By recording your piano, you can listen to the songs you played.
If you listen carefully to your own performance, you will be able to notice small mistakes such as strange touches or tempo deviations.
Not only will this be more motivating than receiving feedback from others, including piano instructors, train your ear , which will ultimately help you grow as a pianist.
But how do you record your own performance?
The easiest way is to record the sound coming from the speakers with your smartphone or voice recorder.
However, this tends to introduce noise and makes it impossible to notice small differences in touch.
This time, we will introduce the most effective method for recording an electronic piano (keyboard).
table of contents
How to record
The following is an overview of how to easily record performances from a digital piano or keyboard.
Connect the cord from the audio output terminal from your digital piano or keyboard to the appropriate audio input terminal. The data is then transferred to a playback device such as a computer, tablet such as an iPad, or smartphone, and listened to using headphones or studio monitors.
It's very simple!
I will now explain it in detail step by step.
Step 1: Check the terminal where the sound is output
Many digital pianos, keyboards, or synthesizers come with speakers. However, in order to record, you will need a terminal that outputs sound separately from this speaker.
Please check your instruction manual. If it's labeled "Aux Out" or "Line Out," that's the terminal you're looking for. Alternatively, a headphone jack is also fine .
Step 2: Prepare the device for playback
Decide on the device that will actually play back the recorded song.
For example, a computer, a smartphone such as an iPhone, or a tablet such as an iPad.
By the way, the next step is to decide on the recording device.
This may not be necessary depending on the "playback device" you .
For example, if you want to record to a computer with a microphone terminal and then play it back from the computer.
Please read step 3 and select both recording and playback.
Step 3: Prepare your recording equipment
To successfully record an electronic piano or keyboard, you will need some kind of recording device.
If it is of good quality, it can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of yen.
However, this a very important element .
The minimum requirement for this device is that it has an audio input terminal or a microphone terminal.
This jack is commonly labeled "Aux In" or "Line in," "microphone logo," or "MIC."
*In the case of separate left and right monaural terminals, the description will be different.
If you just want to listen to audio for yourself, the most efficient way is to use your computer as a recording device.
If you want to publish your recordings online, we recommend preparing something called an audio interface
An audio interface is often referred to as a "gateway for sound."
This has the role of recording sound and relaying it to a recording medium such as a computer, and from there to a playback device.
Computers come standard with this function, so they can record and play directly.
However, the level of this functionality that computers have is by no means high.
Therefore, even if high-quality sound comes in, it will be output as low-quality sound.
On the other hand, if you use an audio interface, it will convert the audio while maintaining high quality, allowing you to record with clearer sound.
For example, it's a television.
Younger people may not understand this, but when televisions changed to digital high-definition (terrestrial digital), the picture quality was not good even if you forced a tuner to display on a CRT TV that was not compatible with it.
This is a similar phenomenon.
The flow up to playback looks like the following.
The thickness of the arrow indicates the quality of the sound.
The recommended audio interface is Yamaha's AG03.
This is an audio interface that is often used on the Internet for ``Utattemita'' and ``Game Commentary.''
It is designed to be easy to use even for beginners, and by recording with it, you can easily perform "one-man duet".
If you don't plan on purchasing a computer or audio interface, you can also record on your tablet or smartphone.
Just plug in the adapter that converts your smartphone's USB to microphone terminal. You can also connect a microphone from the earphone terminal.
Step 4: Connect with the correct cable
Once you have identified the input and output terminals, you need to prepare the corresponding cables.
Be sure to carefully check the types of terminals and cables to avoid making the wrong purchase.
The length of the cable is also important.
Electronic pianos in particular cannot be easily moved, so consider the layout of the room you will be recording in and prepare a cable of sufficient length.
However, the longer the cable, the more likely it is that noise will enter.
If you make a purchase thinking, ``I'll just buy a long one for now,'' you may end up regretting it later.
Determine the optimal length from the piano to your recording device, and choose a cable with the appropriate length.
There are many types of audio cables and terminals, but this time we will explain the two most popular ones.
mini cable
This is a terminal cable used in so-called earphones and headphones.
It also supports stereo with one hole, and you can use this cable with anything labeled "Line out(in)" or "AUX out(in)".
What you need to be careful about is that some mini cables can only communicate in monaural.
The difference is the number of black wires attached to the terminals.
A device with one line corresponds to “monaural,” and a device with two lines corresponds to “stereo.”
Phone cable (shielded)
This is a cable commonly used in audio equipment around the world.
The feature is that the terminal is a little thicker than the mini cable.
It is also said to be less susceptible to noise.
The YAMAHA electronic piano I own also has this terminal.
In the case of this terminal, in addition to the cable, many conversion plugs are also sold, so you may want to purchase them together with the mini plug.
Step 5: Prepare the software
Next, you will need software to record.
This honestly isn't that important .
When it comes to sound quality, hardware is more important than software.
No need to purchase expensive commercially available recording software。
If you have an audio interface, it probably comes with software that you can use to record.
If you want to record using a computer, there are many free or inexpensive apps.
Personally, I use a software called "Audacity". You can start recording for free, remove noise from recorded files, and play multiple files simultaneously (one-person duet).
If you are interested, please search for it.
However, the instructions are mainly in English.
If you are using a Mac or iPhone, you can also record and edit using Apple's "Garageband" app. Personally, I found it difficult to use, so I stopped using it, but improvements are gradually being made and I look forward to seeing it in the future.
If it is just a simple recording, there is no problem with the software that comes with your computer.
For example, in the case of Windows, software such as ``Voice Recorder'' or ``Sound Recorder'' is standard equipment.
On Mac, you can record using "QuickTime Player."
You can also record on Android and iPhone by using a free app with voice recorder function.
Step 6: Actual recording and playback
When you record using an audio interface, you can usually hear what you record through the interface.
The exception to this is if you are using a recording interface that has no output.
If you recorded it on your computer or smartphone, you can simply play it back. Connect headphones, etc. if necessary.
(Step 7 Find areas for improvement)
If your purpose is to practice the piano, listen to your performance objectively and see if you feel any discomfort.
For example, listen carefully to the following:
- Tempo : Is the tempo of sounds especially using the pinky finger disrupted?
- Loudness : Is there any unintended variation in the loudness depending on your fingers or the location of the keyboard?
- Connection of sounds : Are you releasing the keys too early and the sounds are interrupted, or are you releasing the keys too late and the sounds are overlapping?
These three things are often not done, especially by beginners.
Even if you think you're doing well, if you listen objectively, you may find unexpected weaknesses in your performance.
If you feel something is wrong, it's an opportunity to further improve your piano skills.
Repeat practice, recording, and playback, aiming for a satisfying performance.
Leave a Comment