90+ recordings and I'm not happy with them

Hi guys,

I've recorded and posted 90+ recordings over the past 4-5 years and honestly I've been satisfied with only one of them. I find recording SO hard and stressful even after all this time, so much so I'm not sure why I do it. Everybody here is kind about my posts so it's not you guys. They just sound terrible to me to the point of embarrassment. I'm really doubting my motivations for doing this. I even took 6 months off the forum and recording to reflect and see if this feeling would go away but I'm back at the same point again. Maybe it's time to just stop recording and posting. I've stopped playing out for the same reasons.

Anybody else feel this way? I'm not fishing for complements or crying for help. I'm just confused about where to go from here.

Mods: please move if I've posted this in the wrong place.

P.S. It's my performance I can't stand. The recording quality is good enough.

[N+1]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Anybody else feel this way?

Oh my goodness, YES!!!
I have struggled and struggled with this, and have never succeeded in making a single recording that didn't sound like incompetent cats thrashing around inside a poor quality dustbin. I started with a Tascam DP008Ex and a fairly good Beyerdynamic mike. At first I was pleased to get any sound recorded at all, but that soon wore off.

I tried using a good condenser mike. That was worse.

I tried a Focusrite interface with my laptop and Cubase, and trying to make ANY recording at all with that outfit almost destroyed my will to live. So I went back to the Tascam.

I tried fitting hooks in the ceiling in a semicircle, suspending an old duvet from them with the mike and me inside the enclosure, to reduce room reflections. Not only did it make little difference, but it just took all the fun out of it all.

I bought a Boss vocal processor and that provided some fun, trying all the effects. It helped a bit, by smearing out my feeble singing voice.

But at the end of all this, the recordings remain just downright poor. A LOT of the fun disappeared at times, and the whole thing nearly ruined the fun of playing my beautiful guitars, to be honest. So I gave myself a talking-to, as follows:
1. Did I ever want to be a recording engineer? No.
2. Do I love playing the guitar and writing songs? Yes.
3. Would it be worth having at least some sort of recording, even a dodgy one, of each song I write, that would at least preserve the song? Yes.

So that's where I've reached. I've abandoned the quest for a studio-quality recording and have accepted that I'll have to be satisfied with a homespun recorded-in-the-kitchen quality instead. Most importantly, I've decided to accept that my main love is for playing, not for recording.

[rick-slo]

You don't like the recorded sound and/or your recording playing?

[Glennwillow]

Doug,

I think you are being too hard on yourself. I have been around on the forum for a while and I have been listening to your music for a fair amount of that time. I think you have improved a great deal over the time I have been listening.

But if you are not happy with what you are hearing, what is it that needs to be improved? What are hearing that you don't like? Maybe once you identify that, maybe you can take some new approach that might help you address some needed area of improvement.

For example, if, like a lot of players, you sometimes have trouble maintaining an even tempo and lose the beat or rhythm of the piece, maybe using a metronome or drum machine might help you. If this approach does help you, maybe you could do some recordings with a click track or drum machine pattern to help you keep the beat, and then let us hear only you playing the guitar while leaving out the click track or drum machine.

I don't think that is cheating. Lot's of people record with a click track, as just one example.

I was glad to see you come back after your break Doug. Don't beat yourself up. Look for how to improve. We all go through these down periods.

- Glenn

Originally Posted by N+1

Most importantly, I've decided to accept that my main love is for playing, not for recording.

You've hit the nail right on the head.

Originally Posted by rick-slo

You don't like the recorded sound and/or your recording playing?

It's my performances.

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Doug,

I think you are being too hard on yourself. I have been around on the forum for a while and I have been listening to your music for a fair amount of that time. I think you have improved a great deal over the time I have been listening.

But if you are not happy with what you are hearing, what is it that needs to be improved? What are hearing that you don't like? Maybe once you identify that, maybe you can take some new approach that might help you address some needed area of improvement.

For example, if, like a lot of players, you sometimes have trouble maintaining an even tempo and lose the beat or rhythm of the piece, maybe using a metronome or drum machine might help you. If this approach does help you, maybe you could do some recordings with a click track or drum machine pattern to help you keep the beat, and then let us hear only you playing the guitar while leaving out the click track or drum machine.

I don't think that is cheating. Lot's of people record with a click track, as just one example.

I was glad to see you come back after your break Doug. Don't beat yourself up. Look for how to improve. We all go through these down periods.

- Glenn

What gets me down is my performance while recording. I make mistakes, get lost, flub fingerings and my timing goes completely awry. When I record I'm totally stressed out and my performance greatly suffers. You'd figure this wouldn't be the case after 90 recordings but it still is.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

You've hit the nail right on the head.



It's my performances.



What gets me down is my performance while recording. I make mistakes, get lost, flub fingerings and my timing goes completely awry. When I record I'm totally stressed out and my performance greatly suffers. You'd figure this wouldn't be the case after 90 recordings but it still is.

Well, I do that too. I bet just about everyone does that.

