You might have thought "oh, what a great session", and then go back to it later to listen, and think "hmmm, it wasn't as great as I thought". Or vice versa. But what really matters is the sensory experience that you had when you were actually there.
So don't rely on recordings of yourself for more than just giving you some pointers for things that you'd like to work on...
I used to freak out whenever I knew a recording device was running, but I record enough now that it doesn't bother me as much. I'm used to it. I most often record a tune to send it to someone else to listen to and learn from. So I usually try to make it accurate. Nowadays, most of my recordings are done in one take, although, occasionally if I mess up, I will stop, and restart the previous phrase, and then just edit out the mistake before I send it.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by Reverend
Re: recording anxiety
Zippy - Your recordings of yourself may not be truly representative of how you play. But the mistakes that you make when you are recording might actually reveal the bits of the tunes that you don't know as well as you thought you did, thus giving you pointers as to what you need to work on - it is when you are under pressure that the cracks show.
That said, recording yourself is not an *essential* aid to learning. If recording is such an painful and stressful process for you that it knocks your confidence and taints your overall enjoyment of playing, then perhaps you shouldn't do it.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by granama
Re: recording anxiety
Zippy.... I suggest, stop briefly and play the goofed part over, cut the stop and the mistake out in the edits. Should patch together decently.
The MD question... if all else fails, and I have done this with already "transferred" MD recordings that I lost on the computer, since the MD only lets you transfer once... it's slow but get a cable that goes from the headphone jack into the mike jack on the computer, or to the sound card, and record it into something like Audacity, or a recording program. it flows through in real time. The cable is a few dollars at most.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by irisnevins
Re: recording anxiety
You just need a minijack-minijack lead to do what Iris says. I bet you've already got one. That's the way I always did it. If you have a HiMD recorder you should have a USB cable and SonicStage software which is quicker than real time. The software should let you copy your own recordings more than once if I remember correctly, which I probably don't. Something to do with analogue and digital. Yet another reason why MD never caught on.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by Steve Shaw
Re: recording anxiety
A fella {fiddle} called Dermi Diamond now living in the
Dublin or area,,Said he helped himself a bit while learning by-
First recording when first learning= Reel ,jig polka waltz, and
maybe a slow tune,, Then do it again = 6 weeks 6months a
year e.t.c, e.t.c. Then keep going back to see how you've
improved , what mistakes notes tone etc, you keep making.
Try to Improve on it and keep recording for a whie to see
how you can improve your playing. He said it cruel at first
but keep at it, and you'll improve,,
jim,,,
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by FIDDLE4
Re: recording anxiety
thanks for the help with the MD question lads. ill have a go at the suggestions
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by tommy_ie
Re: recording anxiety
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000FPQFKO/ruggedelegance30261-20/ref=nosim
Ditch the MD -- splurge on one of these for portable high quality scratch recordings in uncompressed WAV format that is immediately uoploadable to computer and ocnertable to MP3 -- you can even recordin MP3 mode. I ahve one and it is simple as pie.
Don't fret over recording, use the recordings to indentify weak spots.
# Posted on February 20th 2008 by TCA_ASS
Re: recording anxiety
Thanks for the advice....
At this point I don't expect you will see my recordings showing up with a 30 euro price tag and fancy cover graphic
# Posted on February 21st 2008 by zippydw
Re: recording anxiety
If most people are their own harshest critic, then recording yourself is like having a lesson with your harshest critic.
It's always hard to do at first, but it DOES get easier the more you do it, especially if you use the recordings to improve your playing--which is, of course, why your teacher wants you to do it.
At the end of the day, you almost always hear yourself differently in the 3rd person. But you have to acknowledge that how you sound on a recording is closer to how you sound to others around you than it is to how you think you sound when you're playing. If you don't ever listen to yourself, it's really easy to delude yourself into thinking that you're not making a bunch of really obvious mistakes (just if you never look in the mirror, you'll never suspect that there's a piece of spinach in your teeth).
It's just like exercising. Do it rarely, and you'll hate it, but do it regularly, and you'll actually come to enjoy it. There are few things quite as satisfying as (after having practiced recording yourself for a period of time), listening to a recording of yourself and thinking "Damn. That's some nice playing!"
# Posted on February 21st 2008 by Georgi
Re: recording anxiety
From what I know from people in the past who recorded lots of ITM albums, the supergroups and the "stars", no one ever gets through without mistakes somewhere, some just terrible. Nope...no names! Everything is edited, EQed, cleaned up.
I record our monthly IAANJ session, it's how we support it, and also they are great tune learning tools.... but my fear in the beginning was people would be afraid and put off by the mikes, and if they were, we'd just stop it and figure out another was besides CD sales to support it. Au contraire.... we get people angling to be on mike! They know I do a good edit and cleanup and EQ and make them sound great. If a track is unsalvageable...out it goes.
So keep in mind when you hear the mistakes on your recording, that there is a good chance that the "greats" we all admire so much have a fair bit of "whoops" in their recordings before edits, and stop beating yourself up so much! Just to see what you need to improve is good though I suppose, but I sure know when I goof without a recorder.... and then beat myself up! The recording would only make me beat myself up twice!
And I am looking forward to your 30 Euro CD with the fancy cover!
# Posted on February 23rd 2008 by irisnevins
Re: recording anxiety
Sure there’s the performance anxiety as you sit and try to play with visions of dollar signs parading by, but there’s also a certain psychosis you might experience when recording... at least that's what my experience has been. What I'm talking about is how it takes a while before you actually hear yourself objectively on the recording. It’s very hard to do this right after the recording is made and that’s why it's a good idea to have a producer helping you.
When I listen back to the recording on the studio monitors all of my imperfections seem magnified beyond reason and I can't stand to listen. The only solution seems to be trying again, and again, and again, or just scrapping the whole project. This is particularly true in your first couple of efforts, or at least it was in my experience. Regardless of my objections my band mates wanted to move forward. I would listen back to the scratch tape on my car radio and be so filled with anxiety that I nearly got into a wreck... but even though I pleaded to scrap the thing -- my band mates insisted on moving forward.
After it was in the can and we were selling them at gigs I felt guilty every time one sold -- especially if they asked me to sign it. I couldn't help but feel it was a scam or we were sideshow snake oil salesmen. For this reason I didn't listen to the first recording for years. One day I walked into a friend's house and some nice Irish music was playing on their stereo and I thought, "This is nice -- this is the way I'd like to play." I asked who it was and they said, "It's you ya numbskull."
The moral of the story is that the next time we recorded I remembered this experience and it helped me to lighten up on myself a bit.
# Posted on February 23rd 2008 by Phantom Button