Stupid recording nerves

Yeah, I know that one :roll:

The part I'm working on now had 4 good takes (4 of far too many) for the first bit, and reviewing them I found a couple of tiny things wrong in each. I was still tinkering with tone too, so I thought I'd try taking the best two and panning one left and one right (quite severly at about 80%), just to get a feel for the tone... try and surround myself in it. One quick tweak later and the things I was worried about just disappeared, the tiny differences in the way I played each made the sound shimmer, and the whole thing just sounds more 'pro'. A little reverb and I was sold :) I'd always planned to do that kind of thing towards the end of the recording (and more subtley too), but I didn't expect it to have that much difference, or cover quite so many sins so well :mrgreen:

I can SO relate to this. I find that my songs loose all their feeling once I make a proper recording... The best recordings I've got (not soundquality wise obviously) is when I've recorded myself through the webcam mic just to remember the melody.

The more time I spend recording the song... the worse it gets... And once it's finished I can't stand to hear the little mistakes I've made even though no one else hears them!

edit: I've also got troubles singing without playing my guitar. Recording vocals and guitar seperatly takes away some of the feeling in both the guitarplay and the song.

Hi,

I like Vic's idea of doing a pair of reference tracks and then redoing each one separately.

But the best tip I've got (it might have been from Ken - CitizenNoir??) was to simply leave the recorder rolling. Stopping and re-starting, trying to get a perfect take, just makes me more tense. So I now press on and record several takes one after the other on the same track and then edit it down afterwards. When you expect to do a couple of warm up runs that you'll later cut out then you can often get a usable take early on anyway, because you're not uptight about it.

If you get to know the fine print in your recording gear you can probably just 'patch' in over any small mistakes too. I'm not yet good enough for it to be worth doing, but on my machine you can set the precise section - down to fractions of a second - that you want to patch over. Then you play along with the faulty track and it automatically only records the new bit you need.

Chris

edit: I've also got troubles singing without playing my guitar. Recording vocals and guitar seperatly takes away some of the feeling in both the guitarplay and the song.

My guess is that we all feel like that to start with - I certainly do. I put it down to never having done any serious practice at singing. When I sing and play together I can just fudge the timing to suit my erratic voice. I'm hoping to be able to persuade myself to try and do a bit of singing practice each day, against a drum track, until my singing timing gets at least vaguely under control and I can come in and keep time more accurately and comfortably.

Chris

Hey Lars

From a complete beginners perspective, it's quite nice to hear that more accomplished players have trouble when it comes to recording their songs... :)

I've been learning the guitar for...errrr..nine months now and learning the art of singing along while playing - I haven't got the luxury of a multi-track recording studio, and if I get the call to perform at Glastonbury I thought I'd need the skills anyway, but I practice a tune over and over again, get it somewhere right - it's never exactly right - and then when I turn the video camera on strange things seem to happen as if someone has mysteriously mixed up the order of the strings.

I was hoping it was going to get better, but now I'm not so sure - I like the Sing approach to hitting different notes during a well-known song, and hey, if it's good enough for Lennon, i'll use all his excuses too...

Rock on!

D 8)

I've been learning the guitar for...errrr..nine months now and learning the art of singing along while playing - I haven't got the luxury of a multi-track recording studio, and if I get the call to perform at Glastonbury I thought I'd need the skills anyway, but I practice a tune over and over again, get it somewhere right - it's never exactly right

If you want to try out the "luxury of a multi-track recording studio" then try out the Audacity software. It's what many GN members use to do their recordings. And it will cost you all of - nothing - it's a fully free download, not just a short term demo.

Audacity

You'll probably get a few "Oh geez, I'm even crapper than i thought I was..." moments when you first try and match your singing to a track you've pre-recorded, but my guess is that the call to Glastonbury is more likely to go to musicians who can keep time accurately, and also march to other drums than their own, as it were.

When I played only by myself I thought I kept reasonable time. When I joined a group I found that I needed to further develop my timing skills and lift my game a bit more. Then when I started trying to record track by track I found that I needed to work a little harder again. All good useful skills to get though.

Cheers,

Chris

I've been working on recording my latest song lately.

And I have this same annoying experience as before

When I sit down to record something - I can do it like maybe 75% satisfactory on the first few takes. Then I listen to it and think (sometimes) - hey this was pretty good. :D

But then I start thinking I have to redo that and that part (lots of things on this last one - for instance severe unconcious foot tapping towards the end :oops: )

Strange thing then - I find it almost impossible to actually improve my playing - 10 more takes - and the foot tapping is gone, but the inspiration and feeling sucks. :?

What about the rest of you - you get nerves when you get from casual to "serious" recording?

lars

It sounds like you are too close to the microphone when singing. Perhaps you can move back some or move the microphone away from you. Otherwise I like you guitar playing which is quite soothing to listen to and relaxing also.

When I record I generally use my built in microphone on my iMac and the software is Amadeus II, which I really like and still have a lot learn with it. But it gives me good recordings for when I practice or for the finished piece. I use also Pandora special effects processor sometimes for backing or alternative sounds. The nerves do come into play as soon as I hit record also, and the hand/hands suddenly seems heavier all of a sudden, almost like tensed up some, but with time and practice I think it does get better.

A good warm-up can help also I feel prior to recording to help relax a little, and then I feel more confident with my singing and playing. My concentration seems to improve also once I'm into the flow of things - things seem easier to a degree.

I hate it sometimes when I'm warming up and play something which sounds great to my mind but when I start to record you can't create that same sound for whatever reason. So now I tend to leave the record button depressed sometimes while practising in order to preserve that magic moment so to speak. I'm also a true believer that sometimes the mind has two sides to it, conscious and subconscious. This has happened many times to me where I have been practising and I've played a chord without thinking and it's sounded superb and then, when I have tried to play that chord again I can't - maybe that's where the word 'Soul' comes to mind. :lol:

Thanks Kosmos