recording

Another great value of having a recorder handy is to document your progress when songwriting. After a session of working out ideas for a new instrumental I'll grab my iPhone and use the memo app to do a quick recording of my performance (solo or with a jam track). It's common for many days to go by between writing sessions and it's very easy to forget prior progress. I start a new session listening to my past recording, sometimes even playing along to it. I stop the playback and then get to work. continue reading...

Songwriters have a recording device with them at all times--Inspiration comes at any moment, and a moment not captured is an opportunity lost. I carried a mini-cassette recorder with me for years and though the quality wasn't good, it did the job. Now that smartphones are ubiquitous, the voice memo app that comes with most phones (or an inexpensive recording app) provide much higher quality and are an easy way to store and backup ideas. continue reading...

Our best tool for bettering our playing is to record ourselves and listen back with a critical ear. If you use this tool correctly, by the time you send your final recording of a study song to me, it should be pretty dialed in. I shouldn’t be making comments about missed notes, they should be more about technique, tone and approach. When listening back to your recording, use your finger to follow along with the provided music/TAB and mark areas that need improvement. continue reading...

I've found the Tascam series of recorders to be very user-friendly (I use these at School of the Blues in all my teaching rooms) and in the case of this sale, extremely affordable. Musician's Friend has the LR-10 on sale for $40 right now. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/tascam-lr-10-instrument-vocal... Do quick recordings of songs you’re working on or for recording a live band. continue reading...