Carson Rose Studios

The key difference in a recording vs a performance and why it’s holding you back ⬇️

Do you create actionable goals for recording?

Sometimes in recording sessions, many of my clients focus on things such as:

“This was going better yesterday.”
“I could sing that better.”

Which leads inevitably to “I’ll never get it.”

Recording is a rare process, as classical artists we are taught to perform not to record.

This is why wanting to ‘be better’ isn’t a specific enough goal.

If you practice the recording process and create actionable goals your recording session will not only be more effective, but it will feel better.

For instance, I have worked with a client who I supported in giving more space for two takes to release the technical talk and focus on HER story to meet her goal of submitting an authentic audition recording.

You don’t need to leave recordings feeling demoralized, but the change isn’t going to happen overnight.

I collaborate with you beyond the notes to create an environment that’s comfortable and positive.

My free recording planner provides a guided to write everything down, from subtext, affirmations, to goals for the next recording.

The recording planner will help you set up for success later even if recordings aren’t in your current plans. Send me a DM to grab yours today!

Read on to learn how fearing mistakes is sabotaging your recording sessions ⬇️

Because we mostly make recordings for auditions, we can get caught up in focusing on not making mistakes as the goal. In some ways, our training brings this about. We grow up in universities & YAPs being corrected and told what to do, which makes us want to be right.

Here’s the thing.

At some point, we have to trust that if we’ve worked & prepared hard enough, we will perform our best. Fearing mistakes means you aren’t trusting yourself, & that self-doubt is going to manifest itself during the recording process.

It can happen to all of us regardless of experience.

I recently remembered how poisonous the fear of making mistakes can be while performing Schubert’s “Winterreise” in a recording session.

I felt prepared going in, & it was actually going well. But in the first few songs I was trying to control the performance, & playing on eggshells. I think we can feel more weight when recording such famous pieces, & I was letting myself get unnerved by it. Without an audience, you become even more aware of this mindset because negative self-talk is LOUD.

“Phew, got through that one alright.”
“That was close.”
“I need to be more careful.”

Unsurprisingly, early on, I DID make a mistake during a playout.
It wasn’t just one note, but a string of measures I tripped over, because I was so tense.

It was like a mental reset.

Instead of beating myself up, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I laughed, let it out, & realized I could stop pretending to be perfect. (Thankfully, I could also re-record 🙌🏻 )

Since what I had been fearing had happened, I could refocus on telling OUR story.

Not anyone else’s.

OURS.

So next time you’re fearing mistakes in a recording, give yourself permission to not be perfect.

It's easy to forget it's the uniqueness of singers that make them so loved, NOT their academic perfection!

Maria Callas was unique. Jessye Norman was unique.

YOU are UNIQUE.

In my coachings, I work WITH you to empower you to use your unique voice to craft a performance only YOU can create. Do you want to make recordings you’re proud of sharing on social media? Send a DM!

Are you waiting for perfection to feel like you’re ready to share your voice?

Stop waiting and just CREATE.

Striving to be better and reaching for excellence IS important, but aiming for perfection can work against us and make us feel like we’ll never be good enough. Well, guess what: you already ARE enough. Don’t let your ego get in the way!

But this is easier said than done, and there really isn't a quick fix.

It is easy to fall victim to the perfectionist trap, especially in a recording session.
One of the most common things I hear people say is, “This was going so much better yesterday.”

But what does “better” mean?

“Yesterday” and the moment of a recording are two different psychological experiences, and both require different practice.

Your level of preparation and hard work obviously play a part, but STOP saying this! You might already be feeling pressure from having just one session before a deadline, and wondering why you aren't getting it "right" just leads to more frustration. While it is definitely possible to nail a piece in one take, it takes practice and perseverance to get there.

Even before I released my first video last week, I felt those voices trying to hold me back.

You might have familiar versions of them:
“Why am I blinking so much?”
“Does my hair really look like that in the back?”
“Could my legato be smoother?”
“Do I look natural?”

Your critic is at its most active as you’re getting ready to put yourself out there, which can lead to looking for all kinds of reasons why you aren’t ready. My solution is to have my husband and even a close friend watch it first, because often that’s the confidence boost I need to get over myself and stop waiting.

Now that companies have had this strange year to figure out how to produce more variety of videos, it might be more important than ever to have updated materials on your websites.

Don’t wait for perfection to share your voice! Take action and practice the PROCESS.

Do you want a space that has all you need to practice video recording more consistently throughout the year? Send me a DM, even if you aren’t local to the Twin Cities, and let’s practice the process together! 🎶 🎶 🎶