One of my goals for 2019 is to get back to recording my own playing. Recording yourself is a common suggestion for improving musicianship, but it's something I've gotten away from in the last couple years. The last time I recorded myself was in 2017.
I've had this Zoom H2 digital recorder since about 2010, but it has lain unused for the last few years as my phone's voice recorder became my gear of choice. The results were fine, but limited. The Zoom H2 has far better dynamic range, and way more storage capacity. The biggest benefit is I can set it and (try to) forget it.
Last week, I dusted off my H2 and recorded a portion of my practice session, running through 10 tunes as a baseline to see where I stand for 2019 and pinpoint areas for improvement.
Upon listening to the results, my immediate impression was I tend to play too fast, which I suspect led to my other two problems: muddy phrasing and uneven rhythm. My intonation seemed OK for the most part, except for on unison notes and lower octave variations.
I seemed to get more comfortable on about the fourth tune. My playing slowed down and improved markedly.
Overall, my first recording session of the year was a success. I have a starting point to compare future recordings, and I learned some important lessons.
Longtime readers will know that I'm no expert musician. I'm a constantly struggling, self-taught player. By trade, I am an editor. By hobby, I'm a fan of the banjo and old-time music. That's the viewpoint I strive to present on this blog. With that said, I hope some of the lessons I learned will help some of you.
One of the reasons I haven't recorded myself a lot in the past is that I get discouraged by what I hear. I've never been much of a performer. At jams, I clam up when asked to lead tunes. The same goes for when the recording light goes on.
One way to get more comfortable in a new situation is repetition. I've made an appointment on my calendar for another recording session in a month, and I plan to do so every month this year.
The other way to get more comfortable in a new situation is to literally get more comfortable. My recording space for last week's session was the kitchen, as it has some of the best acoustics in my house. However, I found it hard to relax and tap my foot while standing in front of the counter where the H2 was placed. Next time, at the very least, I'll get a chair.
Like anyone else, I am my own worst critic. It's easy to rush to identify negative aspects of my playing. However, I noticed as I kept listening that I became less critical. This has led me to adopt some new rules regarding these recording sessions. During the first time through, listen as objectively as possible for an overall impression. On the second listen, take notes on strengths and weaknesses. Listen a third time to hear what's going right.
It's important to keep listening to myself and try to get more comfortable with hearing my own playing. As I get used to hearing myself, I can be a little more objective and hear where I've improved and where I need to make adjustments.
My next challenges is figuring out Audacity. I just downloaded the free program, and I'm feeling a bit lost so far. I want to cut my practice session into individual tracts and perhaps add a click track to check my rhythm. I guess I'll be spending some time with the users manual.
Do you have any suggestions for better recording results? Let me know your experiences in the comments. And remember, you can click subscribe in the upper right corner to get these new posts sent directly to your inbox.
Last week, I dusted off my H2 and recorded a portion of my practice session, running through 10 tunes as a baseline to see where I stand for 2019 and pinpoint areas for improvement.
Upon listening to the results, my immediate impression was I tend to play too fast, which I suspect led to my other two problems: muddy phrasing and uneven rhythm. My intonation seemed OK for the most part, except for on unison notes and lower octave variations.
I seemed to get more comfortable on about the fourth tune. My playing slowed down and improved markedly.
Overall, my first recording session of the year was a success. I have a starting point to compare future recordings, and I learned some important lessons.
Longtime readers will know that I'm no expert musician. I'm a constantly struggling, self-taught player. By trade, I am an editor. By hobby, I'm a fan of the banjo and old-time music. That's the viewpoint I strive to present on this blog. With that said, I hope some of the lessons I learned will help some of you.
One of the reasons I haven't recorded myself a lot in the past is that I get discouraged by what I hear. I've never been much of a performer. At jams, I clam up when asked to lead tunes. The same goes for when the recording light goes on.
One way to get more comfortable in a new situation is repetition. I've made an appointment on my calendar for another recording session in a month, and I plan to do so every month this year.
The other way to get more comfortable in a new situation is to literally get more comfortable. My recording space for last week's session was the kitchen, as it has some of the best acoustics in my house. However, I found it hard to relax and tap my foot while standing in front of the counter where the H2 was placed. Next time, at the very least, I'll get a chair.
Like anyone else, I am my own worst critic. It's easy to rush to identify negative aspects of my playing. However, I noticed as I kept listening that I became less critical. This has led me to adopt some new rules regarding these recording sessions. During the first time through, listen as objectively as possible for an overall impression. On the second listen, take notes on strengths and weaknesses. Listen a third time to hear what's going right.
It's important to keep listening to myself and try to get more comfortable with hearing my own playing. As I get used to hearing myself, I can be a little more objective and hear where I've improved and where I need to make adjustments.
My next challenges is figuring out Audacity. I just downloaded the free program, and I'm feeling a bit lost so far. I want to cut my practice session into individual tracts and perhaps add a click track to check my rhythm. I guess I'll be spending some time with the users manual.
Do you have any suggestions for better recording results? Let me know your experiences in the comments. And remember, you can click subscribe in the upper right corner to get these new posts sent directly to your inbox.
Might I suggest recording more often? The more you do it, the less awkward it becomes. Also maybe turn it on later in the session ,when you're warmed up and done working something out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion, ChickenMan. Perhaps I shoot for weekly sessions. I didn't mention above, but I had been playing awhile before starting the recording.
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