We Make Our Small Steps
Things I Have Learned And Done Today:
(1) If you buy a new computer and start thinking about using it to finally do some audio recordings, things are going to get very confusing and more expensive than you were planning on faster than you thought it would. Or at least that's the case if you're starting from scratch, which is what I'm doing.
(2) If you are looking for a MIDI controller, and you happen to feel comfortable playing keyboard instruments, then don't buy the neat little 25-key controllers. Even if you think "I'll mostly use it for drum patterns and perhaps some synth bass or whatever, I don't need to play full keyboard parts on it." It feels weird. A two-octave range doesn't sound so bad for those purposes until you look at it and freak out because you're only two-octave range is from C to C, which doesn't necessarily help you if you're playing in Ab. Of course, there's the octave switch key, but that takes its own reorienting. Actually, a few hours ago I was convinced I was going to return the keyboard controller, but I'm going to give it some more thought.
(3) I happen to SUCK REALLY HARD at playing MIDI drums on a keyboard. ESPECIALLY against a click track vs. some other pre-recorded sound. I guess that's a skill I need to pick up; I assumed my keyboard drumming would be better than my real world drumming, and it's ... not. More generally speaking, I know that weak time is one of my problems as a musician, and I have avoided working on it (to my shame!) but I wasn't expecting my first attempt at a drum track to sound so bad.
(4) I don't like the keyboard that comes with new Macs. I mean, I didn't learn that today, I learned it last week when I bought my new iMac. But I can't wait to buy a third party one. Except remember above how I just dropped a bunch of money on recording stuff. And not cool involved recording stuff. The absolute minimal basics. I want keyboards that go clickity clack and have some resistance to them.
(5) After much futzing around I managed to lay down a bassline. With a real bass. Direct into the sequencer. I am James Jamerson, except without the calluses or fluidity. Woo.
(6) Mics aren't sold with mic cords in the packages. So I can't do anything with a mic until I buy a mic cord. I didn't know that when I bought the mic today. I realized as I was buying the mic that I needed a mic stand if I were going to ever record some live instrument sounds (as opposed to direct injecting into the computer), so I ran back to get a mic stand. But I didn't think about the freaking cord.
(7) Sans mic, I decided to direct record some guitar noodling. I won't lie. I was afraid of this moment. A couple of months ago I realized that I'd spent way too much time practicing on an electric guitar, unplugged, and therefore hadn't been noticing all these little ghost noises my deteriorating muting technique was allowing through. It was a difficult moment for me, and in my normal hysterical way for thirty seconds I considered giving up on electric guitar. (I don't have the same issues on acoustic, in part because I do different things on acoustic, in part because I play less acoustic, in part because I play a lot of fingerstyle acoustic and the right-hand muting is a lot easier that way.) And I've never heard myself recorded, and I've been walking around with the fear that if I listened to my own vibrato it'd sound really lame. So I recorded some guitar noodling. And...it wasn't bad! My vibrato, and playing in general, was incredibly timid, more so than it normally is, although not completely unrepresentative because I'm a little less confident in my electric playing than I was a year ago (see beginning of this item). But it didn't sound bad! It sounded decent(ish)! I started laughing. I haven't been that purely happy in months. As always, it didn't last long, but hey. It's gonna be ok, as long as I don't break the bank buying mics and soft synths. Reminder to practice and practice. I've always heard it's advisable to record yourself and listen critically, that it's an essential practicing tool. So here we go?
(1) If you buy a new computer and start thinking about using it to finally do some audio recordings, things are going to get very confusing and more expensive than you were planning on faster than you thought it would. Or at least that's the case if you're starting from scratch, which is what I'm doing.
(2) If you are looking for a MIDI controller, and you happen to feel comfortable playing keyboard instruments, then don't buy the neat little 25-key controllers. Even if you think "I'll mostly use it for drum patterns and perhaps some synth bass or whatever, I don't need to play full keyboard parts on it." It feels weird. A two-octave range doesn't sound so bad for those purposes until you look at it and freak out because you're only two-octave range is from C to C, which doesn't necessarily help you if you're playing in Ab. Of course, there's the octave switch key, but that takes its own reorienting. Actually, a few hours ago I was convinced I was going to return the keyboard controller, but I'm going to give it some more thought.
(3) I happen to SUCK REALLY HARD at playing MIDI drums on a keyboard. ESPECIALLY against a click track vs. some other pre-recorded sound. I guess that's a skill I need to pick up; I assumed my keyboard drumming would be better than my real world drumming, and it's ... not. More generally speaking, I know that weak time is one of my problems as a musician, and I have avoided working on it (to my shame!) but I wasn't expecting my first attempt at a drum track to sound so bad.
(4) I don't like the keyboard that comes with new Macs. I mean, I didn't learn that today, I learned it last week when I bought my new iMac. But I can't wait to buy a third party one. Except remember above how I just dropped a bunch of money on recording stuff. And not cool involved recording stuff. The absolute minimal basics. I want keyboards that go clickity clack and have some resistance to them.
(5) After much futzing around I managed to lay down a bassline. With a real bass. Direct into the sequencer. I am James Jamerson, except without the calluses or fluidity. Woo.
(6) Mics aren't sold with mic cords in the packages. So I can't do anything with a mic until I buy a mic cord. I didn't know that when I bought the mic today. I realized as I was buying the mic that I needed a mic stand if I were going to ever record some live instrument sounds (as opposed to direct injecting into the computer), so I ran back to get a mic stand. But I didn't think about the freaking cord.
(7) Sans mic, I decided to direct record some guitar noodling. I won't lie. I was afraid of this moment. A couple of months ago I realized that I'd spent way too much time practicing on an electric guitar, unplugged, and therefore hadn't been noticing all these little ghost noises my deteriorating muting technique was allowing through. It was a difficult moment for me, and in my normal hysterical way for thirty seconds I considered giving up on electric guitar. (I don't have the same issues on acoustic, in part because I do different things on acoustic, in part because I play less acoustic, in part because I play a lot of fingerstyle acoustic and the right-hand muting is a lot easier that way.) And I've never heard myself recorded, and I've been walking around with the fear that if I listened to my own vibrato it'd sound really lame. So I recorded some guitar noodling. And...it wasn't bad! My vibrato, and playing in general, was incredibly timid, more so than it normally is, although not completely unrepresentative because I'm a little less confident in my electric playing than I was a year ago (see beginning of this item). But it didn't sound bad! It sounded decent(ish)! I started laughing. I haven't been that purely happy in months. As always, it didn't last long, but hey. It's gonna be ok, as long as I don't break the bank buying mics and soft synths. Reminder to practice and practice. I've always heard it's advisable to record yourself and listen critically, that it's an essential practicing tool. So here we go?
Labels: Making Music
posted by medrawt at
23:34
