Getting accurate sound feedback

StupidBrassObsession · Veteran Member Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 341

So one thing that seems vitally important to me since i've been recording my playing and hearing things back from the other side of the bell, is that you want to be getting an accurate idea of what is coming out the other end of the bell while you're practicing.

The question is how does one do that?

Scott Englebright says "play standing infront of a wall" for this reason, but it's just to darn loud for my ears... If I put in musician's ear plugs... it defeats the purpose as the bone transfer is louder than the external sound...

Any ideas?

RyanG · Regular Member Joined: 26 May 2012 Posts: 13

purchase a cheap digital recorder like a zoom H2 and play in a room with decent acoustics, record and listen and repeat till you like what you hear.

nieuwguyski · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:19 pm Post subject:

Don't play so loud.
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brassjunky · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:43 pm Post subject:

Play in different size rooms, particularly some that have some hard surfaces in them. You will hear a lot of what you sound like in what gets reflected back to you, particularly if you move around. The trouble with recording yourself is you will sound different depending on the device you use and what you use to play it back (ie. quality of headphones and speakers and quality of the microphone). The sound I hear on my H2 zoom is useful but not the same as the live room sound and if I play it back on my computer, it is different again.

I often teach students in a large classroom and I can walk way out in front of them to gauge their sound. However, I can still assess the quality of their tone standing right next to them from the sound that is reflected back from the room.
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gchun · Guest

jwtrumpet2207 · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:03 pm Post subject:

I would suggest playing in front of a wall with some sort of fabric on it. When I play in a room with carpeted walls it takes out alot of the reverb so I can hear more nuances in the sound and can make sure it is absolutely consistent. It shouldn't be as loud this way either.

Something my teacher used to have me do is this:
1. Record an exercise or etude
2. Write down everything that stood out, either good or bad
3. Listen to recording

Some things you thought were good will need work, and others that sounded a little fuzzy might be fine. It will probably be a similar aspect of playing each time that you are not hearing, and then you can focus on hearing that specific problem while playing.

crzytptman · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:21 pm Post subject:

When you hear yourself as bright and focused, bordering on nasal, then you are probably getting a great sound out front.
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