How do I get over being TERRIFIED to record myself?

[Al Jardine: Pick Up Artist]

A bit of an intro, I've played music all my life, my family is very music oriented. In the past few years I've taken up guitar and I'm not great but I'm good enough that I can play with my family, including my uncle who is an AMAZING bluegrass player (don't ask). Lately, I've been wanting to record myself just to hear it (even though I really don't have any means of doing so besides a shitty computer mic) but I am TERRIFIED to do so. Not even to share, just record.

How do I get over this?

[EgoHanger1966]

1.Dont Think
2.Press Record
3.Play Something.
4.Press Stop
5.Save File
6.Don't Delete It
7.Upload it somewhere
8.Share it here. We don't bite.

[the captain]

If I had to answer, I'd probably say something like, oh,

1.Dont Think
2.Press Record
3.Play Something.
4.Press Stop
5.Save File
6.Don't Delete It
7.Upload it somewhere
8.Share it here. We don't bite.

It's like trying anything else: asking someone on a date, meeting new people, moving, changing jobs or schools, whatever. You get over the fear by doing the thing. So just record yourself. It will suck (probably). That's fine, keep at it and if you like it and work at it, you'll get better. Just start recording.

[rab2591]

Just do it! If you don't like what you hear, you can delete it, start again till you get it right. It actually helps make you a better player/singer as you can relisten to any mistakes you made, and thus improve your technique.

Download Audacity (or garageband if you have a mac) and play around with layering (record a riff over a solid chord structure), play around with effects, etc. It's a great hobby to get into.

Good luck! You'll probably love it once you start!

[Empire Of Love]

I experienced the same thing when I started recording myself a year or two ago.  I downloaded Audacity and went ahead and did it.  I waited until no one else could hear me, laid down a chord progression and then a vocal track.  The vocal track was horrible so I recorded another one on top of it.  Magically my voice sounded decent at that point.  I posted the track here.  People were generally positive.  I still have my doubts, I still rationalize away compliments, and I still record when no one else is listening, but I don't have a fear of hearing myself.

As others have said, you will just have to do it.  And then post it here so we can have a listen.  Do understand that you may not get a lot of feedback as there just aren't a whole lot of people who comment, but it should be an easy place to start.

Don't keep that talen to yourself, share it.

mps

[hypehat]

I don't even know why I recorded myself in the first place. I think I recorded the first song I ever wrote, just to get it down. It seemed like the thing to do if you had a song, and I don't like playing my own songs when dicking around on the guitar. And I knew it was terrible, as was everything else i recorded for the next year or two. All the same, I wish I had those demos I recorded way back when, as they were also the first songs I wrote and it'd be neat to hear them. I lost them when my computer was nicked a few years back.

You mustn't fear recording yourself though! It's a great way to think about your performance.

[zachrwolfe]

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