I find that when I am making too many mistakes when I am recording that it's because I didn't do my homework, I didn't practice enough. And part of practicing for me is memorizing the piece. If I'm in too much of a hurry to record something and then I make too many mistakes while recording, I tell myself,

"...well, this is the practice time you didn't put in. So don't get angry about your screw-ups, just put in the practice needed now until you can do the recording right." Sometimes another week or two (or a couple of months!) of working on something is needed to really polish it up. I find that I improve greatly by going through this experience. Yes, recording garbage is humbling, but nobody needs to hear that stuff except you. You can't be a perfectionist about this stuff or you just beat yourself up too much before you give yourself a chance to improve.

I find that shifting my thinking towards looking at the recording experience as a learning experience really helps me not get too frustrated. I'm not always successful at this, but most of the time I'm able to stay fairly even keel by changing my perspective while recording.

Tommy Emmanuel mentioned once that he won't perform an instrumental song in public until he can play the song while carrying on a conversation at the same time. Andres Segovia used to practice a piece for an entire year before he would do it in public. There is a lot that goes on in your head and in your hands when learning to do a flawless job on an instrumental piece on the guitar. I think maybe you are not giving yourself enough time to go through these learning transitions.

- Glenn

[Howard Emerson]

J,
It’s time to spend some quality money on yourself: Book some time at a good recording studio with a good engineer whose editing skills are top notch.

Be prepared to spend at least 4 hours time working on 1 or 2 songs.

Don’t wear headphones, and make sure the engineer understands you’ll be stopping at every mistake, backing up a beat, and continuing.

This is the way I do all my recordings, and it’s getting easier every time.

Sometimes I get first takes all the way through, but no matter.

The peace of mind knowing performance perfection doesn’t haunt my existence has made my life so much easier.

You can do this.

Best,
Howard Emerson

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Well, I do that too. I bet just about everyone does that.

I find that when I am making too many mistakes when I am recording that it's because I didn't do my homework, I didn't practice enough. And part of practicing for me is memorizing the piece. If I'm in too much of a hurry to record something and then I make too many mistakes while recording, I tell myself,

"...well, this is the practice time you didn't put in. So don't get angry about your screw-ups, just put in the practice needed now until you can do the recording right." Sometimes another week or two (or a couple of months!) of working on something is needed to really polish it up. I find that I improve greatly by going through this experience. Yes, recording garbage is humbling, but nobody needs to hear that stuff except you. You can't be a perfectionist about this stuff or you just beat yourself up too much before you give yourself a chance to improve.

I find that shifting my thinking towards looking at the recording experience as a learning experience really helps me not get too frustrated. I'm not always successful at this, but most of the time I'm able to stay fairly even keel by changing my perspective while recording.

Tommy Emmanuel mentioned once that he won't perform an instrumental song in public until he can play the song while carrying on a conversation at the same time. Andres Segovia used to practice a piece for an entire year before he would do it in public. There is a lot that goes on in your head and in your hands when learning to do a flawless job on an instrumental piece on the guitar. I think maybe you are not giving yourself enough time to go through these learning transitions.

- Glenn

Thank you Glenn. For my situation you're totally right about this. I'm rushing to record these songs. They just aren't ready.

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

J,
It’s time to spend some quality money on yourself: Book some time at a good recording studio with a good engineer whose editing skills are top notch.

Be prepared to spend at least 4 hours time working on 1 or 2 songs.

Don’t wear headphones, and make sure the engineer understands you’ll be stopping at every mistake, backing up a beat, and continuing.

This is the way I do all my recordings, and it’s getting easier every time.

Sometimes I get first takes all the way through, but no matter.

The peace of mind knowing performance perfection doesn’t haunt my existence has made my life so much easier.

You can do this.

Best,
Howard Emerson

Thank you Howard. I have done the studio thing before and it went WAY better than my home recordings BUT I was very prepared and we only did 4 songs total over as many nights. I haven't been doing my homework so to speak before recording these tunes.

Plus I really shook my foundation over the past few years trying to learn some classic ragtime tunes. They were way above my abilities and totally wiped out my confidence in my playing. I had a long one-on-one with Woody Mann about this topic but I still haven't recovered. So a few things going on here at once.

[Wrighty]

You’re certainly not alone. I can work hard on a piece for weeks and still not get a clean take some days. Other days it comes first or second time. What I have found is that if the piece is not completely fluent right through when practicing, that I will mess it up every time when I press record - it has to be 100% fluid and under my fingers. I also tend to pick tunes that are not above my level and not too long, but focus instead on dynamics and tone. Keep at it :-)

Originally Posted by Wrighty

You’re certainly not alone. I can work hard on a piece for weeks and still not get a clean take some days. Other days it comes first or second time. What I have found is that if the piece is not completely fluent right through when practicing, that I will mess it up every time when I press record - it has to be 100% fluid and under my fingers. I also tend to pick tunes that are not above my level and not too long, but focus instead on dynamics and tone. Keep at it :-)

Thank you for your input Wrighty. You're observations are spot on.

