Record Yourself!

I would like to discuss the tool of recording, both as a self help stage and as a thing to do professionally.

When I was a student recording devices were either too expensive or two primitive to get but today, for a fraction of the price one could get recording quality devices, even building a studio at home.

Recording yourself is very important as a work process. It helps you to hear yourself objectively, to put yourself “on the line” and to check out “if it works”. Recording your lessons is just plain smart and I am surprised people do not do it more often.

I do recommend for students to record the piece they are working on in a professional recording studio. Most universities have top quality studios with professional staff and relatively cheap prices so once you have mastered your Paganini and Bach, go and record yourself!

Think abut all the competitions you would like to do in the future, all the funding you would apply for, most of competitions and foundations require you to send a recoding as a preliminary. Think of the web site you want to have, wouldn’t it be better for your career to have some music samples on it? So why wait till you are suddenly forced to produce one? As soon as you feel your piece is ready, book a session. Yes, it costs money but it is something that would help you get a career and it can even be a Christmas present from your family.

Before you step into the recording studio make sure that:

1. You know the piece. You rehearsed it, had lessons on it, performed it as many times as you could, and know exactly what you want to do. It is very important to record yourself privately before the “real” session.
2. You have a good sound engineer; someone who has experience in both manipulating your sound and managing professional “cuts” (and to think musicians do not edit their recordings is as naïve as thinking photos in Vogue magazine are untouched”).
3. Apart from the sound engineer you should have someone you trust sitting in and checking you play all the correct notes etc. This will save huge amount of time as you do not have to run back and forth to listen and can just concentrate on the recording. Your “wingman” should know the piece you are playing, if possible know what you want to achieve with it (I recommend you meet a few days before the recording and play the piece).
4. Don’t take hundreds of takes, you won’t be able to manage it all.
5. Sound quality is paramount, so make sure you use all the tools to make your sound quality outstanding..