Recording yourself

[DakoJack]

I've recently started recording myself a lot of my practice sessions as well as performance. I have been taking notes and hoping that I can focus in on details and what I want to accomplish. I once met Jeremy Pelt (trumpeter) and he told me he recorded his performances to look at what to improve but never his practice sessions. I'm wondering what you guys record and what your thoughts are behind recording.

[BrianAn]

I usually record my entire fundamentals routine every time I play it, so almost every day, since I'm always at home. Lips slurs, articulations, scales, and the like. I don't really record pieces I've been working on unless I think I've ironed out the majority of the issues and I've become comfortable with the piece. Then I move to recording myself to find the flaws I haven't picked up myself. Honestly I don't take down notes, I just observe. Most exercises I play twice so the issues of the previous take are in my mental focus. If an issue recurs enough I keep it in mind whenever I play the given exercise, but other times I just have a one-time thing pop up, like an out-of-tune note or a clam.

I think recording is an invaluable thing everyone should do often. You'll get a far better idea of what you're playing is like. Where you think you're at is where you're actually at, because the recording is objective. Playing without recording, you'll only pick up the glaring flaws, you won't pick up the subtler stuff, which is what counts. That being said, sometimes recording myself get tiresome and time consuming, since every exercise takes twice as long - to play, then listen back to. But just know that you'll become a better player for it.

[harrisonreed]

Depends on what you're doing. What you're looking for. If you have a good DAW you can record into that and look at it through a pitch analysis tool for intonation tendencies.

[imsevimse]

Usually I record myself when I'm doing play-along, both classical and jazz. I listen and imagine it is performed by someone else, not me. When I'm listening back to my improvisations I think of me listening as a collegue in the trombone section. I imagine the trombone player beside me stands up to do the solo.
I have found this to be much easier to coup with as a listener. I seem to both appreciate more of what I'm doing and to be mor accurate with the criticism. I need to listen objectively to find out what is most important to work at.

I try to put the solo performance in a context and when I listen like this I'm not in the way of what I hear.

It took a while to learn to really listen to myself . Before I could not sort out what's very important and what's less important. It is interesting to try to step out of character and listen from another perspective.

/Tom

[Mikebmiller]

Watch the balance. The lower voices are dominating that clip, while the melody seems to be in the higher voices. I am still learning this stuff myself, using Cakewalk.

This is one I did recently that I thought turned out pretty well. Maybe we can start a thread where everyone posts up their overdubs?

[Doubler]

I record before a performance and also periodically just for a reality check to see if I'm missing something that would need work from behind the horn.

[afugate]

Usually I record myself when I'm doing play-along, both classical and jazz. I listen and imagine it is performed by someone else, not me. When I'm listening back to my improvisations I think of me listening as a collegue in the trombone section. I imagine the trombone player beside me stands up to do the solo.
I have found this to be much easier to coup with as a listener. I seem to both appreciate more of what I'm doing and to be mor accurate with the criticism. I need to listen objectively to find out what is most important to work at.

I try to put the solo performance in a context and when I listen like this I'm not in the way of what I hear.

It took a while to learn to really listen to myself . Before I could not sort out what's very important and what's less important. It is interesting to try to step out of character and listen from another perspective.

/Tom

I really like this idea. I'm going to try it myself to see if my inner criticism changes. I bet it does!
--Andy in OKC

[Savio]

I end up recording my self to much and got tired listen my boring playing. I think its a good tool in the practice room to analyse and develop our own playing. Its a way to show our own weakness and strength, and we can learn from it and make it better. But in the end I think the best "recorder" or learning tool is a teacher.

Leif

[imsevimse]

I end up recording my self to much and got tired listen my boring playing. I think its a good tool in the practice room to analyse and develop our own playing. Its a way to show our own weakness and strength, and we can learn from it and make it better. But in the end I think the best "recorder" or learning tool is a teacher.

Leif

I understand what you mean, but I don't think your playing is boring. A teacher can listen objectively and can be a great resource. I think the teacher is needed o a certain point.

