Do You Ever Get Anxious When Recording?

[Single_tone]

I don't know what it is but sometimes I get really tense when I know I'm being recorded. Anyone else experiences this or have some tips to deal with it?

 

[DISTORT6]

If you understand this gif, you’re old.

If you’re recording your own original music, remind yourself that nobody knows your music better than you.
This little trick has never failed me in the studio.

 

[Black-Viper75]

I'm not the most experienced. I just do home recording but I kind of get tense too. I believe it's subconsciously triggered knowing that I mustn't screw up . What really helped me is some advice Andy James (extraordinary solo guitar shredder and now Five Finger Death Punch's new lead guitarist) told me while when I met him and hung out with him for a weekend attending his masterclass. If you're recording a riff make a 3 - 5 minute backing tracking and record that riff over and over again and pick the best recording out of that take. Usually after the first minutes I'm into the groove of things and any recording tension is gone. Same thing with guitar solos. I'm sure there are more experienced members than me here on the forum with more experienced advice that will chip in.

 

[goat-n-gitter]

Oh yeah, red light fever is real! It takes me a while to relax and get a decent performance when recording. Particularly trying to improvise to compose a solo. I do better if I can work things out and practice them, but then I rarely push myself out of my comfort zone.

 

[Single_tone]

Thanks for the feedback guys. @DISTORT6 I guess I'm old enough because I get what that gif means.

And though I get tense while recording, I find playing live so much easier. Is this the same to all of you too?

 

[gush]

Thanks for the feedback guys. @DISTORT6 I guess I'm old enough because I get what that gif means.

And though I get tense while recording, I find playing live so much easier. Is this the same to all of you too?

Pretty much

 

[Ovibos]

It’s worst for me cutting vocals. Suddenly I’m oversinging and my throat tightens and I lose my voice. And the takes just get worse and worse.

 

[Stephen J.]

Anticipatory anxiety. You worry something is going to happen. Worrying about it makes it happen, which reinforces the worry and intensifies the effect.

That is part of it, but I believe brain function is at play as well. Your creative and logical brain areas are sometimes hard to engage at the same time. If you are making sure the signal path is good and your levels are where you want them and getting the timing of things synced up, you draw on that logic function. It is best to work all that out, take a break and come back to it so all you have to do is play. It doesn’t completely eliminate the stress or remove logic from the scenario, but it gives you a better chance of getting into the creative mindset.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

So bad I quit trying. Seriously. I got a couple things recorded but had issues with software/hardware conflicts that kept the DAW from every working well for very long. I never did get to where I would "loop record" a solo so I could go in and have a few rounds to loosen me up before hitting it good. I'd hit the track and just totally clam up. I'd either blow a solo I could easily play 10 times in a row perfectly, or I'd dumb the thing down to where it was so simple it was a waste to even record.

I never understood this... I've played sports all my life. I had those "last shot of the game, down by 1" or "shooting free throws with fans screaming" things when I was younger and NEVER got nervous. Then, over something I KNEW I could do over, I'd choke. Over and over. Between that and the compatibility issues with the DAW, (multiple good takes blown when the software froze) I just gave up. I spent $500 on Pro Tools and an MBox and had a brand new higher end laptop (we're talking over 10 years ago now) and only managed to get a few things recorded. Some of them (2 completed songs with bass, drums and all) were lost in a hard drive crash. One thing that was just a one take funny thing (the Happy Birthday thing I put up a couple years ago) was one of the few things I recorded and that survived.

I was so bitter I waited until now (just purchased SSL 2+) to even try again. And now my hand is so wasted I can't play half as well as I did even 10 years ago.

 

[CandidPicker]

Excess stomach acid.

Anxiety on my part is categorized as an anxiousness, or butterflies. Butterflies equals GAS. The kind of feeling you get you meet someone new and exciting, but can't get the words out.

The. same feeling you get when you pick up a beautiful guitar and think, "I desire that a lot," but can't afford it and would need to explain it to your wife, who is watching you like a hawk for your wanderlust...

I don't record much anymore and might experience anxiety trying to work with my DAW plug-ins or software. If I fail, there's the anxiety. If I can do it, I feel relieved and happier.

OP, off-topic, do you feel anxious when you call a phone number and the voice prompt says, "Calls may be recorded for quality assurance and training purposes?" Just wondering...

