How to relax and play naturally while being recorded.

[mustache79]

Ok, the last time I did any home recording was back when those large stand alone units were popular. I finally have a nice little setup and I'm haveing issues playing my music naturally. It seems like I'm suffering from some sort of performence anxiety or something..

Any tips on how to relax more and not feel pressured while performing? maybe I'm just nut... lol

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by mustache79

...I finally have a nice little setup and I'm haveing issues playing my music naturally

Hi mustache...

I had that issue at first (and I owned the studio). And we engineered from the recording room, so you can see the screen while you are recording.

One night early on, I just started the recorder and recorded for about 45 minutes non-stop. No stopping and restarting how bad the mistakes. Did a new count-in and recorded the song again. After 45 minutes (which seemed an eternity) I listened to it. Then I did that all over again. Another 90 minutes.

After 90 minutes of making mistakes and switching songs, and restarting things, I was no longer intimidated by the equipment. I got over the ''this is it…must play perfectly"…thing, and learned to relax and play.

Got the idea from video crews on reality shows, who often send in a camera man/crew 2 days ahead of a project to film families so they get used to the camera and the guy and are no longer intimidated or performing for it.

I learned that mistakes are easy to edit out, and are not fatal, and I became more focused on the music than the equipment. Modern editing software makes it really easy to edit recordings.

Hope this helps...

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by mustache79

Ok, the last time I did any home recording was back when those large stand alone units were popular. I finally have a nice little setup and I'm haveing issues playing my music naturally. It seems like I'm suffering from some sort of performence anxiety or something..

Any tips on how to relax more and not feel pressured while performing? maybe I'm just nut... lol

Worrying about playing perfect and not making one mistake causes many mistakes and tension.

Play the piece through a few times during one recording. If you keep your tempo steady you can patch in over a mistake. If you don't like any of it then start a new recording right away or at another time.

Be glad you are not on paid studio time.

[Mtn Man]

Just record yourself, a lot. Eventually you'll get used to it. The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll get with it.

[Ty Ford]

all of the above!

Eventually, "red light fever" subsides and you do a lot better.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[HHP]

Try having the recorder in front of you for normal practice. Leave it on, let the red light shine and the VU meters bounce up and down. Don't play it back, just delete the file when you stop practicing. After while, recording won't have any more pressure than practicing.

[Mr Fixit eh]

All of the above advice is true and worthwhile. Although recording doesn't normally bother me much anymore, I do find that there are certain times I get anxious. I find that picking riffs does not come naturally to me, so I'll get extra anxious when I have to do some riffs. In cases like that, I find I'm less anxious when I've prepared to play the riff to perfection - well I haven't got there yet, but you get the idea.

Steve

[Rudy4]

Since media and storage isn't an issue any longer I find it's best to start the recorder and do multiple takes until you are happy with your performance, no stopping and re-starting. You'll most likely know immediately when you have a keeper take. It's easy to get rid of all the other stuff when you edit. Remember to do a count-in for each new take so you can go back and do overdubs easily.

[pf400]

What is a count-in ? I imagine that it's you verbally saying Song One, take two or something like that ?

Also I'm wondering if anyone can add tips on how to avoid wasting time in the studio in a situation where you are paying by the hour. I'm thinking of playing each song 3 times, and then picking the best take and just going with that. The studio Engineer of couse will be able to do some kind of editing to correct mistakes, as well as adding in the effects I desire. He's a pro, so can I assume that he can do the edits quickly ?

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by pf400

What is a count-in ?

Hi pf400...

When recording tracks at a different time, how does one know when to begin to be in sync with the original track? I use a count-in…

Pretend we are in 4/4 time...

Someone counts out loud to begin the initial track (in tempo)

| 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 | 1 - 2 - * - * | Beat one of the first measure.

* is 'nothing' and is felt

It let's players on subsequent tracks know where to come in with beat one of the recording.

Otherwise how do people know when to come in?

Some recordists play a metronome count down, but I always prefer a verbal count, as it was unnessary to try to distinguish beat one (metronome tones can be confusing)

Some folks leave one beat 'empty' and others two beats 'empty'...right before the downbeat.

Hope this helps...

[mr. beaumont]

My advice is similar to Larry's...warm up! And if you got tape/disk space, warm up with the recorder going.

Recording is a hassle for anybody who can't keep things set up permanently...by the time you sit down, plug stuff in, set up mics...you're not in a playing mindset, you're in a very analytical mindset, which is the enemy of a good performance (as an aside, NOT the enemy of a good mix, though...)

Get yourself back into the playing mindset...hit record, gaze lovingly at the little red light,and play...noodle, play whole songs, but don't stop for screwups...you'll know when the music is coming naturally enough to play what you really sat down to tackle.

That's the beautiful thing about home recording...in a recording studio, if you warmed up with the tape rolling for 45 minutes, guess what?

[muscmp]

unless you have people watching over your shoulder, it is only you involved!

play music!

[mustache79]

Today was good. Sat and played for about 20 minutes while recording the entire time. Eventually the pressure went aways and I was no longer playing with the thought of perfection in mind. Recorded some really nice pieces.

Thanks for all the tips guys.