Recording your exercises as you practice will improve your sound and technique. Make recordings a part of your practice routine.
There are three big benefits of recording as you practice.
- First, a recording gives you immediate feedback. You can hear what you sound like, and you can critique your technique on the spot. You sound differently on the recording because you are not behind the horn. And this means that you will hear things that you will not catch while playing.
- Second, listening to a recording allows you to focus all of your attention on listening to what you are playing rather than divide your concentration between playing and listening. Catching and correcting little details like breath sounds, tongue clicking, and pitch warbling will improve the sound of your playing.
- Third, the time spent listening to yourself allows your lips to rest between segments. Practicing with rested lips allows them to strengthen faster, and it does not require of you to compensate for tired lips with bad technique to produce the sound you want.
