I Always 'Choke' When I'm Recording

Every single time I try to record a song I write, I screw up.
I don't know if it's cause I know the camera is there "listening" to me, or just because it's like added pressure knowing that it has to be good enough to let people hear.

How can I stop choking all the time?

I need help because I did a rewrite of my old song "Unforgivable" and it's like 5-7 mins long, and I have to toggle clean and distortion.

Any tips/suggestions?

Thanks much in advance guys!

Just relax? I don't know... you could do something like a double-blind deal where you could have someone turn the camera on and off a bunch so they don't know if it's on and you don't know if it's on. FDA testing go!

welcome to the club.

I think all of us have been there at one time or another, just don't think of it as being under the spot light....your just playin...kinda like stage frieght....think screw it i'm good and i'm going to play!

ive never recorded myself playing, but probly just relax, get a feel of the song (7 minute songs are harder) and just play w/o really paying attention very much

lol dont expect this to work, ive never tried it.. but its worth a try i guess

You honestly think the pro's don't do that? They do, you just don't know it because they go in and re-record the section that screwed up, and then hand it over to the producer to touch up.

Everyone does it. Most pro's do it LIVE.

i acctually start to relax on longer songs...idk y. tht is if just before the final solo i dont say myself: hmm im doing good, maybe i wont screw up, the next note will be totally off.

some of the greatest improvs /solos have been started by a musician choking up.

How many pros actually eff up live?
I never really see or hear it.

I suppose I should probably get used to my song more before I record it, as BBT said.

What about if I record it in sections?
Like, the clean part for one whole section, then the heavy parts for another, etc.
The only problem there is how would I go about editing it to make sure it sounds good and flows?

You know why? Because they're PRO'S - They recover without you noticing it. What I would do it play the whole lead clean (or rhythm, whichever) ,through and through, and then play it again distorted (or whatever you consider "heavy"). Afterward, you can go in and clip away the clean parts that you don't want.

I would say practice makes perfect. I had this simple rhythm part that i could play flawlessly for hours but for some reason when i played it in front of my computer i kept on screwing it up. I did end up getting it recorded.

I think it was because it was unnatural for me to play where i was compared to in front of the computer. The best things about technology today is you can take 100 takes and the only thing you loose is time. unlike if you had booked studio time.

But if you do screw up, working on playing through it. I think the biggest difference between amateur and pro is confidence. if you screw up and act like to did it on purpose then it will seem like that is part of "your art". Just don't turn into a cock.

Oh yeah, pro's mess up. It's a relief hearing it sometimes, because it lets me know that they're still human. haha.

Basically GB, if you want to perform, eventually you'll have to get used to that pressure. Because you will be performing infront of people. The more you do it, the more you get comfortable with it.

But just think to yourself if you're really worried, you probably won't see these people ever again.

If it's a recording just think, So what? Everyone starts somewhere.

Just lose yourself and enjoy what you're doing.

Because you only live once.

The only answer i've found so far is to know the song so well that it's almost impossible to choke. I found that I was making mistakes when playing the song (not recording) but my mind was ignoring subconciously the mistakes. You just have to have the song down solid before you record.
I understand Heimlich is coming out with a line of chokeless guitars!
Phip

we have a thing here we call guitarnight every wedsday 4 or 5 of my buddiesget together and work chord progressions scales songs whatever
when i first started learning i was way nervous i try to block out the fact ther is other people in the room not allways real easy being some of them have been playin for years and ime years older but they fuck up to just a lot better at covering it up

screwing up is human

i used to have avhs vidio consert pink floyd the begining of one tune gilmore toke like 4 trys before he got it right they put that on the tape didnt edit it out left it the way it was probly to show the human side of the art once he got it right the song continued and it was good even though the first30 secs was fucked

cant sware it was floyd or gilmore but ime sure you get the point not that i know a hell of a lot about preforming ime just real observent

Damn you're lucky Keniemn, I just finished my music course in college with the top grade and now have no one to jam with!

Been playing on my own for a while, I'd like to find random people to get together and just jam with, mess around, whatever. Just so I don't stay a bedroom guitarist. I also want to boost up my experience and confidence too.

GB, why not try something like that with some of your friends? Random get together jam sessions.

hell girl jump the puddel alls welcome
seriosly the past weeks everyone was there you just dont know it
i started taking my notebook over for scale and chord names and alike matters

One solution is to record them by parts. If song is one that you hadnt practise much and it not come from "spine" you cant do that long song without mistakes if you are not just damn good.

I dont know how you record your songs, but if you use computer based sequencer programs, its best deal to record them in parts over and over again until theyre perfect, that is recording an song to album so everything is allowed to make them perfect.

