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Techno breakthrough
By golly, I finally sat down and figured out how to use my modest recording “studio” setup to produce some videos! Then I watched myself playing – and of course, I hated it, as expected😆 But it was a little less cringy than I feared it would be, so now I have no further excuse not to use this valuable learning tool. It seems to be accepted wisdom that recording yourself will lead to fresh insights into bad habits, potential improvements, etc. And I really did believe that was likely true, but now the evidence is indisputable! Only minutes into watching my first efforts, I noticed a few things that I never would’ve picked up on while busy concentrating on my guitar playing.
This is a very timely development for me as I’ve been battling the learning “plateau” demons recently, and needed this jolt to rekindle my enthusiasm. Fortunately I now have the TAC program and community to sustain that as well! So my next goal is all too obvious – to polish my recording efforts to the point where I feel ready to post some of them to the TAC forum. Might be a little while yet, but I will get there! I’m very grateful to all you courageous TAC folks who have set such fine examples to aspire towards.
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6 Replies
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@GerryB56 , I think listening to yourself is key. You are so right, you are so focused on hitting the right strings, you don’t hear mistakes or starring moments. When I record myself, I hear my mistakes (of course). I hear my hesitations and wrong chords. Then I can work on those issue. But, I also hear when something comes out good. So I can give myself a pat on the back at those times too. Good luck, you got this!
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Thanks for your encouragement, Cadgirl! I’ve been wanting to record myself for awhile but kept finding excuses not to do it. Performing for the camera is daunting, even if nobody else sees it yet. But it should prove to be an awesome learning tool, if I an make it a regular habit.
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Congrats on getting set up @GerryB56 ! This is a great win in and of itself! Although some will be “cringe” worthy as you mention you will learn a lot. Once I started recording myself I also found I began watching other’s recordings with a different eye (eg. “ahhhh, so that is how they are doing that!).
Have fun and looking forward to seeing your post some of your videos! 😃
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Thanks, Kitman! I do believe this will develop into a fun process once I conquer the initial tendency to cringe and criticize myself. I need to stumble my way through a few sessions to get past that awkwardness. I can’t blame it on performance anxiety alone since I’ve been singing karaoke for years, but adding the guitar to the equation is intimidating right now.
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I totally get it @gerryb56. For what it is worth, since joining TAC in May of 2022 and playing on a daily basis the guitar is beginning to feel like more of an extension of my musical self vs. something that seems so awkward and in the way. Still have a long, long way to go – but it is getting better.
Finally, I concluded some years back that most every guitarist (hobbyist level at least) has the same imposter syndrome. When someone asks if we play we usually say something like “well yes but I am not really very good”. 🙂. Tony P often encourages us to stop comparing ourselves to others and our own self expectations of what we should be… and instead enjoy the process of learning!
Play on my friend and have fun 🤘🎸🎶 🎥 😃
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This really is a break through, @GerryB56 .
So you mentioned the “plateau”. One of the ways we beat the plateaus and keep them from becoming ruts is that we now are aware of the large world of music and have so many ways to keep our journey fresh.
And, of course, this new break through opens doors for you. You can post videos online. That’s a whole nother gigantic rabbit hole.
And then of course, recording yourself helps you to improve in your guitar technique.
Congratulations, Gerry.
MG 😀
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