11 Steps to Maximise Your Self-Recording Process as a Musician
Self-recording during practice sessions is an invaluable tool for musicians looking to refine their skills, identify areas for improvement, and track progress over time. However, understanding how to do it effectively without putting yourself through unnecessary stress is crucial.
Here’s a comprehensive guide to getting the most out of your self-recording process in a healthy and sustainable way:
1. Set Clear Objectives 🎯
Before you begin recording, it’s essential to have clear goals.
What are you going to focus on specifically for your next recording session? Are you zoning in on your sound, intonation, tempo, rhythm, dynamics, or overall musicality? What areas do you want to work on and develop?
Defining your objectives before each take will guide your recording sessions and help you stay focused on specific areas for improvement. This approach helps you move away from general judgments like "that take was good/bad" and toward more specific feedback, such as "the D in bar 3 was sharp" or "my rhythm was unstable and rushed in bar 5."
The whole idea behind self-recording is to match your musical perception with what you intend the audience to hear. When your perception and the recorded result match, you can be confident that the audience is experiencing the music as you intend. When they don’t match, you need to make adjustments to ensure they hear what you want them to hear.
This is very different than playing in a way that you hope the audience will like, which is something that is out of your control. There will inevitably be some people in the audience who will love your playing and some who won’t, and that’s all part of performing and part of life. However, focusing on executing your musical intent is something that is completely within your control, and generally leads to a more convincing and confident performance.
2. Choose the Right Equipment 🎤
While recording on your smartphone might be your cheapest and easiest option, investing in some decent recording gear can make a significant difference in the quality and accuracy of your recordings. Here’s what you’ll need:
Microphone: Choose a suitable microphone that will capture the nuances of your instrument or voice. If you are using your smartphone or computer, there are affordable plug & play mics available that can significantly improve the quality of your recordings. Other suitable and cost-effective options are handheld recording devices, such as a Zoom recorder. But if you’re looking at getting a professional quality setup, the sky is the limit in terms of cost and choice. Do your homework to find the right type of mic for your instrument that fits your budget.
Computer & Recording Software: Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) like Audacity (free), GarageBand (free for Mac users), or more advanced options like Pro Tools, Logic Pro, or Ableton Live offer robust recording and editing features for your Mac or PC.
Headphones: Quality headphones are essential for monitoring your recordings and ensuring accurate playback. I prefer noise-cancelling headphones due to their clarity of sound and comfort, but there are many options to choose from that vary in quality and price.
A great run-down of all the equipment and setup you’ll need for the recording process can be found on MET percussionist Rob Knopper’s blog here.
3. Optimize Your Recording Environment 👍
A conducive recording environment minimises unwanted noise and distractions and enhances sound quality.
Quiet, Distraction-Free, Organized Space: Create an environment that is quiet, clean, tidy, and with adequate ventilation and lighting. Make sure to have your music organized in the correct order, and have a sharpened pencil and eraser (or Apple pencil) close at hand if you need to make notes on your part or write in your practice journal. Keep any instrument accessories within reach in case you need to quickly oil your valves, put more rosin on your bow, or remove water from your instrument keys. Having everything organized before your recording sessions will help make your time as productive and efficient as possible.
Acoustic Treatment: Use foam panels, bass traps, and diffusers to manage sound reflections.
Positioning: Experiment with microphone placement to find the sweet spot for capturing the most accurate sound of your instrument or voice. A good guide is to place the mic where you think the audience or audition panel will be sitting, as this will provide the most accurate representation of your playing from their position in the room.
4. Develop a Routine ♻️
Consistency is key to improving your practice sessions. Establishing a routine that incorporates regular recording will make the whole process much less confronting and overwhelming.
Warm-Up: Start with a warm-up to ensure you’re physically and mentally prepared.
Segmented Practice: Break your practice into segments focusing on different pieces or technical aspects.
Record Regularly: Record short bursts in each segment and note the date and specific areas you were focusing on. Make sure to be clear with the objective of each take (see point #1) so you aren’t wasting time and energy recording too many things in each session.
5. Perform When Recording 🎶
One huge advantage of recording yourself is that you don’t need to focus on listening and analysing your playing simultaneously. You can put all of your focus and concentration into the act of playing instead of in-the-moment analysis…that comes later! Recording yourself means that you have the luxury of being able to listen back to your performance instead of trying to remember exactly what you did in each moment of the piece.
Every time you record something, focus entirely on executing your intended musical version with conviction, and leave the analysing process until afterwards. Focus on what you want to SOUND like, what it FEELS like to play effortlessly, and what it LOOKS like to perform with confidence and conviction. You can also test out your chosen Performance Cues and find out if they have the desired effect on your performance. This is the same approach that you can take when performing on stage, so using the recording process to “practice performing” can be incredibly useful for training this skill.
