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Hi All
Having put it off for a long time, I decided to make my first recording and post it.
Wow, did I get a shock. It sounded like garbage. Every error seemed to be accentuated. Every squeak, every off note.
Was the most depressing hour that I've experienced for some time. I'm afraid I won't be posting for some time yet 
Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of 
..... What was I saying????
Go ahead and post it... no one is here to give negative criticism..... We all have to start somewhere.
There is only positive criticism in this forum, to help each other. So don't be afraid or embarassed, just do it.
Videos are mostly useful for the performer. There may be no better teacher than making videos and, I imagine, a virtual teacher for the "teacherless".
"Bad" videos may be more valuable than "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" when corrective action follows.
You report that you don't like your video. That can be positive. Fix'it. 
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There's a few factors that may be at work there, Ferret.
Firstly, any errors and "could have been better" moments probably *are* somewhat magnified. To your own ears, that is. When you listen to your own recordings, you know right where every little flaw is, and they seem far more noticeable than they probably would be to anyone else listening.
Secondly, recordings almost always sound a bit different than we expect. Like if you hear a recording made of your voice, it is not uncommon to think it doesn't sound like you at all. We are used to hearing ourselves a bit different than a microphone or someone else's ears would hear it.
Thirdly, violin is one of the most difficult instruments to get a really good sounding recording of. Even with pretty good recording gear, since violins put out sound from so many surfaces at once, the "sound field" for them is very complex. When hearing a violin live, your two ears will each hear something different and that changes with every little movement you or the player makes. The brain puts it together and the complexity is one of the things that makes the sound of violin so interesting. That is very hard to catch well, especially with just one microphone.
I have yet to record anything with violin where I didn't feel the sound was awful and my playing even worse. Nothing that I felt sounded even "ok", and certainly nothing I was proud of. But the folks here have been very good about being encouraging and giving useful feedback. It is just a great community that way.
As Fiddlestix said, "just do it."
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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I think one of the reasons I progressed so quickly was I started posting audio/video from the very beginning, before I could even play twinkle decent. (on another site).
Feedback from players with experience is a big help. Be cautious though, I see people that cant play worth a crap passing out advice like Halloween candy. For some reason some folks think they are qualified teachers after 2 months, so double check anything if youre not sure.
Recording yourself is a great tool and Pierre is a great teacher, use these tools.
There is no shame in playing twinkle, youre playing Mozart
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Um...I think most folks are just trying to be helpful and share what's worked for them or what their teacher told them. Just sayin'.
When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,
I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow.
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Ferret,
You would be surprised how much difference it will make to record yourself on a regular basis and self analyze. Try not to get depressed rather to see if your next recording can be better. The journey to perfection is long. I like making the comparison of building a house. You have to begin with the foundation. The finishings come last.
One reason for posting here would be to get tips, but not necessary. You can analyze yourself.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Ferret said
Hi AllHaving put it off for a long time, I decided to make my first recording and post it.
Wow, did I get a shock. It sounded like garbage. Every error seemed to be accentuated. Every squeak, every off note.
Was the most depressing hour that I've experienced for some time. I'm afraid I won't be posting for some time yet
oh, you absolutely have to post it! When I first started recording (heres some candy) it sounded horrible. I realized that the act of pushing the record button suddenly drove to my attention all the what ifs of playing. And my brain made sure the what ifs became reality. self consciousness and worry that its not perfect became my enemy. The only way to overcome it is to record and post. If I had a way to record more I would. So, go ahead and share....youre among friends.
"Please play some wrong notes, so that we know that you are human" - said to Jascha Heifetz.
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Thanks for that folks. I'll redo it and post. Just give me a few days
By the way, I have no intention of giving up.
"Never give up. Never surrender" 
Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of ..... What was I saying????
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After you post and it gets reviewed and you read the comments, do like me... never look at those recordings again!
I always maintain that it wasn't me in them... perhaps my evil twin, but no way was it me... I could've never played THAT bad either...
