Reality Check - AKA: "Bummer" :-(

[buddhu]

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.

"Disappointed" doesn't begin to cover it.

"De-motivated" goes some of the way.

Thanks for listening.

[missy]

ah - buddhu - we are our own worst critics!!

I bet you really aren't as "bad" as you thought.

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.

[Innocent Bystander]

Comisserations, Buddhu.
Some of us (like me) can only improve.

[Jack]

Sometimes it sucks to be humbled by how little we can do, by implication how little we are. It feels like somebody punched you in the gut, you know?

The good thing is that you can improve. You can take step back and make new decisions to improve yourself and your playing. It's all your choice.

[pancelticpiper]

You're so right, listening to a recording of yourself done in a good studio can be very humbling. Every wart is revealed.

[djm]

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).

djm

[fearfaoin]

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!

[Doug_Tipple]

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.

[peeplj]

ah - buddhu - we are our own worst critics!!

I bet you really aren't as "bad" as you thought.

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.

A mistake played with confidence is merely a variation.

A bad mistake played with confidence is a "fresh and original interpretation."



--James

[hyldemoer]

Digital recording doesn't lie. I suck.

Like how you "suck"? Timing? Note choices?

[crookedtune]

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.

[WyoBadger]

I feel your pain. I generally don't like listening to anything I have recorded, even the ones Mrs. Badger likes. All I hear are the goofs.

T

[Denny]

reality is vastly overrated

[buddhu]

Great replies, guys. Every single one deserves a reply, but please forgive me if life is too short.

Doug: thanks, man. That post realy made me laugh, and I needed it!

Missy: I'm afraid I am that bad. I have the MP3s that got emailed around today after mix-down.

Deej: Jimmy Page? Nah, man - it'd be Jimi or Django, both late masters of making their mistakes into some of the best parts of their improvs.

Hyldemoer: all of the above and more, I'm afraid. I must admit I really do rely on my foot-tap for time keeping, and standing up screws with it a bit.

Denny: I usually get on OK with reality. In this case though, mate, you're onto something. I much preferred how I used to think I sounded!

Thanks again, all of yiz.

[hyldemoer]

Hyldemoer: all of the above and more, I'm afraid. I must admit I really do rely on my foot-tap for time keeping, and standing up screws with it a bit.

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?