Listen to yourself

[wendsworth]

Hi

I had a lesson on Saterday and my teacher is being enthusiastic and say I sound lots better. :laugh:

Talking at work - to me it still does not sound right - [don't quite know how to explain how I think it should sound but "mellow" springs to mind and what I produce sounds "hard"] it was suggested that if I record my playing and listern back I may here the sound differently.

This sounds interesting as how I heear myself speak is different to when I here my voice recorded on the answer phone.

I don't have anything on which to record my playing (except the answer phone) and wondered if anyone thought this a good idea before I buy a recording device of some sort?

Wendy

 

[fecklesseric]

It's a great idea. I found out that my tone was better than I thought, but then found out that my timing wasn't :cry:

A regular recording session of some pieces you've been working on helps immensely, particularly for those who don't have lessons.

As for recording - if you have a pc with a soundcard, you can just get a microphone and plug it in (there's plenty of free recording software out there). If not,then you can buy one of those portable MP3 recording doo-dads (Edirol, M-Audio) if you've got about ?250 (less on e-bay).

 

[Pjonah]

Hi Wendy,

It is true you hear yourself differently when you're playing than someone listening to you.

As stated above, PC's are an obvious source to use as a means of recording and digital recording is much better than tape unless you have a Revox B77 or Neal Ferrograph or better!

I well remember recording myself on a Phillips real to real and was very upset that the recording was poor, nothing to do with my tone or playing just low rent recording equipment. The tone sounds shocking and distorted.

Best bet is to stand in front of a pain of glass and listen to your self, the bathroom can be good if you want to add reverb, neighbours might not go a bundle on it though!

Simon

 

[Bobby G]

I suppose when you're first starting 99% of your effort is directed towards just getting a sound, it's only a little later you become aware of your tone as well as your notes. Some of it is a matter of getting the right embouchure, how much mouthpiece you take in your mouth, throat opening etc, and your teacher if you have one should be able to point you in the right direction, especially if you tell him/her what kind of tone you are after.

Playing against a wall, or better yet into a corner, (or better yet, in the road tunnel under the A41 near Tring) will give you a better idea of how you sound; I suspect however you think you sound, you probably sound better than that 😉

Cheers, Bob

 

[darrell_thomas]

The phone recording won't work... It won't do you any justice. The bandwidth of a phone is only about 8 kHz, and your sax has many more harmonics than this that you won't be able to capture on your answering machine.

If you record on the PC, it may be worthwhile to get a micrphone with a decent dynamic range.

 

[wendsworth]

thanks

My laptop is relatively new and came with some good graphics and sound specs as I wanted to game on line (everquest) so that looks fav and just need microphone.

a little project for the weekend I think.

 

[Linky Lee]

If you use a cheap microphone you won't get accurate recordings.

I'd recommend asking in store and spending between ?50-?100 on a microphone. You need to make sure you can connect it to your computer as well, which may mean buying an adapter too.

You probably want to buy a dynamic cardioid pattern microphone though a condenser would be nicer, a bit pricier too.

 

[peter_fitton]

I once recorded myself using my cheapo PC microphone and Windows Sound Recorder. The results were dreadful - my sax sounded like a stylophone played through an ultra cheap fuzz box >.<

So I'd go along with Linky, a decent mic is a must.

 

[frankb]

Peter Fitton wrote:
my sax sounded like a stylophone played through an ultra cheap fuzz box >.<

Wow, I must try that! A quantum leap forward in the quality of my tone, and so easily!!

 

[richard_mac]

fecklessEric wrote:
It's a great idea. I found out that my tone was better than I thought, but then found out that my timing wasn't :cry

Yup, same here.

I use a Shure mic connected to a Behringer mixer connected to my laptop using Sony Acid Music Studio 6. If I knew how to upload files I would.

Richard.