Do you record yourself when you practice?

[Michael Stanley 2112]

My drummer has started bringing a little Zoom recorder (similar to the H4N, I'm not sure exactly what the model is) along to our rehearsals and uploads the results to our private YouTube channel, which I've found very helpful both as a way to go over mistakes I make after the fact and as a play-along track for practice at home.

I've been thinking about setting up my Scarlett interface at home when I practice for the same purpose, and I'm curious how many other folk here do the same. Any useful tips for getting the most out of your rehearsal/practice recordings?

This is extremely useful, when you have to keep telling a band mate he's out of time and he argues with you. Then, HE insists you record your rehearsal and you watch his face as he hears who the culprit is!

Shoot, should have included recording gigs in the poll. We do that as well and I find it very helpful (and occasionally humbling) to go back and listen to what we did well or not so well.

First, see above.

Second, I record a lot of my own material and save a lot of the re-starts (I don't edit tracks. If you listen to my songs, each instrument is one time-through) until I'm ready to actually start the mixing.

 

[vickerekes]

I use an Olympus LS-14 (lots of bells and whistles, now discontinued) pretty often just to keep me honest for phrasing, voicing, rhythm, etc.
It will not lie and ruthlessly lets me know whether I'm serving the song or just full of myself.

 

[MichelD]

I don't but members of my jazz chart jam group record us and guys in my Cajun band are recoridng it on cell phones.

 

[Bass-ball]

I used to use Karaoke-Version and others until I was steered toward Moises. To me, this app does everything. It allows you to isolate bass tracks from your own tunes or those on YT. You can open them in your DAW as separate tracks, learn them, then record your own separate track and compare them to the original.

There is a limited free version but, I saved so much from the individual Karaoke-Version charges that I subscribed to Moises. And, BONUS, I get to play along with the original tunes. No, I am not affiliated with them.

Yeah I tried that, but it's just a frequency stripper, and the isolated bass tracks sound really weird. It's also doesn't remove notes above like a D3, not the more percussive elements in slapping, or fret buzz, stuff like that. It's a neat tool but karaoke-version I just love because the bass tracks are actual isolated tracks, not just a frequency strip, so the weird distortion you get with a frequency stripper isn't an issue. And some of the remakes at Karaoke are actually quite good. Much better than some cover bands I've played in that's for sure.

 

[Nashrakh]

One of my bands rehearses in an apartment (our Pianist's), and because he's such a tech nerd, he has the whole thing set up like a recording studio... in his living room. It's crazy. All mics and signals are routed to his computer, so recording a rehearsal is just a push of a button, and the quality is excellent. I've heard a few takes, and it's amazing what you can do at home nowadays.

One other band records gigs for analysis. Just a dingy little one track recorder, but all the BL wants out of that is the ability to hear any problem spots, audio fidelity is no issue in that case.

 

[bobba66]

No.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

I used to record every rehearsal and every gig. Then I realized that no one except for me ever bothered listening to the rehearsal recordings, so I figured I had better things to do with that time. Like practice

As for gigs, that feels like a lifetime ago

 

[comatosedragon]

I'd love to.

I can't figure out how to use my Focusrtie Scarlett audio interface though.

 

[micahwc]

I don’t really “practice” anymore, rather I learn and “rehearse” parts for playing live. I don’t record myself typically, I have a few times. I will turn down all the other music at times and listen while I play to make sure I’m playing difficult parts cleanly.

 

[swarfrat]

I just started doing this. I have a mic on a boom stand, a monitor, and a Zoom Q2n, and I use it to practice playing while singing into a mic at volume. The zoom Q2n is a great little thing but you can't flip the monitor so...I bought a little 7" screen for that but that's a whole rabbit hole in itself. I try to just mic the room with its own mics. I don't want to get into a separate video mix it's got to be fast and simple.

 

[swarfrat]

Oh yeah. When I thrashing out a new song I might not "record" but I do try to keep an eye on the screen. It's good practice for keeping focus "out there" instead of on my instrument and also reveals stupid goofy expressions and ticks and such..

 

[HardNHeavy]

i should, if i were in a actual band i would record rehearsals or if original unit definitely record new parts. Once in a while i will record a bass track while i'm playing along to covers at home, just to see how well i match the original song. I do like recording software and the whole studio session stuff, but if its just me alone at home.,...nah

 

[Symphony2040]

I actually record myself just about every time that I practice. I say "just about every time", because that excludes times where I practice without an amp.

Recording has helped my playing tremendously, since I can go back and see areas that I need to work on. That, and small aspects of what I end up playing can sometimes become a full composition or lead to other ideas.

 

[MDStingray]

It's always worse than expected.

 

[13bass]

We got a full mic'd up scarlett 18i20 with my laptop right now at our practice space to capture everyone (6 on drums, 1 bass, 1 guitar)

Oh and I've been using a zoom portable recorder for years.

I should clarify the purpose is mostly for writing, not just standard rehearsal

This is what we use, but we all go xlr into the scarlett, and then all listen through headphones as we rehearse, electronic drums, bass, two guitars and one singer. Record every rehearsal song for play back practicing at home. The BL dumps them on dropbox for everyone.

 

[fishdreams]

I mostly play improvised music. I always record sessions i do with various people, and upload the results to soundcloud on private access for the rest of the folks. The drummer of the originals trio i am in, always records/videos the gigs, as does the saxaphonist sometines too, on her phone. The session recordibgs are for personal reference primarily, to see what worked and didn't work musically, rather than personal mistakes; funny how things can feel meh when you played then, and sound much better when you hear them back, and the other way around. I have some things laying around that I may bring out one day. Fragments of gigs end up on social media posts. It is pretty much standard practice in the scene

 

[One Way]

I use a Zoom H5 recorder for band rehearsals, process the recording in my DAW and export individual songs as mp3 files, then email to band members using the WeTransfer dot com website. This has really helped us tighten up songs prior to our next session.

When band members listen to recordings they often discovered the song is better served playing fewer notes.

When practicing or learning a song at home I’ll often use the Zoom H5 or cellphone audio recorder to improve my timing. Early on in my journey playing bass I could hear I was often playing ahead of the pocket, recording solo practice made me aware and helped me focus on better timing.

 

[scott sinner]

We used to use a little Zoom, but we are running 4 tracks into the proper interface now. Even with a lot of bleed, being able to solo drums, bass, guitar, or vocals to hear things a little better is helpful. That purpose is a little less practice, but iterative writing I suppose.

 

[ebo]

My band records all practices. It’s a great tool to go back and find the problem spots and take corrective action. Of course, I never listen to them.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

we record all rehearsals, full 16 track. most of our songs come out of jamming so its helpful to document that. occasionally a rehearsal take can be spot on for a final recording with just a little building on it.