Speeding up when nervous

Hey, guys! I’ve recently started recording myself and I’m feeling pretty nervous performing in front of camera. And I noticed that in every song I’m speeding up a little - verse 2 is a bit faster than verse 1 and the verse 3 is even faster :slight_smile: Without recording I’m relaxed and I have a pretty good feeling of time, but once I hit that red button, everything changes instantly. Does anybody have the same problem? Any tips how to overcome this fear of camera and speeding up?

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I think it’s really common to struggle in front of the camera. In my case I’d say I make more mistakes rather than speed up.

The answer is just practice. Record yourself more often even if you immediately delete the recording without watching it

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Not speeding up, perhaps, but I’m much more prone to making mistakes, especially when I’m overdubbing a perfected first track. It’s strange that after many years of recording myself I still get a bit of ‘stage fright’, and haven’t been able to get rid of it. You’re right that when just noodling, without recording, everything goes easy and smooth, but as soon as I hit ‘Record’ my fingers begin to feel a bit stiff :worried: :thinking:
Recently I’ve been recording more songs using the drum computer in my ZOOM G2Four (great rhythms, nice quality), so keeping up the tempo is less of an issue.
But don’t let those little problems deter us from playing and recording.
All the best, Oleg :slight_smile:

Yup!
It’s very common :wink:
You might want to watch Justin’s video on
Performance Anxiety, Stage Fright & Red Light Fever | JustinGuitar.com

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Thank you, Matthew) Yes, I guess I just need to practice.

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Every professional recording studio always use a metronome for the session musicians. Mainly because they have to get the timing precise when recording separate parts. Even for professional musicians it’s not easy to keep the speed consistent. There is no harm in using a backing track or something similar through headphones when recording.

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Oh, wow, so “the stage fright” is there even after years of recording. And here I am wondering why I’m so nervous after 3 weeks of recording :laughing: That “Record” button seems to be really powerful. Thank you, Tomasz :slight_smile:

@oleg_vorona

Red light syndrome (anxiety when you press the record button) is very, very common.
So common that everybody has it to some degree.
Many bands over the years have been notable for playing their songs faster at gigs … adrenaline etc.

Click tracks for drummers can control that if wanted.
And I suggest similar for you.
Learn and practice with a click track / metronome / drum track very often.
When recording use a click track too.

:slight_smile:

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It’s very common.

I got put on the spot at a jam a couple of weeks ago and ended up singing in public for the first time. Got to the end of the song and realised just how fast I’d played.
Nerves!

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Thank you so much for the link, Brian!

Thanks, Richard!

Oh, that’s precisely my problem, Rod! I guess when you’re nervous you just subconcsiously want to get it over with, so you play the song faster and faster :slight_smile:

I recently started recording myself. I found I make more mistakes and speed up throughout the song. Very painful to watch. Best to use the metronome.

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Referring to your original post, minutes ago I finished recording Dire Straits’ Why Worry (instrumental cover)… Three tracks, but, man, you don’t want to know how many times I had to repeat the overdubbing, and exactly for the reason mentioned here by quite a number of our friends (great that we generally agree on the issue :wink:). All in all, I’m satisfied with the final result although it’s by no means perfect… I’m just tired… :worried: :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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I took me all afternoon to record 3 videos because I kept on doing mistakes where I usually do none :sweat_smile:

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Yes, I know that metronome can solve the problem with speeding up, but I play pretty good on time when I’m not nervous. So I guess my main question was “how to overcome nervousness” when recording :slight_smile: And what I see from answers - there’s no way, just time and practice.

Wow! Thank you very much, Tomasz. Now I see that it’s not just me, everybody here has problems with recording. That takes away pressure. It just the way things are - the recording process is hard :slight_smile:

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It takes me all afternoon to record just one :wink: You’re doing ok, Deborah.

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Me too, & it makes me feel stupid! It’s just me & my cat. I think if u turn on the metronome that may keep the speed at the right pace, but the nervous fingers, I’m not quite sure.

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It might have nothing to do with recording except that it captures something in your playing that you aren’t otherwise aware of. Good for you, you’ve identified a flaw and can now work on correcting it. Consider practicing with a looper, start grooving by taping your foot, swaying or whatever else to stay in time. Timing is everything. On the other hand, sometimes a little change in time can add some much needed dynamics. :slight_smile:

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