6. Focus on Quality Over Quantity 👌
It’s going to be much more beneficial for you to record shorter, focused sessions than doing long, unfocused ones. Aim for quality takes that truly reflect your current playing level, as this makes it easier to identify specific issues and track improvements. I generally recommend recording for no longer than 1-2 minutes at a time so you can listen back straight away and keep the feedback loop as tight as possible.
Recording shorter takes also means it’s easier to listen back and adjust your playing more regularly and accurately. Sitting down and churning through 20 or 30 minutes of your practice session before making appropriate adjustments can lead to the development of bad habits, poor technique, and a sub-par learning environment. Quite often you probably won’t even get around to listening back to the recording anyway, seeing as it was so long and lacked a specific purpose! When in doubt, keep your recordings short and sharp to get the most out of each session!
7. Listen Critically and Take Notes 📝
After recording, listen back critically:
Tone: Are you creating a free and resonant sound with the tone colours that you want to make?
Timing: Is your tempo and rhythm accurate?
Tuning: Are you playing with good intonation?
Dynamics: Do you have appropriate dynamic contrast in the music?
Expression: Are you conveying the intended character, emotion, expression and musicality?
Musical Intent: Are your intentions coming across in the music, or are there areas in which you need to adjust your technical, musical, or mental approach?
When listening back to each take, ask yourself the following questions about the specific areas of your playing that you wish to address:
Result: WHAT specific result did you get - what was good and not-so-good?
Reason: WHY did you get that result?
Response: HOW can you get a better result next time? How can you adjust your approach to improve in the future?
Following this WHAT? WHY? HOW? questioning framework can help you move through harsh self-judgment and onto more productive problem-solving.
I also recommend keeping a practice journal to document your goals, what you worked on, any recording details, and your reflections and future steps to take. Doing this can save you from going through already-tested strategies that didn’t work previously, and will also help you stay organised and track your progress systematically. Some musicians prefer the old-school pen and paper journal approach, while others prefer a digital note-taking app. Whichever method you prefer is fine, just as long as you are taking notes regularly and going back over them to help improve the efficiency of your practice and recording sessions.
“What gets measured gets managed” – Peter Drucker
8. Use Visual Aids 📉
Waveform displays and spectrograms in your digital audio workstation can provide visual feedback on your playing. Look for inconsistencies in waveforms or patterns in spectrograms that indicate areas needing attention. This enables you to make adjustments to such things as tone colour and quality, intonation, sound evenness, dynamic control, articulation clarity, etc. One app with these features is the TonalEnergy Tuner, or you can try sound editing software such as Audacity or others mentioned in point #2.
Another visual aid that can come in handy is making a video recording of you playing. This can easily be done on your phone and can help identify inefficient body movements or pinpoint areas where you might be holding excess tension. It can be especially useful to watch your video recording back with the sound turned OFF, as this brings closer attention to inefficient body movements or tense muscles, and removes the distraction of what you sound like.
9. Experiment and Be Creative ❤️
Make sure to experiment with different techniques, styles, or interpretations – nothing is set in stone! Recording allows you to explore various musical ideas and hear the results instantly. This creative process can lead to new insights and breakthroughs in your playing and inform you of the interpretation you want to commit to for performance.
However, make sure you are intentional about what you want to discover in each take so you can gather accurate information about your playing and perception (see point #1). Unplanned experimentation in the middle of a take can often be unhelpful if you are trying to find out whether a specific technique or style works well or not. By making a clear plan before each take and executing that plan in the recording, you will be able to make more accurate adjustments for future takes.
10. Regularly Review and Reflect 🔎
Periodically review past recordings and your journal notes to assess your progress over time. Reflecting on how your playing has evolved and improved can be a huge confidence booster, especially when you’re struggling or having a frustrating practice day. Listening back to older recordings can also help identify persistent challenges in your playing, which can inform which areas you can continue to work on in the practice room.
11. Seek Feedback 📣
Sharing your recordings with respected teachers, peers, or mentors can provide valuable external feedback. Others might catch details you missed and offer new perspectives on your playing, or they may provide a welcome source of encouragement and support.
Whenever you receive feedback, make sure it is specific and detailed enough so you know what adjustments to make in future practice sessions. General feedback such as “you sound good,” or “I didn’t like how you played” provides little usable information for you to improve. If someone provides this type of feedback, simply ask them to elaborate, be more specific, or provide any tips or words of advice. Hopefully this will result in some more constructive feedback which can assist you with the next steps to take.
For more information on “Making the Most of Feedback”, check out my blog post here.
“Mistakes are neither good nor bad, they are just information” – Mimi Zweig
Conclusion
In summary, incorporating self-recording into your practice routine is not just about capturing your current playing. It's about creating a continuous loop of feedback, analysis, and improvement that drives your musical growth. With dedication and the right strategies, self-recording can significantly accelerate your progress, deepen your musical understanding, and enhance your overall performance capabilities. By making self-recording an integral part of your practice, you pave the way for substantial advancements in your musical journey, ensuring that you reach your fullest potential as a musician.