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Posted by: Headbanger Feb 3 2013, 11:58 AM

I have spent this week trying to get REC takes done for two different lessons, (diff 2 and 3). One is a punk rock strumming lesson by Gab and the other is a Led Zep Groove by Adrian...(a bit of bending on single note riffs mainly).

I had never recorded guitar before and found myself repeatedly making mistakes, through nerves (I was on my own, but the potential of 'this one' being the 'good take' take stopped me from relaxing.) I was constantly resetting Reaper to record again and again and each time deleting previous bad takes and resetting my camera again and again and again....probably retaking up to 50 times. I only recorded the groove and didn't even start recording on the punk rock theme (although I had practised it all week)!!
I was 50 per cent though uploading my ' good take' of the groove to Youtube last night and thought I would just check out the lesson again...after all of my takes,I noticed 'my' Led Zep Groove riff was different from the lesson...It was similar, but different...I had accented notes in the wrong places changed the note timing slightly and noticed that, although fitting to the backing track (almost), my 'good take' had developed a life of its own...a new riff had formed...different sound.. I cancelled the upload and will try again soon.

Unfortunately I have a very none classical style on my fretting hand..I hang my thumb near or over the top of the fretboard...particularly for vibrato and bends...and during the multiple practises, recordings and exact repetitions I noticed a very sharp pain had developed on the inside of my fretting hand thumb...Now I can't squeeze things in my left hand...Hopefully this will ease up soon...

Its not the first finger injury I have suffered..I once snapped a tendon in my middle finger (fretting hand) leaving my finger bent forward at the top joint for 8 months (that stopped me from playing for a couple of years)....How did I snap my tendon? Taking a tight sock off my foot by hooking my finger into the top...(Warning: Sock removal can be dangerous for guitar players...anyone really!)

What was the point of this post?...I just wanted to share the trials of my first REC take...with you...Its not easy, like it says on the REC take page...Its hard. I have learnt a lot though and without joining GMC, I honestly wouldn't have bothered.

Cheers ......Rod (Headbanger/finger twanger)

Posted by: PosterBoy Feb 3 2013, 12:22 PM

It certainly isn't easy, I think REC takes are all about being able to play the lesson almost everytime, rather than manage to pull it off once and move on thinking you're done

Posted by: Headbanger Feb 3 2013, 12:39 PM

QUOTE (PosterBoy @ Feb 3 2013, 12:22 PM)

Posted by: PosterBoy Feb 3 2013, 05:17 PM

The red blinking recording light is a curse in itself

Posted by: klasaine Feb 3 2013, 06:08 PM

I feel I don't 'know' something until I can play it 15 or 20 times in a row w/o a mistake - at tempo.

Think about it. When you're learning something you're mostly playing it wrong until you get it right - everybody's that way. It may take hours or even days - sometimes weeks to get it 'right'. So you've been playing it with a mistake or two or three and probably slower than you ultimately envision it and you've been doing that disproportionately longer than you've been playing it correctly and at the right speed. You need to re-balance all that. Especially since recording - any recording - can be nerve wracking.

*Classical guitarists don't talk about how long they practice a piece but how many times they've played it through. they usually won't perform, let alone record a new piece until they worked on it for a year.

Posted by: PosterBoy Feb 3 2013, 06:23 PM

Great post Klasaine, I never thought of it that way, it makes a lot of sense.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 3 2013, 06:52 PM

This is very normal mate. The "recording panic" is something that most of us experiment or experimented and the secret is once again practice. Keep on recording yourself and after some practice you will notice that you start to feel more comfortable and then you will start to enjoy it.

Posted by: Blister Feb 3 2013, 07:12 PM

QUOTE (PosterBoy @ Feb 3 2013, 11:17 AM)

QUOTE (Dinaga @ Feb 10 2012, 07:21 AM)

Hmm, here's what I do - I press the record button and don't turn it off between takes! Then I put the backing track on repeat, and play over and over, until I get the take I'm satisfied with. That way I forget about the camera and dive into the playing After I played it right, I simply cut the "right" take while editing.

Oh, and the fact that my camera doesn't flash a red light while recording also helps, I guess

My biggest problem is not recording fever, it's in fact battery fever! My camera battery is kinda weak, and it recharges VERY slowly, so when the battery is low I get super nervous to finish the take before the battery runs out!

Posted by: Headbanger Feb 3 2013, 07:22 PM

Thanks for your replies everyone...all food for thought, I am mighty glad its not just me!!!
Blister, I thought about leaving all of my gear on, but I too suffer from the battery problem...I also have done various retakes because where I am recording, my kids, wife and dog, often walk past!