Did recording yourself make you a better player, and how?

My band has been practicing in my studio.
I record a lot of our songs while we practice.

It's the worst sounds in the world.
The songwriter sounds like a dying mental patient.

Somehow, when we record in a legit studio, it sounds okay.

I don't know if people pull it together or what, but in my place, it sounds like someone needs a beating, but I truly have a heart for her.
 
I suggest everyone take even a cellphone and record them selves playing and watch it back.

The camera doesn't lie, your brain does.. ESPECIALLY when it comes to speeding up fills, or thinking you are playing a sick groove. When you hear back it never sounds as good as you think. It's normal but is a great tool to help you improve.

I find when I listen back I over play too often. It has made me hold back much more.
 
That's what I'm going through now. they're working out the technical issues now, but I really want to hear the recordings. They think we really sound great. I'm not so sure...At another church, they would occasionally record. At first, the playback was sounding pretty good, then we'd start picking it apart (Coulda done that better, Shoulda done that there, etc.).
That right there is what takes people to the next level - it's gaining the awareness that what you think you're playing in the moment isn't necessarily what's actually coming through, and then working to try to make those two things meet.

This is constantly a struggle for me with everything I do - drums, trumpet and vocals. I do vocal projects at home against karaoke tracks, mainly to keep my singing chops up, but also because my wife likes them. :)
 
I would say it has for sure, but I still have a long way to go before I've even gotten the most out of the initial lessons you can learn hearing yourself back.

The main one as with most other people here is of course, timing. Oh god. The timing. Even playing mostly on beat/roughly in time can sound pretty bad when hearing yourself back, revealed to me at least that I was nowhere near as advanced as I thought technique wise and I'm still not, at least as far as sounding good goes.

Gives me a new appreciation for more technical drummers I've looked up to for years like Matt Garstka and Larnell Lewis for how they manage not only to pull off their ludicrous antics but sound so tight and crisp on top of that.

Really, recording myself confirmed what I suspected for a while, that there's levels to playing the same song, groove or type of beat beyond just playing it 'correctly'. As a result, even if you think you can play such-and-such advanced techniques and song that are at the limit of your ability, it's only something you've been able to do 'correctly' for a handful of years that you're truly able to do while sounding good.

Keeping old recordings is also great motivation for contrasting how much you've improved, or a wake-up call if you haven't gotten much better, either way a net positive if you put in the actual hours and step outside your comfort zone to see results.
 
I made a recording of my practice a few days ago. I was surprised, I sound better than I thought I did.
 
I often record my bands gigs with a little gopro on the side of the stage, or sometimes we have people film us etc. It's crazy how you can feel one way in the moment, but then listen back and it's a complete 180.

I have played shows I though I wasn't on my game, and listened back and was pretty impressed with myself. I have had it the opposite too.

Often if I just set up a camera and play I can tell every little timing mistake much more. Even recording to a click that playback tells all. I am much more critical onmyself than other though. And once you add guitar and bass in a band setting the sound isn't as bare and it's harder to tell. I practice to a click all the time and that is the best advice for working on your time.

Even double the speed/subdivision of the metronome and play to it. This is something that takes a long time to get down but you will be happy when it clicks.

Videos are a great way to look back in a year and feel good about yourself too if you practice alot.
 
Yes, much better.

1. Certain tempos were too fast. I corrected this, and the band is very happy about it.

2.Certain things I was doing while playing sounded good on the recording.

3. Certain things did not sound good (to my ears) and I changed them.
 
In my case, how I did it was/is by subtraction. There's parts of the song I'm happy with. There's parts of the song I'm not happy with. So I decide what to do with the parts I don't like, and usually just play the beat straight through the offending part.

The result is that I improve by subtraction. Since the music I play is groove based, I found that keeping time ALWAYS works, many times better than me putting something in.

Another thing I used to do....any fills I would take, I used to play with too much volume. Simply by playing the same exact part at a lower dynamic worked wonders in a lot of cases.

Dynamics are my best friend. Well actually my recorder is. An essential tool for any musician.

If you aren't big on fills like me, dynamics and good steady time and a keen sense of tempo...are what separate the real musicians from the rest of the pack, in my world anyway.
 
Another thing I used to do....any fills I would take, I used to play with too much volume. Simply by playing the same exact part at a lower dynamic worked wonders in a lot of cases.

There was this 16th note snare drum fill over one bar that I was doing in a particular song that sounded bad to me. I changed it and did the same fill, but started quiet and did a crescendo and man, it sounded so much better....

Also I find it helpful what you wrote. If you don't like a certain part, just play time...thanks for the tips.
 
I record myself every week or two just using a crappy smartphone. My first recording was literally a month after I picked up drumsticks for the first time.

Recording has helped me focus on things like dynamics (which still need a ton of work) and helps me figure out what does and does not sound good. Sometimes the grooves that sound good in my head sound like garbage when I play them, and other times parts that feel really hokey end up sounding cool. Having a recording allows me to transcribe parts so I can remember them later.

It's also a confidence builder to hear my progress over time, which inspires me to keep practicing! Those first recordings...wow.
 
I like to video myself now and again during practise...it ensures I'm not flailing around like a mad person as I like to be tucked in tight and economical and I know its helping me improve.
 
I like to video myself now and again during practise...it ensures I'm not flailing around like a mad person as I like to be tucked in tight and economical and I know its helping me improve.

I put ankle weights on my wrists and it FORCED me to be economical. Even taught me to use rotation of my wrist and general finger usage with much more power than I thought either could do! Also improved my posture on the set - if I moved with the weights it would take more time to get back to where I was.

No waving my arm over the head a'la 80's hair band stunts for me! ; )

It also narrowed my targets WAY down...so my sound became more consistent when I want it to be. My wear marks went from pretty much 30% of the head with a majority at about 10% of the head to right at 15% with the majority at around 5%.
 
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