Why All Musicians Should Record

Within the past twenty years, recording music has become accessible to anyone: What was once expensive, time consuming, and required years of training, can now be accomplished with the smartphone in your pocket.

It still comes as a shock to me that most musicians I know are not actively and constantly recording themselves.

If you needed any more reason to, below is a list of my top reasons why musicians should be recording.

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Get The Most Out Of Your Practice Sessions

We spend countless hours a day practicing. In bedrooms, garages, rehearsal spaces, everywhere. Recording your sessions can really maximize the time you spend honing your craft. You can listen to the specific techniques you are zeroing in on as a soloist, or get an idea for overall balance with your band.

By making daily or weekly recordings, you can track - in real time - the progress that you are making in your practice sessions. It is a great way to go back and listen to how far you have come while pinpointing your weak spots to really focus on for your next practice session.

If you add a video into these sessions, you can get really close angles on your embouchure, hand positions, and other technical aspects that you may be forgetting about. Mirrors are great to practice with, but that just adds another thing to focus on. If you are recording, you can go into your practice session knowing that you will be able to view your performance later and make adjustments necessary.

Squash That ‘Mic Fright’

Everyone has suffered from stage fright at one point or another in their career. Part of becoming a performer is learning to get over it. But what about mic fright? I have seen it many times; A very accomplished musician gets extremely uncomfortable once they step into a recording session. It is that combination of having a microphone shoved in your face (or bell, or bow, or strings) and the idea that what you are about to do will be permanent.

By having experience and consistently recording, this becomes just another day at the office for you. That microphone is no longer your enemy, but just another weapon in your arsenal.