Hey you solo recordists...do you practice?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fat_Satchel
  • Start date Start date
F

Fat_Satchel

I suffer Narcoleptic Rage
Hiya...this has been bugging me for a long time now.

When I was playing in band, writing songs. the songs got tight because we practiced them.

Now that Im just solo recording (sequencing drums, etc) I tend to record as I write/arrange, shooting for as good a track as I can lay (at once or in sections). But I still notice that no matter how many takes I do before finally "getting it right" it is still usually kinda sloppy IMO. Now that Im programming drums, I cant blame it on him anymore so I can only guess its due to not practicing the parts to the point where Im technically comfortable with them...either that or Im just a sloppy engineer :o

So anyways...do any of you go thru any type of practice regimen before you commit tracks?
 
ABSOLUTELY!

I usually have the part nailed down because of all the times I play it during pre-production. However, I still spend quality time rehearsing the part for weeks before I lay it down. I make sure that I can snap to the time of the piece and even when the part seems like a breeze, there will always be fine points that I can work on that can really make the track shine. Doesn't matter if it is as simple as doubling the bass or a complex solo.

Cy
 
Well......I play 4 or 5 nights a week so that's like what.......16 to 20 hours of practice. But even then I'll get out the axes and practice for an hour or two every night that I don't have a gig.



Hmmmm....I guess that explains why I don't get laid more. :rolleyes:
 
It is tough. I record other people mainly and when I'm in engineering mode I get pretty slack on my guitar playing. It's hard to just pick it up and try to do my own stuff when I haven't been playing for a few weeks.
 
Yah, you still have to practice.When I'm working on a song I'll put it on A-B repeat and keep playing along until I come up with something I like.Then I'll keep playing until it gets tight and I hate the song.Then I record it.If you're playing with a band alot it sure helps out.
 
Yeh that's pretty much the secret - practice to the point that you totally hate what you're practising - now you're ready to record
 
if you are a pro musician for hire, most of the time you will not be given an opportunity to practice the parts. very often the first time you will even see your part is at the session.

some of the reason for that is that even expensive studio time can be cheaper than paying pro musicians to do a seperate rehearsal- and for a lot of music is unnecessary anyway. on a complicated piece it may mean doing four or five takes to get it right, as opposed to one or two.

occasionally over-rehearsing a part can have diminishing returns, as it loses some of it's spontaneity and creative fire.

of course, if your musicianship isn't at that level, then there's no alternative but to rehearse your parts.
 
Interesting post.
I usually jam it up 'til I get it good enough (or what I call good enough), so maybe that could be called practicing. If I'm jamming to the tune, the red light's usually on.
Sometimes I'll go through my tunes when I'm just doing some playing, not really dedicated practising of the tunes tho.
May give that a try.
 
If I can't lay down a track

It all depends on how picky you are. It is never going to perfect. As a player I can always pick out points that could be done better. You just have to decide what's good enough.
 
Since my main axe is the drum kit, I have a good idea what the recorded part will be and I can hit it in one or two takes.

Since my keyboard chops & guitar chops are not as good I tend to record several takes and the riffs seem to develop.

Naturally, the sum of all the parts is never as hot as it would be if I hired 1st call studio cats, but that is a fair trade off (to save on the costs).

If I find that the finished song is good (ie: has potential to send to my publisher) then I will likely bring in a guitarist, singers, etc. to polish up the song before I send it out.

If the song does not have potential to be published, then I live with what I was able to track on my own.

Outside of that, I normally try to find 4-5 hours per week to practise on either guitar or keys (I gig as a drummer - so I really don't need much practise there).
 
Mr Satchel-

What a great question, I was just thinking about this too. I used to play out 6 nights a week, 5 hours a night from town-to-town and my endurance was excellent, but the new ideas were few.

Now I'm out of that, but I've found that writing and home-recording have made me a better guitar player.
Because once I get an idea for a riff/bit/run/whatever for one of my songs going in my head, I have to get it down OR ELSE, be miserable with any sort of weak alternative part. I've spent several days practicing on one or another passage/bit either for bass or guitar... that was clear in my Head but at first nearly impossible to play with the Hands. Then I get it down and I'm happy. The wiring between the brain and the hands is fascinating. The repetition builds new neural pathways (or something like that).
What a trip! Thanks for sharing
 
I just cant see (and frankly dont have the time) running thru my songlist, playing guitar to my bass/drum tracks, then switching to bass and playing along with the drums/guitar tracks, then vocals along with the other tracks, as a set list, with the goal of laying down well rehearsed track

Example...the average garage band would never form up, write some songs, then pay studio time to record without dedicating some time to getting the songs tight first.

It just seems more natural, in a solo recordists environment, to skip the practice (so to speak) and tighten the song thru multiple takes, eventually getting it tight from that same repetition...seeing as home studio time is free hehe I guess its still practice...just with a red light goin too...

I think my answer is to raise my standards for "good" takes...and quit dreaming about the fun jamming with others brings hehe
 
Not to say it's the best method, but I usually ...

1) Arrange, program and record the drum machine track

2) Lay in "quick & dirty" tracks of guitar/bass/keys/vox while the inspiration's hot

3) Practice each instrument with the track muted to fine-tune the part

4) Re-record each part

It usually takes me a few days to get a song tracked that way, but I look at it this way.... I should have to put in the effort of 5 people, and it's going to take me 5 times as long if I'm going to play 5 instruments.
 
I used to be in a band as well. Now I'm a solo artist. I record all my practices and when doing a demo I like to play guitar and sing everything in one take which is good practice. However I tend to end up doing like tons of takes but it's all good practice. :)
 
I played in a band in the late 80s and early 90s. I walked away from music in 1993 and one of the reasons was because I could hear the finished versions of the songs I was writing in my head but they never sounded the same when done by the bandeven with hours of rehearsal and practice. When I started writing and recording again at home in the digital realm, I discovered that I could get my songs to sound the way I wanted them. But I'm lazy at times so mostly I write, program the drums, and go for broke when tracking bass, guitars and keys. Since I'm just doing this for fun, I make it only as difficult as I want it. Besides, I've always gone for feel rather than technical proficiency. :)
 
the great late Thelonius Monk did everything on first takes, if someone played a mistake : too bad, they just had to live with it!

for him first takes (usualy his band were still figuring out the score he'd just given them) were about feeling, every take after that had too much 'ratio' in it.
 
on some recordings you can even hear Thelonius play mistakes, he didn't care, as long as the 'feel' was right.
 
I wish I had the recording space to do a whole band at once. Unfortunately, I'm just stuck playing with myself.

...wait ....that didn't sound too good did it...

:)
 
I don't see any reason not to roll tape (or push bits) everytime you sit down to play.

If you capture something you can use, terrific! If you don't, what did it cost you?

Carl
 
I don't see any reason not to roll tape (or push bits) everytime you sit down to play.
Click to expand...

I agree!! I actually was just talking about getting a couple of ADAT tapes and getting together with my buddy, eating some mushrooms, and just hitting record. Sounds like fun doesn't it!!!:D

... oh yeah, we both play instruments if you didn't get that part!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top