Thomas J. West Music

Human perception is a fascinating thing. We do not sense what is actually "out there", we sense what we think is there based on our previous knowledge and beliefs. Two observers can see the same object and get two completely different experiences from that observation. For example, if I look at a famous painting, such as a Monet, I can admire it for its interesting use of color, blending, and proportion. I could then go and study the life of Monet, find out when he painted the work I had viewed, find out what his inpiration was for it, how the events in his life at the time shaped his vision, and how potential patrons may have influenced the painting. I could then return and view the painting again, but the experience would be quite different because of my increased knowledge of the work.

Music is in the Ear of the Beholder

There is perhaps no greater place where this difference of perception is so easily demonstrated than in people's individual tastes in music. The more knowledgeable an individual is about music, the more likely they are to enjoy wider varieties of music and be able to understand more subtle layers of its construction. My wife and I have had several debates on the value of a piece of music. I often find pieces to be technically flawless and subtely expressive in its phrasing, and her reaction is that the same piece is fall-off-your-chair boring.

When it comes to music performance, whether as a soloist or as part of an ensemble, what you perceive is only a small part of what is actually going on. At any given moment during a rehearsal or performance, assuming you are focused on the performance and not allowing the mind to wander, your conscious focus is only on one single aspect of the music at a time. In one instance, you are concerned with your individual pitch matching the others. In the next moment, you are listening for vertical alignment in timing. In any given moment, there are scores of variables to assess and adjust.

What happens is, while you are focused on the multiple aspects of the performance, your conscious awareness is not noticing the ones you take your focus away from, along with many other stimuli that may be bombarding you at the moment. Add the ominous internal voice of  "performance anxiety" to the mix, and the result is simply that there's too much for you to consciously perceive all at the same time.

Most musical ensembles that operate at a high level of excellence receive coaching of some kind from at least one pair of eyes and ears outside of the ensemble. In the case of many school bands and orchestras, this consists of the director running out into the middle of the house during the dress rehearsal in order to assess group balance. In the world of marching band and drum corps, there are instructors and judges both on the field and in the press box to work on all aspects of a group's performance. In the world of competitive barbershop quartet singing, top competitive quartets spend hours with coaches in order to achieve a 100% blended sound.

How Recording Your Performance Can Be Enlightening and Discouraging

Most of us have probably had the experience of hearing our own voice on a recording (is that really what I sound like?) or seen ourselves on a video (my mirror image doesn't look quite like that guy). Recordings capture things exactly as they are - without the filter of our own personality, judgments, and perceptual limitations. The recorder captures what is actually there - nothing is covered over. This can be very enlightening, because you will hear things on the recording that you will never hear live. Recording can also be very frustrating, because it picks up every tiny flaw indiscriminently. I always tell my students and fellow performers that "the recording is unforgiving" because we as performers can't possibly hear and perceive everything that is happening. But, the good news is that the audience can't perceive it all either.

Ever have a great live performance and then go back and watch it on video? It can be a big letdown. Your memory of how it went live doesn't stack up to what the cameras recorded. This is the reason why hearing an unedited live recording of a phenominal musician or ensemble that is still a study in musical mastery is even more impressive. For the rest of us that do not have the time, resources, and ability to perform live at that level, making a recording has to be done with the right attitude. Recording your performance should be about detecting flaws and not about boosting or deflating your sense-of-self.

Some Tips For Recording Your Practice Sessions

If you're not tech savvy, the good old hand-held tape recorder works just fine for detecting flaws. If you want to have a clean digital recording without spending an armload of cash, I recommend a simple digital voice recorder like this one. The microphone is uni-directional, which means you'll have to point your instrument at it or hold it in front of your mouth when singing in order to get a good recording, but if all you're looking for is feedback to work with, it does the job.

If you have a Mac or an iPhone, you can easily record and playback your sounds using the built-in equipment and software that comes with your computer.

If you're a PC person, or even if you want a better quality recording on a Mac, I suggest getting a simple stereo lapel mic like this one. The advantage of this is that you can clip the mic to your shirt collar, on the end of a brass bell, behind the bridge of a violin, etc. in order to get a full sound when making a recording. For recording solo practice work, the up-close mic work really enables you to hear well but also gives you a bit of sound from the room as well.

For recording sound on a PC, I highly recommend Audacity. The freeware version of Audacity gives you many of the features and abilities of professional level programs such as Cakewalk SONAR without having to spend a dime! I actually use a digital CD recorder, two omni-directional mics, and Audacity to make recordings of my student ensembles and concerts. There's a bit of a learning curve, especially if you've never used recording software before, but it doesn't take very long to learn how to make good quality recordings using this application.

Lastly, if you want to not only record your music, but have your computer give you feedback on your performance, provide accompaniment for you that follows your expressive phrasing, and have access to a huge library of music online, you have to check out Smart Music. I used Smart Music extensively with my students this past year and had some great experiences with it. In addition to all of the features mentioned above, Smart Music can record your performance as an mp3 file, so you or your students can email the recording or put it on their mp3 player. I will be writing a more in-depth article on Smart Music in the near future.

Make Recording Part of Your Concert Preparations

I recently sang in an a cappella concert with Project Philly. The concert was recorded and also had a live webcast. A few days after the concert, I went back and watched the recording from the live webcast, and was reminded again why I needed to write this article. The performances that evening were definitely of a high quality. However, one of the aspects of performing that was lacking across the board was ensemble balance. Balance was addressed at times throughout the concert preparation period, but as the directors of a cappella groups are nearly always performers as well, there was no time except at dress rehearsal when the directors stepped out and listened from afar.

Recording a performing ensemble should be a part of any concert preparation period during the final phase of macro-rehearsal. After all the nitty-gritty rehearsing has happened and performers are "putting it all together" and doing runs of entire tunes, recording the ensemble can be very illuminating in terms of balance, blend, pitch, and rhythmic flaws. I highly recommend to everyone (myself included) that either recording or having a trusted colleague listen to the ensemble or soloist from a distance be a part of every concert preparation about 3/4 of the way to concert time.