Here are some tips you might find useful in getting a good recording for our recording project (in no particular order):

1. Record yourself saying a "Take Number" before each take. For instance, before recording your Chopin Nocturne for the 36th time, say, "Chopin Nocturne Take 36". This helps you keep track of which take is which, and is especially helpful when going back to listen and evaluate the different takes.
2. Before playing each take, carefully look over the tape recorder to make sure the right lights are flashing and the tape inside is turning. Make a few sounds loud enough to verify that the "level lights" are flickering as they should.
   
   Nothing is worse than playing the performance of your life and then looking over at the tape machine and realizing that it was on "Pause" the whole time.
   
3. If you can find someone else to come in and operate the equipment while you concentrate on performing, this can be helpful (but that person can be distracting, as well).
4. You might consider writing down some notes about each take, immediately after playing it. For instance, "Take 24--botched B section, memory slip on 2nd page, A section quite good."
   
   Some people find that stopping to write down notes gets them out of the "groove". You might have to experiment to see what works for you.
   
   
5. When recording, the temptation is to think "Well, if I mess up I can just do it over." So you start recording your piece and the first time there's a slight mistake you stop and start over. On the next try, you don't like the sound you're getting, so you stop after 8 measures and try it again. After following this "stop and start over" procedure for about ten minutes you will find you can't even get through one measure without stopping.
   
   Avoid this "Stop at every mistake" mentality. Prepare for and approach the recording sessions as you would a live performance. When recording, just as when performing, try to cover mistakes as best you can and don't stop for anything. The advantage of recording is not that you can do it over if you make a mistake, but that you can select the best of several "live performances"--whereas in a real live performance, you have to take the first one that comes out.
   
   
6. Spending time evaluating your recorded performances is as important as spending time recording them in the first place. Find a quiet place and listen to each of your takes--even the bad ones--carefully. Do the sound, tempo, phrasing, balance, articulation, and other aspects of your playing sound the same on the recording, as you thought they did while you were playing?
   
   Come up with some sort of a scheme for taking notes and evaluating the different takes as you listen to them. I will often put down little marks for each mistake I hear in a take--small marks for small mistakes and big blobs for big mistakes. If you do this for various takes, you can compare the different takes at a glance.
   
   Another method is to write down a number for each mistake you hear (1 being a very small mistake and 10 being a really big one).
   
   Of course, mistakes aren't the only thing you're worried about. You might write down a few notes about each take to remind yourself of it's musical qualities. For instance, "not many mistakes but bland musically" or "very good musically but several obvious mistakes".
   
   
7. Don't erase or record over any of your old takes--at least, not until the whole project is over. Why?
   
   
   1. The take you thought was so terrible, may turn out to be the best one after all.
   2. It's too easy to record over a good take by accident (you think you're recording over the botched version while really over-writing your best take yet)
   3. Listening to all takes, even botched ones, can be very valuable.
      
      Tape is cheap--a lot cheaper than the time and effort you spend recording on it. Don't be afraid to use plenty of it.
      
      
8. When done with a recording session, knock out the "write-protect" chips in the cassette tape. This helps to prevent accidentally erasing the tape.
   
   
9. Take some time to get familiar with the equipment. Within the next few days, if there is some time available in Mr. Anderson's office, you might try making some "practice recordings", even if your pieces aren't quite ready for prime-time. You will learn how to operate the equipment and, anyway, recording and listening to your own playing is a very good way to practice.