Recording Yourself: Helping You Sound The Way You Want To Sound.
The Benefits of Recording yourself
I am sure many of you remember the first time you heard a recording of your own voice and thought “Geez, that can’t be me! I don’t sound like that!” Strangely enough, hearing recordings of yourself playing drums, or any instrument for that matter, can have a very similar effect. Although it can be uncomfortable at times, recording yourself playing your instrument is one of the most effective tools you have in improving as a musician (yes, drummers are musicians too). The reality is, when we are in the moment of playing, we have a biased or inaccurate idea of how we really sound. I have found that this is generally due to the fact that we tend to label our performances based on our emotions in that moment. This, unfortunately, is not a very helpful approach to playing music. For example, if we become anxious during our performance, we may label our performance as bad because our view of our playing reflects that emotion. In reality, we may have sounded our absolute best, but we let our brains get the better of us. In order to get a good representation of what we sound like, we must take a step back and put ourselves in the audience’s shoes. This can really only be done through recording ourselves. Regardless of whether you are performing live or practicing, recording yourself is the most effective exercise in your musical development. It will allow you to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and the amount of progress you’ve made over time.
How To Record Yourself
With technology where it is today, you don’t need a high-tech recording studio in order to record. Recording yourself can be as simple as using the voice memo app or video camera on your iPhone. The sound quality won't be the best, but it will give you a decent representation of how you sound. (If Benny Greb can record a good portion of his social media drum clips using just his iPhone mic, so can you! If you don’t know of Benny, go check him out on Youtube after reading this!) However, if you want to improve the sound quality of your recordings, you can invest in an IOS microphone or USB microphone such as: the IK Multimedia iRig Mic Cast HD iOS Microphone or the Blue Microphones Yeti Condenser. These microphones plug directly into your phone or computer via lightning or USB, and are great affordable and portable options. They will make recording yourself at band rehearsals, performances, or practice sessions quick and easy. Another great option for quick recordings is the Yamaha EAD 10. Monetarily speaking, the EAD 10 may be one of the best units for recording yourself. In fact, that piece of gear was vital for me when I was beginning to offer virtual drum lessons. If you want to get a little more advanced with your recordings, you can get an audio interface which will allow you to record several microphones at once. When you use an audio interface to record, you will need to use some sort of version of a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) such as Garage Band, Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, or Digital Performer in order to capture your recordings onto your computer. Regardless of what method appeals to you, just the act of recording yourself and listening back constructively will greatly help you improve on your instrument.
Getting The Most From Your Recordings
Once you have recorded a practice session or performance, you have audible proof of how you actually sounded on that particular day. Now it is time to review your recordings. For me, it is always important to review my recordings once I have a fresh set of ears. I know I have the tendency to be overly critical of myself if I listen back immediately after recording; which isn’t generally the most helpful when I am trying to be constructive. However, everyone is different! You may find you are more successful when you listen back to yourself immediately. Again, it all comes back to not allowing your emotions to interfere when you are trying to be constructive towards playing our instrument. When it is the appropriate time to listen back to yourself, it is important to take some notes. When listening back to your recording, first make a list of all the positive things you enjoyed about your playing. This could be as simple as you enjoying the tone you got from your snare drum, or you feeling like your timing has improved since your last performance. Secondly, listen for areas in your playing that hung you up the most, or things that you wish to improve upon. For example, “I wish I didn’t play crash cymbals after every fill,” or “I should work on my ability to play consistent snare hits during my grooves.” Once you identify areas you want to improve, write down your constructive comments in a practice journal. Having a written record of exactly what you wish to improve on will help you develop sequential practice routines. If you are someone who takes drum lessons, it is never a bad idea to have your instructor review your recordings during your lesson. Sometimes your teacher will be able to help you identify areas you might have overlooked.
Get To it!
I record drum students playing during our lessons so that they are able to hear back exactly what they are playing. Here is a former student recording along to a playalong track.