Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Expect the worst and never be dissappointed again.

Ahem... I have my piece for the Feb 15 recital (my first) as good as I've ever played it and made a strong effort to get a recording this am. Why is the red dot so darned stubborn? It couldn't have been my unwieldy fingers right? I have nearly a month to get a good recording though, I hope that's sufficient time for me to get my s*** out of the street!

I'd like to have a system that continually recorded the last half-hour of whatever I played, new material overlaying the old in a circular buffer. Over the days and weeks, I'd forget about it, and then something would come out ok for a few minutes. I could then grab and save whatever I wanted and see if it was really as good as I thought.
The red light would then just be a continual smoldering crimson glow.

I like to think of it as 'doing my best,' which may well be worser than worst, but it *is* my best.


Yes, that magic ol' red light. Sometimes I put my recording device behind me so I can't see the red light. BUT I KNOW IT'S THERE.

I have heard of some that record their entire practice session. That way they forget the red dot is on. They go back and pick out their good run through. But you have to have a good system - and storage - to be able to use this method.

It's a struggle. As soon as I turn the recorder on I forget everything and I can no longer maintain a steady rhythm. And if I feel that I'm doing something right, I get more and more nervous as I approach the end of the piece, until I get trembling legs! This is so stupid. I tried to record entire sessions but haven't had much luck yet. My best take is usually the first; afterwards I start adding all sorts of mistakes that seem to come from nowhere. I really benefit from playing the piece a bit slower than usual and focus on maintaining a steady pace. That's why my submissions drag so much

The worst is nearing the end (regardless of how long of a piece) and feeling that sense of relief you are going to "make it" only to throw in a big blooper requiring an entirely new recording. This can happen in a live recital too. In fact, it's happened to me!! Six pages of music survived only to think it's nearly over to make a big mistake in the second to last measure! Just adding truth to the saying "it's not over till it's over"!!!!

Later this month I have a live recital and I get to see if making recordings has had any effect on my perfomance nerves. I've actually felt fairly relaxed during recordings. Now to see if there has been any carryover. I can only hope! They also say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". The jury is out on that!! LOL!!!!!

Pianoteq does that whether you like it or whether you don`t . . .and you can save it as an audio file. If you so desire. In fact, I suppose most digitals do that if you set to record before your session. Up to 30k notes or whatever . . .

I didn't mean recording everything until some storage is filled, but something that specifically records the last n minutes, overwriting the least recent as the time goes over n. That way, if you use CD quality audio, you'd only have to devote 300 MB for 30 minutes. Only when you decide you want to keep something would you select and save it as a permanent file. Is that what Pianoteq does?

Can we clarify whether the original question means to expect the worst from yourself (ie, how you will play a performance) or from others (ie, others' reactions to a performance)? I would never, ever expect the worst from myself. I'd never do anything ever again!

No. But if you stop for (shrug) an interval, it records whatever you play next, placing it at the top of the pile where you can easily access it and play back . . .with whatever instrument Pianoteq have provided. I find it useful.