Ive use Cubase SX as sequencer program that also allow you to modify audio tracks you recorded, ive used a method if ive got long part which is almost everything worked but few mistakes, ive edit those mistakes by hand. That require some knowledge how to do it.

Basically in "mixing" and producting an Track is an hell of an job and even sometimes boring as hell, thats why Bands leave those things to producers and mixers :D

Soz for long post, hope it helps even a bit.

Cheers!
Empirism

Wow Jazz I'd like to jam with ya! Someone once told me if your not makin mistakes your not doing anything.

Unfortunately, Keniem, I'm an ocean away :( . That would be so much fun though.



Notim, too true! Mistakes are human, and it's worth experiencing them.

I'd also like to jam with you, I think it'd be awesome to have some sort of gathering of the people here and mess around. But we're ages away from each other. Perhaps someday when we're earning we'll all be able to do that.

Just relax! If you can learn the song one-handed that would be good because it would free up your other hand to play with yourself. That's pretty good for relaxing.

Course, it might make slightly weird viewing on YouTube, and you'll probably get some moron saying that Jimi Hendrix masturbates way better than you, then someone else saying that Petrucci is better, then they'll call each other mo'fos and you'll get the relaxed hippy dude joining in telling everyone to just respect the music and soft porn and not fight about who's better than who.

Just a thought...

Afro

LMAO! Wow Afro is Human? Nice to know.

Bahahhaha Afro, shit that made my day! LOL

I also think iy would be pretty cool to have a gathering of all our AGC members and just play our hearts out... But that'll never happen.

@Jazz,
I have a few friends who play guitar, but they just started so they kinda suck. I met this dude on the first day of school (aka Thursday) and he seems pretty cool, likes good music, plays guitar.

Too bad I don't have what Keniemn has, that guitar night... Sounds fun.

EDIT: LOL Notim, you bet me my 80 seconds xD

Ive been thinkiong the same thing for a while, and unfortunately, I havent jammed with anyone in like half a year =(

Me and my friend are starting a guitar club at school so anyone at my school can come and jam with us

Sounds cool Dude...didnt have that kind of stuff when I went to school.

i wish i had someone to jam with =( thats the suckiest thing bout homeschooling lol

Afro, you're hilarious. That was an awesome comment and so damn true.

Yeah, gets boring jamming to yourself and a computer after a while.

GB why don't you make one of those jam nights? Post some flyers up and spread around that you'd like to jam, make a note that you're not an expert and that way you won't get some crazy foo' showing off and making you lose your spirit- unless they're willing to help.

Never know, I plan on traveling America in a few years (once I'm done uni) so that jam might just happen!

I might do that when I'm older and have more skills. And actually know something about guitar.

Hey Jazz, why don't you stop up here in Cape Breton, NS while yer at it? xD

Dude, can ya'll just call her Mav? I say this because my name is Jazz.

Is your actual name Jazz, Skold? That'd be pretty awesome! I'd hug you for that name.

Sure GB, I'd like to visit all of you while I'm out there, I want to go all over and just experience different music.

id quite like to jam with some people on here, but im southern england and from what ive seen from the map only one other person lives in south east england so yeh that kinda sucks, i got my "band" to jam with but its good to have fresh blood :P

and the key is GB not to think about messing up but thinking how to play, that way it doesnt encourage negative suggestion and mess up

@ Skold,
Wait a minute, you can't be jazz, skold, and the american britt all at once! your gonna have to renounce your "jazzmanship" status. Next you'll be tellin bob dylan to get a new name! LOL

rofl phip... im not sure wut u mean.. but it sounds funny =p

tell him phip
show some id

I've got like 100 names I go by.

Skold, Evan, Jazz, Jay, DJ Jazzy Jay, BB, etc.

I have another question that I feel stupid for asking.
I'm not going to post it in my other thread about time sigs because I just "bumped" 2 old ones yesterday. I don't wanna have 3472457 threads.

Anyways the question is:

How do I tell what time signature a song I wrote is in? Or is it really the drums that decide that?

Guitar Pro kind of confuses me as well because it hardly wants to create a new bar and I end up having a big jumble of eighth and sixteenth notes in there, making an incorrect measure. please help?

daddy always said "the only stupid question is the one you were afraid to ask"

and skold you really call yourself etc

LOL...You go by a hundred names? again I have nothing...........

What about Nipples?
You would get so much respect if that was your nickname.

I know this weird guy who gives people random names by forming an anagram out of their own name, e.g. my real name is Josh, so it could be Shoj, Oshj or Hosj, etc...

Sometimes it works really well and you all end up sounding like a character out of Lord of The Rings.

Or just a complete dickhead.

Afro

rofl afro

Funny Afro. Anyways I think I am pretty skilled at fixing a time signature or chord change. Some Jam partners always tell me how fast I fixed or learned a song. Practice helps a lot too.