 

[Rider1260]

Yes Red Light Fever is real for me its even jamming with friends , I have been trying to work up the courage to play live again for years

 

[veinbuster]

And though I get tense while recording, I find playing live so much easier. Is this the same to all of you too?

I’m much the same. I am fearless in front of people I can see. I just feel they won’t really care if I make a mistake as long as I play through it.

But recording seems to make me imagine every mistake I might possibly make, so I tense up a bit trying to concentrate hard enough to play it clean. Interestingly, I’m much more relaxed if it is something original, in part because only I really know what my part is supposed to sound like - and it might not be exactly the same every time anyway.

 

[Mike Duncan]

I'll do some dumb little recording on Instagram and be all sweaty at the end.

 

[Davey]

I'm not the most experienced. I just do home recording but I kind of get tense too. I believe it's subconsciously triggered knowing that I mustn't screw up . What really helped me is some advice Andy James (extraordinary solo guitar shredder and now Five Finger Death Punch's new lead guitarist) told me while when I met him and hung out with him for a weekend attending his masterclass. If you're recording a riff make a 3 - 5 minute backing tracking and record that riff over and over again and pick the best recording out of that take. Usually after the first minutes I'm into the groove of things and any recording tension is gone. Same thing with guitar solos. I'm sure there are more experienced members than me here on the forum with more experienced advice that will chip in.

This^
Happens to me all the time so I'll record a backing track and then try several takes and pick the best one.

There are times I cant get 5 or 6 bars in and screw up (so frustrating), so I try and get far enough to take that short track, chop it and loop it to get me by at least until I can come back later after working on other parts and try it again.

On my originals, sometimes a screw up leads to a better idea or I leave it as is because no one knows it was a screw up.

On my solos, I sometimes do short blips and then splice them together. Is that cheating?

 

[Davey]

@DreamTheaterRules
I liked your post because when I read all the way to the end, you didnt give up.
Bravo sir!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

@DreamTheaterRules
I liked your post because when I read all the way to the end, you didnt give up.
Bravo sir!

Well, I did for a while. I have a very talented daughter, and was set on recording some things of her singing. I have a few she did live with tracks, but was going to start making the backing tracks myself, and then playing along with them while she sang. Then she had to go and get married and move away. LOL

Right after she got married, I got a couple regular small gigs, and was playing one weekly for a few years and the other at least two times a month. I just completely shifted my focus away from recording and to live playing.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I'll do some dumb little recording on Instagram and be all sweaty at the end.

I almost offered you a cigarette after one of the posts. But I don't smoke.

 

[PRSfanboy46]

I don't know what it is but sometimes I get really tense when I know I'm being recorded. Anyone else experiences this or have some tips to deal with it?

I always have perfect runs beforehand and can do it with ease. Some examples would be songs that are centered around delay. The two songs I am talking about are Big Sur Moon by Buckethead and Rain by rob scallon. Both these songs basically use delay to fill in the gaps. Rain is 1/4 notes w/o delay, fairly simple 3 note ascending and descending passages. Put the delay on to 1/8th dotted and it will fill in those notes. Now my struggle is that you have to focus on the notes w/o delay or else you will get lost. Personally, just breathe and memorize!

 

[Serious Poo]

I used to get super nervous when I tried to record because I thought that each take needed to be perfect. Then I heard a song that changed my entire perception of music creation. The recording flat out sucks. It's awful. I still cringe every time I hear it. The musicians are out of pitch, out of time, out of context, and seemingly out of their minds. The solo is a complete train wreck. It sounds like dirty nails on a chalk board.

Yet...

The song became so famous, so influential, so legendary, that it became blindingly obvious to me that trying to be "perfect" just does not matter.

Have fun, make music, enjoy the process. Hit record, keep the mic on, wait for the magic to happen.

Oh. What song, you ask?

 

[CandidPicker]

I used to get super nervous when I tried to record because I thought that each take needed to be perfect. Then I heard a song that changed my entire perception of music creation. The recording flat out sucks. It's awful. I still cringe every time I hear it. The musicians are out of pitch, out of time, out of context, and seemingly out of their minds. The solo is a complete train wreck. It sounds like dirty nails on a chalk board...

There's your clue.