I do think the best teacher eventually needs to be you, and the goal is to reach that level of maturity where you take control over your own development. The goal of all study is to learn how to be your own teacher.

To be your own teacher you need to be able to hear yourself objectively. You need to analyse the playing such that you can tell what is good and what is not so good. The recording device is your friend.

You need to set goals with everything you work at and you need to challenge yourself on everything on the horn and go way beyond your comfort zone. You might need a metronome to push your limits. You also need to check how you are doing with the recording device.

A help can then be anyone you hear and play with, someone who is an inspiration. I'm blessed with friends that give me advice whenever we meet and I appreciate that a lot.

Some people do not want to hear criticism from friends, and they get defensive and starts to argue if someone has an opinion. I'm not at all like that and I tell my friends that. I'm open to any criticism. If someone says something about my playing I always listen very carefully. That is to me an opportunity to learn from.
The recording device, me and my friends are my teachers.

I have not taken any real lessons for 30 years and at the same time these 30 years have been where I've learned the most.

I have thought of taking a single lesson from someone just to get a second opinion on my playing - thought of asking Hå kan Björkman - but as soon as I start to consider whom to contact I instinctly know he will ask me to work at certain aspects on the horn that I already know I need to work at. For me that tells me I don't need a teacher as much as I need to work at those things.

Another thing is to seek a teacher to get inspired by. I've thought about that and I did ask Bertil Strandberg who played with the Artie Shaw orchestra to give me a lesson about 10 years ago but he moved to Malmoe before it happened. I guess Nils Landgren would be a great guy to be inspired by but I think he is to busy.

/Tom

[Savio]

I end up recording my self to much and got tired listen my boring playing. I think its a good tool in the practice room to analyse and develop our own playing. Its a way to show our own weakness and strength, and we can learn from it and make it better. But in the end I think the best "recorder" or learning tool is a teacher.

Leif

I understand what you mean, but I don't think your playing is boring. A teacher can listen objectively and can be a great resource. I think the teacher is needed o a certain point.

I do think the best teacher eventually needs to be you, and the goal is to reach that level of maturity where you take control over your own development. The goal of all study is to learn how to be your own teacher.

To be your own teacher you need to be able to hear yourself objectively. You need to analyse the playing such that you can tell what is good and what is not so good. The recording device is your friend.

You need to set goals with everything you work at and you need to challenge yourself on everything on the horn and go way beyond your comfort zone. You might need a metronome to push your limits. You also need to check how you are doing with the recording device.

A help can then be anyone you hear and play with, someone who is an inspiration. I'm blessed with friends that give me advice whenever we meet and I appreciate that a lot.

Some people do not want to hear criticism from friends, and they get defensive and starts to argue if someone has an opinion. I'm not at all like that and I tell my friends that. I'm open to any criticism. If someone says something about my playing I always listen very carefully. That is to me an opportunity to learn from.
The recording device, me and my friends are my teachers.

I have not taken any real lessons for 30 years and at the same time these 30 years have been where I've learned the most.

I have thought of taking a single lesson from someone just to get a second opinion on my playing - thought of asking Hå kan Björkman - but as soon as I start to consider whom to contact I instinctly know he will ask me to work at certain aspects on the horn that I already know I need to work at. For me that tells me I don't need a teacher as much as I need to work at those things.

Another thing is to seek a teacher to get inspired by. I've thought about that and I did ask Bertil Strandberg who played with the Artie Shaw orchestra to give me a lesson about 10 years ago but he moved to Malmoe before it happened. I guess Nils Landgren would be a great guy to be inspired by but I think he is to busy.

/Tom

Tom, I think you and me are in the same way if you understand. You are blessed in Sweden with all this trombone players, Håkan Björkman, Nils Landgren, Christian Lindberg, Jonas Bylund, Sven Larsson etc.
We just have to enjoy, and play the trombone...

Leif

[harrisonreed]

Håkan is the man!