First time recording playing

A few months back my wife decided we would do a video 'Christmas card' to send around to relatives and friends. She would do some art and we would both play along. I picked up a Sampson Meteor mic from Amazon, and thought: "How hard can it really be"?

a few lessons -

mic placement is key
recording level is critical
..... and actually being able to play helps! and by that I mean playing in tune, on time etc - something that I have not paid much attention to as we have learned the uke the past couple of years. I mean , we generally try and keep time, but hearing it come out of the speakers on the computer really shows where it right, and where its wrong.


I think we played the same Christmas carol maybe 50 times last night to get it close to right.

Despite the 'trial' this was - I think my playing will improve by recording and listening. I had never done this before and the ability to hear what you thought was correct is amazing.

I recommend recording - iphone, ipad, microphone whatever - and listening - its a real learning experience.

Too true, the shock of hearing yourself for the first time takes some getting over, but all to the good, it shows where to concentrate your practicing.

Congrats on the getting a video completed.

Yep, I agree. Listening to oneself play is great way to assess your skills and improve. I never realized how awful a player I was until my first recorded playing session.

If a recording of yourself could talk: "GET HUMBLE, BUDDY!" Haha.

A great learning tool. We tend to BS ourselves into thinking we sound better than we are. Recording is the equalizer.

Yep. When I recorded the bass uke for the memorial collaborative audio for the ukulele player who lost her life in the theatre shooting in Louisiana, I must have tried at least 30 times to be sure I had the tempo and notes right.

bman40 said:

recording .... - its a real learning experience.

Click to expand...

Absolutely. Mics don't lie. It's why I record. Your memory of how a performance went can be very fuzzy. Recordings are brutally truthful.