Playing while recording

[thetroy]

How do you folks that have played on recordings manage to play things perfectly? I just started trying to record a song today for the hell of it and found that I cannot get through a take without making at least one little mistake somewhere in the 4 minutes.

Do you piece things together instead of doing a whole track at once or do I just suck? The mistakes are fine for live playing but on the recording it is really obvious since you listen to it more critically.

[jacksoncsplayer]

What are you recording on? or to? Computer software? ADAT?

[thetroy]

just PX4 -> computer on the free Audacity software

I don't think that is affecting my playing though =P

[Axewielder]

I call it "red light syndrome". Once the red recording light comes on, look out! It happens to the best of us.

[thetroy]

Nah it's not any worse than normal - I can never play a song perfectly from start to finish. Live playing just doesn't require it so I'm asking if people record whole songs at once or just bits and pieces to get rid of mistakes.

[slash-ed]

Try recording it in parts... When I make up solos for my songs I usually piece them together and record parts as they come, it's much easier/less time consuming than working out the whole solo, practicing it until I've got it right and then recording it. I know, I'm just lazy

[thetroy]

The funny thing is that the solo parts I can handle just fine but I am not a good rhythm player. I always fudge a note or two since the damn rhythm part goes through the whole song instead of just a short time.

[jdr94]

i guess i'm a cheater. i play all riffs of the song to a metronome when possible, then i go back pick the best parts and cut and paste. after all of this i go back and practice playing with what i've put together over and over and over till i can play it perfect live or for the next recording.

[OldSchoolMetal]

This problem pisses me off to no end too!

[delt]

I call it "red light syndrome". Once the red recording light comes on, look out! It happens to the best of us.

Yeah i have that too.... often i can practice a riff/solo/passage perfectly to the metronome for an hour, then when i try to record it i'm all clumsy and can't play 2 or 3 bars straight without making mistakes

I find the best way to deal with it is not to -expect- to get it perfectly, let it record your flawed playing 3 or 4 times, then the next i usually get it right. Or at least i have all the parts i need to piece together into something decent

[Fragle]

there are several ways how to approach this. in general, one way is to record a rhythm track all the way through (like you're doing right now) and then go back and punch in wherever you made some mistakes and fix it up.
the other way is to record for example just the chorus riff (or any given section for that matter) twice or 4 times depending on what you're shooting for (double vs quadtracking; notice that quadtracking takes more skills in regards to tightness as you got to record 4 tracks that have to be 100% tight to each other, however it's a fatter sound, and *small* mistakes like an improperly hit single note tends to be swallowed up by the other layers), and then go on and record the other parts.
for the real lazy folks (or those who are on a tight schedule), you can also cut and paste that part whenever it reappears in that song. some people say that's too much editing, but on the other hand, why have the guitarist replay a section that he already nailed earlier in the song?

also, don't be afraid to just record a part over and over (lets say 3 to 5 times) and then go in and cut/paste the best parts together so you got one perfect track. works best with leads and melodies as there's usually just one final track, but can also be performed on rhythms.

in general, whenever you listen to a CD (that's not from the 70s or something :-D ) you can be sure there's LOTS of editing all over the place, especially with modern day productions. as a rule of thumb, out of 100 lead takes chances are less than 5 are actually first takes. think about it.

hope this helps some...

[Wylde06]

i had the same problem recording like 45 seconds of something that I came up with...took like 2 or 3 hours total to get it right

[markD]

well, i don't have that problem. i just sit down and play the part. i used to have that issue, but after playing on hundreds of recordings (my own as well as others') it just became natural. but, even still it can take a couple of takes. try practicing so you don't make mistakes live (because it DOES matter), and the parts will be easier when recording.

[Ace]

Remember the two P's. Practice, and Punching In!!

[Newc]

As long as you've got the drum track down, you shouldn't have trouble with the rhythm except for anticipating the beat and hitting the beat too early, or hitting it too late because of an improperly timed slide-to or flubbed fingering.

I usually do two-fingered power chords. The third always gets in my way. Once in a while I'll catch myself trying to hold two strings with one finger (ring or pinky) but I always flub the chord that way - hammer down on the 5th/8va too hard, or add the next string by mistake, etc.

It does take a lot of practice and patience to record. Studio work can break a band. I know. I've been there.

A live band that follows the "rule" of mistakes getting lost in the mix/accepted in a live setting cannot concentrate on the rigidity of a studio recording.

Once you get past that, and you can nail it on recordings, you'll find yourselves tighter as a live band and have less mistakes, and have less tolerance for them.

Then again, you can also set up to record the band live rather than multi-tracking. You don't need a crowd, and it won't have/need that technical precision of multi-tracking, but it'll have a better overall sound as you'll be playing off of each other.