I started out this journey feeling afraid and inadequate. Perhaps 'terrified' would be a better descriptor. I was feeling pretty insecure, I’d never
submitted recordings up for public review on a regular basis, and I was feeling
like my skillset was pretty limited.
I was also very aware that there are also a good number of folks in my audience that are remarkably
talented musicians. I had visions of
being laughed off the forum (even though they are remarkably friendly and
supportive guys and gals over there at the AcousticGuitarForum..
The technology has indeed been very much a challenge. I was surprised at how nerve-wracking it was to pony on up to the camera, and press record - 'red light fever'. I started out with very simple songs, so I felt pretty confident about the music - until I started playing back the video clips. There were lots of things I had to go back and work on - like voice projection, cleaning up my fretting hand, strumming control and many other little details.
I've been recording with an older Dynex webcam. The audio has been passable but the video resolution has been very poor. I think a new webcam is on the horizon. A very serious issue has been that the voice-guitar mix is not good. Using the webcam results in a very guitar-heavy mix, leaving the vocals straining to be heard. I spent some Christmas money on buying a Samson Zoom H4N. It is advertised as being capable for use as an audio interface as well as a recorder. I'm happy with it as a recorder, but I can't get it to work with Windows 7 after weeks of trying everything.
I got a lot of suggestions and feedback from my friends at the AcousticGuitarForum.com http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/index.php in the 'Show and Tell' sub forum. It was all very helpful, and is helping me 'tighten up' the performance. It was fun experimenting with the Esus capo on a couple of songs. By the fourth week, I was starting to become a bit more relaxed about the recording and a little less 'red light fever'. I think it will really begin to turn around when I can get a better mix consistently.
Here are the songs for January:
Week #1: The Old Log Train, Hank Williams Sr, 1952
Week #2: Ain't No Grave, Claude Ely, 1934
Week #3: Blessed Assurance, Fanny Crosby, Phoebe Knapp, 1873
Week #4: Hallelujah, I'm A Bum, Harry McClintok, 1928
I think I've met a couple of my stated goals with these songs. Although they are all kind of in the Country (or gospel) genre, there is quite a bit of variety here. They are also songs that are not exactly common place.
I have found the weekly deadline to be challenging. I have often felt rushed to get the song worked up, practiced, and recorded in time to meet the weekly deadline. Oh, and for a little extra drama - immediately after posting song #2, on January 14th, the computer completely dies. It was a panic for a while, but we were able to replace the pc quickly, get all the necessary software re-installed, all in time to record week #3 - barely in time!
I do hope this time deadline part gets better, because other than this, it has been LOTS of fun, and I've been learning lots and growing in guitar skills, vocal skills, and performance skills.
Come on February!
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