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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I'm the same way Dennis. I never look at my recordings again. Every once in a while someone posts them here so that I see them and I feel like removing them. ESPECIALLY listening to the comments and my sometimes bad grammar.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Ferret said
Hi All
Having put it off for a long time, I decided to make my first recording and post it.
Wow, did I get a shock. It sounded like garbage. Every error seemed to be accentuated. Every squeak, every off note.
Was the most depressing hour that I've experienced for some time. I'm afraid I won't be posting for some time yet
Don't be afraid, post it! All us newbies are in the same position, and we only get (sometimes) constructive criticism, but always, encouragement from the great members in this site.
Some newbies. Comment on how they make the aske errors and seeing someone else do it, helps to reinforce the fact that we aren't crap we are just at the early stages if development!
I never expect a low grade Karateka to perform like a Shodan/nidan/sandan (black belt) etc, I just expect them to show improvement as they practice more.
If they only practice in a dark room with no-one there to see it, how can anyone give advice on where technique can be improved!
And on a purely selfish, dollar value of Zero, where can you get advice from someone with Fiddlermans quality anywhere else on a website?
Imagine how you would feel playing live in front of strangers with a similar performance to the ones we do when we hit the record button?
I did it a month ago and nearly packed it all in! Then I thought, "I know I play better than that?" it was just like playing with the record button on, which, having now done it a few times on Fiddlerman.com, I knew that I could only improve in future!
You'll never be a bad as you are now if you keep practicing, you can only improve!
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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Fiddlerman said
I'm the same way Dennis. I never look at my recordings again. Every once in a while someone posts them here so that I see them and I feel like removing them. ESPECIALLY listening to the comments and my sometimes bad grammar.
Haha, thanks for the tip FM, I'm gonna scour
YouTube and post a few. I can see the film title now....................
"Fiddlerman! The early years!"
Just joking as you know, haha
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
Honorary advisor
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Don;t worry about it. I play and people around me say I sound good. Then I record and I think I sound bad. And I wonder, maybe they are saying I sound good just to please me. Sometimes I sound good to myself as I play and sometimes I sound horrid. You may sound better than you think and even if not, we all have to learn and it all takes time. The path to improvement is long and often hard. But please post your stuff. Nobody is here to be judgemental. You are among friends and supporters.
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Crazymotive said
Don;t worry about it. I play and people around me say I sound good. Then I record and I think I sound bad. And I wonder, maybe they are saying I sound good just to please me. Sometimes I sound good to myself as I play and sometimes I sound horrid. You may sound better than you think and even if not, we all have to learn and it all takes time. The path to improvement is long and often hard. But please post your stuff. Nobody is here to be judgemental. You are among friends and supporters.
Thanks for the support 
Perhaps I'm expecting too much from myself, especially since I haven't been playing very long.
I have a lesson later today, so I'll ask for a harshly honest appraisal of my progress. Whatever she has to say, I have no plans of giving up. I'll tame the darn thing eventually
Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of ..... What was I saying????
@ Ferrit.... Your teacher will / should never tell you you're doing bad, that might discourage the student and that would be money out of their pocket. They should have plenty of word's of encouragement for you to maintain a positive attitude.
We were all beginner's at one time and most of us still are, even FM, believe that or not, had to start somewhere, he didn't start with Beethoven. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep practicing everyday and in a short time you will enjoy your own playing, as will other's.
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does anyone know if there's a youtube video out there somewhere of FM learning to play?
That would be a priceless thread to post.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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cdennyb said
does anyone know if there's a youtube video out there somewhere of FM learning to play?
That would be a priceless thread to post.
I would pay money to see that 
Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of ..... What was I saying????
cdennyb said
does anyone know if there's a youtube video out there somewhere of FM learning to play?That would be a priceless thread to post.
The internet (as we know it today) didn't exhist when he was learing to play and Youtube didn't come around until the mid 2000's, but some VCR video's would be nice, wouldn't they ! Oh wait..... they didn't have them either when he was a child, how about some 8mm home movie's.
Mom says: ..... Pierre, it's time for your practice now ....
Ok mom,,, I been working on my bowing and vibrato, how am I doing ?
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