[Harp-L] Recording Yourself

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Steve wrote:
> After hearing myself play, I might not record any more jam 
> sessions until I get my act together better. 

On the contrary, I think you should keep recording yourself!  

I started recording band gigs about six months ago using my little 
MobiBlu (which I no longer use for that purpose).  I used the 
initial recordings to show the other guys in the band what I thought 
was wrong with our performances.  We were only playing about once a 
month, and alternating bass players to boot, and just seemed to be 
backsliding.  I didn't bother with the flubbed notes or the fumbled 
intros and outros, those were things we all knew and remembered.  I 
concentrated on the things we were all responsible for -- 
maintaining the tempo; shortening the amount of time and discussion 
between songs; acknowledging kudos from the audience; playing songs 
in a order that was appropriate for the venue and kept variety and 
interest in the material -- stuff like that.  

On my own, I used the recordings to find *my* flubbed notes, 
transitions where I needed work, but most importantly, to find the 
stuff I did *right* -- a time I'd selected a key/position that 
worked particularly well; bits and pieces of solos that I wanted to 
use again; places where a counterpoint or fill was particularly 
good -- so that I could use it again.  

Our first recordings were painful to listen to, but by focussing on 
trying to fix the big things we did wrong and preserve the little 
things I did right, they've made a significant contribution to the 
improvement of the performance.  I used to think I had a good feel 
at the end of the night for how well a performance went, but I 
realize now that the recorder tells all.  I have gotten so addicted 
that I bought a M-Audio Microtrack that I take to all the gigs, and 
I just put it out of the way somewhere and try to get the levels 
close and forget about it (it's best to forget you're recording 
yourself!).  It's been more than worth it.

-tim