[reeve21]

Doug,

As Howard says, we don't hear mistakes on records because they are engineered to be perfect.

I just started reading a book called Stage Performance by Livingston Taylor that was mentioned in another thread. I think you might find some nuggets in there.

BTW, I have no idea what you are talking about in your opening post. Maybe I'm tone deaf and rhythm impaired but I really enjoy your recordings

[MikeMcKee]

Hey Doug. I think all of us mere mortals are there with you. From my view, 90+ recordings is a LOT. And, from some of what I've listened to, you are playing some intricate tunes. Not easy! That's a large body of work to try and master.

But, at the end of the day it should be something that gives you pleasure, and not stress you. Your expectations are obviously high, and I understand that. But, at what cost?

I'd probably dial it back, and really concentrate on one tune...play the heck out of it without recording until it was automatic...then play with recording again. You've said you're ok with the recording quality, so that takes a huge issue out of the equation. You need to make it fun again....;-)

[Kerbie]

Doug,

I put this thread in the General section. It probably could have gone in a couple places, but it seemed appropriate in General.

I've always enjoyed hearing your recordings. I think performers in the S&T run the gamut from using professional equipment to using cell phones. Since I'm usually listening through computer speakers, I don't worry too much if a recording isn't professional quality.

It sounds like you might be your harshest critic, but that doesn't have to be bad. I performed a lot when I was younger in different environments and activities. And I have no interest in performing any more. I think it's different strokes for different folks. You should do whatever you enjoy and whatever makes you the happiest. We're glad to have you here whether you're performing or just reading and posting.

Originally Posted by reeve21

Doug,

As Howard says, we don't hear mistakes on records because they are engineered to be perfect.

I just started reading a book called Stage Performance by Livingston Taylor that was mentioned in another thread. I think you might find some nuggets in there.

BTW, I have no idea what you are talking about in your opening post. Maybe I'm tone deaf and rhythm impaired but I really enjoy your recordings

Thank you Bob. I'm sure like many people all I can hear in my recordings is the mistakes!

Originally Posted by MikeMcKee

Hey Doug. I think all of us mere mortals are there with you. From my view, 90+ recordings is a LOT. And, from some of what I've listened to, you are playing some intricate tunes. Not easy! That's a large body of work to try and master.

But, at the end of the day it should be something that gives you pleasure, and not stress you. Your expectations are obviously high, and I understand that. But, at what cost?

I'd probably dial it back, and really concentrate on one tune...play the heck out of it without recording until it was automatic...then play with recording again. You've said you're ok with the recording quality, so that takes a huge issue out of the equation. You need to make it fun again....;-)

Thanks Mike. Yeah I think the fun quotient is pretty much zero for me right now. I need to get it back.

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Doug,

I put this thread in the General section. It probably could have gone in a couple places, but it seemed appropriate in General.

I've always enjoyed hearing your recordings. I think performers in the S&T run the gamut from using professional equipment to using cell phones. Since I'm usually listening through computer speakers, I don't worry too much if a recording isn't professional quality.

It sounds like you might be your harshest critic, but that doesn't have to be bad. I performed a lot when I was younger in different environments and activities. And I have no interest in performing any more. I think it's different strokes for different folks. You should do whatever you enjoy and whatever makes you the happiest. We're glad to have you here whether you're performing or just reading and posting.

Thanks Kerbie. I'm just not enjoying my recordings and if I'm not having fun what's the point right?

****

A lot of good advice here. While I'm open to more advice, I've come to some conclusions:

1. I'm taking down any tunes I'm not 100% proud of from my soundcloud account once my vacation starts.

2. I'm not recording anything from this point on until it's 100% ready. No more rushing. So for better or worse you won't be seeing any new tunes from me in Show & Tell for a good while. It can take me months until I truly feel comfortable with a new tune.

3. Reflect. I think I'm compensating in many not so good ways for a lot of dissatisfaction in my playing. Irrational GAS attacks is one manifestation.

4. Try to have find the fun in playing again. Not too sure how though. I do find learning new tunes fun as long as they are at the right level.

5. I will learn no more classic piano ragtime pieces transcribed for guitar. That really killed it for me.

Thanks guys.

[Organic Sounds Select Guitars]

Hi Doug,

I just read through this thread, including your conclusions in the last post, and I’m happy to read that you’re not giving up completely on recording. I, for one, would miss your contributions here in the Show and Tell section.

If you listen to anything I’ve recorded, including the one I have up there now, you will find mistakes and flubs. What’s the saying...”perfect is the enemy of good”? Playing “perfect” guitar is unfortunately out of my reach. Posting here and getting feedback can be so much fun without placing the pressure of perfection on myself. If my ability to put food on the table and keep a roof over my family’s heads depended on perfection, I would I’m sure approach it differently....but then it would be a job instead of the greatest hobby I’ve ever had

I truly hope you rediscover the fun of playing and sharing your music!