How little did I know

[zbalz]

I finally got the connection to my computer working..however I have no preamp so I just record and amplify 300% so i can hear. http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Anyway, it turns out I've been playing almost a year and I have no accuracy endurance. What I mean is that I can take ANYTHING...from a complicated lick I just learned to a simple C-G-Am-F strum I learned the first week and I make mistakes ALL OVER THE PLACE. Even simple blues rhythms Ill have noisy strings..muted strings..off timing..etc.
ARGG. and to think. I practiced some of this stuff for SO LONG!!
What to do..what to do..
I guess just practice more

-zbalz

[ghodaddyyo]

Yep, recording can be a real humiliator. I never realized how bad I sounded until my guitar teacher made me play S L O W ! I learned at the time, that I had weak fingertips, and weak vibrato. Holding a note for even a few seconds made those off sounding notes like when you lose your grip and the note slips. Very humbling. I've now learned the value of practicing slow and to a metronome.

[greed2000]

My band records our practices for that same exact reason. What we hear in our heads, is rarely what comes through the PA. It's cool to see people react to themselves on tape for the first time...it kinda makes ya want to go home and practice.

[StoneDragon]

Recording can be your best teacher and your worst enemy at the same time. It's like putting your playing under a microscope. Why do you think that bands spend so much time in the studio recording an album or the producer ends up bringing in session musicians to cover the parts?

Playing and recording are two different animals. What you hear on the recording isn't necessarily what you actually sound like... especially if you are plugging the guitar straight into the machine. It's like the picture on your driver's license (assuming you have a driver's license)... ain't nothing you can do about the fact that the camera doesn't reflect exactly what you see in the mirror... or what other's see when they look at you.

What you have to do is learn to work within the medium. If you do enough recording, you'll find yourself altering how you play, your guitar tone, etc... based on your experience of how things are going to turn out when you play it back and how it is going to eventually be used. Sometimes, a part that sounds sloppy and choppy by itself really puts some life into a song when you combine the track with other instruments.

If you could get your hands on the masters of some of your favorite recordings and listen to the tracks individually, you would probably be surprised at what you hear.

Sometimes, the opposite is true. A track that you think sounds great by itself, just falls apart when you start mixing in other instruments.


All you can do is work hard to master your instrument and learn how to apply that mastery in the medium you are working in.