Last night I, and a subset of our band (3 of the usual 9 are indisposed), went into a recording studio to record a few tracks to go on our website. We’re lucky in that two of our members own studios.
This is the first time I’ve been in a studio since I gave up guitar and bass for mandolin.
I love playing, and thought I was making some real progress.
Digital recording doesn’t lie. I suck.
Even making allowances for the fact that I was standing, whereas we always perform sitting down (it’s part of the gag, don’t ask) and I always practise sitting down, and making allowances for the fact that I usually play through a pickup and this was my first time playing the mando into a mic, there is no excuse for how badly I suck.
Remember - make a mistake and it’s improvisation
Make the mistake twice - and it’s your own version of the song.
Make it three times - and you are playing jazz.
What a great opportunity you have, says Dale Carnegie. Gosh, you can now take your performance apart digitally and practice those bits that don’t meet your criteria until they are at the level you expect them to be.
Or
You can now digitally edit your performance with some tracks of Jimmy Page playing solo and blend them together so well that no-one will suspect that it isn’t you playing 100% of the mando track (though they might question using a fuzz box on Mayor of Bayswater).
I have the same problem. It helps to record yourself often so you aren’t
surprised… Thank god for digital editing. It’s amazing what a little chorus,
reverb, and compression can do!
Buddhu, I don’t know whether you have ever considered this, or not, but you might want to change your glasses when you play. Looking at your avatar, I don’t know how you manage to play anything with those glasses. And about your breathing, you may want to change noses, as well.
I recently reclaimed the top floor of my house from my (now-grown) children, and have converted it into a practice-room/mini-studio. I’m learning how to use a few doo-dads such as pre-amps, mixers and digital recording software. It’s lots of fun to do, but yes…humbling.
Rest assurred that your ear is much more critical than any of those who listen to you, even the musically-savvy ones. It’s like hearing your own recorded voice. Pretty traumatic.
Yeah, ya really have to practice standing while playing too. One of my fiddle teachers has been playing guitar for about 30 years and even he commented that it was a whole different animal to play the thing standing up instead of reclined in his Lazyboy recliner.
A bag pipe player once told me he practices pipes while walking because a moving target is harder to hit.
(Here on the NW side of Chicago there’s more of them walking around during the day than one might expect. A lot of cops live in the neighborhood).
I took the hint and usually spend a portion of my fiddle practice walking and dancing to the beat.
I’ve also speculated that my concertina playing would follow the rhythm of the tune better if I felt more comfortable not resting it on my lap and was able to move around a bit.
But wrong notes?
How is that possible? Doesn’t your mandolin have frets?
After the shock wears off a bit, go back and listen again, to identify just what you find so bothersome, write them down, and then practice with a target on those aspects. Record yourself regularly, and work at standing as well, or else start bringing your chair with you everywhere.
After another year, see what you think. I predict that you will have improved greatly - more greatly than just regular practice would promise, and will then see that you did the right thing by sticking with it.
The usual problem is that people don’t record enough, informally, then they are shocked by what happens in the pro situation.
Remember, Bud, day at a time. Just analyze it and work on the faults. You didn’t jump out of the womb in a business suit, and you don’t become a good musician without lots o’ toil.
Amusing, since I’ve been listening to (and enjoying) your CD.
I think part of the difference in perception is that you know which of those “ornaments” are really goofs
It gives me a new understanding of how listeners can tell me how good I sound and really mean it. I just hear all the goofs, problems with timing, phrasing, and general beginner flubs. Folks who aren’t musicians just expect beautiful music, and as long as the errors aren’t really egregious that’s what they experience.
A very good thing to remember when performing live: The audience wants you to be successful. They are on your side, so you can relax and do your thing and enjoy yourself.
Recording, though, is different; it has to be perfect. In my experience, the really hard thing is that, in the pursuit of recording perfection, it’s easy to lose the energy and fun and have the whole thing turn into drudgery. Music should not be drudgery.
Denny’s advice about practicing with phones and a mic is good. But mostly, enjoy the music. Recording isn’t for everyone, Buddhu. You don’t have to be a pro to enjoy it.
are really goofs 