You should get to know current technology so that you can “enter into the game” and have others hear your music. But this isn't the only reason to record your playing. Recording and documenting your work is good for your budding career, and it's extremely educational.

Past generations of music students had few opportunities to record and document their progress. This is far from the truth today. If you possess recorded documents of each stage in your musical development, you will get better at a faster rate. How? If you record yourself regularly, you can better measure your progress.

Through recordings, you can listen to your performance(s) after the fact and you can be your own teacher. Once you remove yourself from the mechanics of music making, you will be able to listen with a more objective ear. In other words, you will be able to hear yourself as others hear you. This is an invaluable tool, especially if you do not take private lessons. It's hard to critique your playing in the heat of the moment. However, if you can go back and listen to what you played, you will be able to evaluate your music more truthfully. You will be able to determine if you are keeping steady time and playing clean, confident rhythms. When listening to recordings of yourself, listen for tone and expression, melody, harmony, improvisation, and of course, to hear if you are playing the correct notes.

Tone and Expression

While listening, ask yourself, “Am I creating an attractive, euphonious, and expressive sound on the piano?” If not, think about how you're striking the keys. Consider revamping your technique and posture if necessary (see Chapter 2). Regarding expression, think about how you're creating phrases on the piano. Phrases are similar to sentence structure. Don't create the equivalent of run-on sentences when you play. All music must have distinct beginnings and ends just like sentences. Also, don't play mono-dynamically. Your phrases should generally arc (crescendo and decrescendo) as they move from beginning to end. Adding accents is another way to add excitement to your phrases.

Melody

Are you creating compelling melodies? Can you hum what you're playing? Are you building off a motif(s), or are you wandering randomly up and down the keyboard? If you're unhappy with your melodicism, listen to more music. The best way to develop a strong sense of melody is to experience the splendor of other people's melodies. Check out a wide variety of music to see how melody interacts with harmony, rhythm, and song structure. Also, don't be afraid to use repetition and “theme and variation” in your melodies.

Harmony

Are your chords complementing or clashing with the melody? Can you use more colorful or expressive chords? “Accompanist” is practically the pianist's middle name. More than anything else, pianists are required to be able to back up singers and soloists well. If your harmonic sense is weak, you'll be limited in your ability to find work as a pianist. This applies to virtually any style of music. Therefore, focus on developing an immaculate sense of harmony and counterpoint. On this instrument, harmonic abilities separate the boys from the men and the girls from the women. If you're looking for review, harmony is formally introduced in Chapter 6.

Improvisation

There is nothing worse than sketchy improvisation. While listening to your recording, ask yourself, “Am I able to play meaningful solos? What about my note choice? Do I make lots of errors when I solo, or do I play licks that fit well over the given chord changes?” All students of piano play some wonky notes. That's okay. Everybody plays questionable solos at first. It's all part of the learning process. If you're playing a lot of “clams,” as musicians call them, go back and think about how chords interact with scales and modes. Perhaps you are playing too many “avoid” notes when using a particular scale over a chord. Or perhaps you are using the wrong modes altogether.

Wrong Notes

Obviously, you should use your ear to discriminate between right and wrong notes. However, if you're a novice, you won't detect every wrong note. Therefore, you must judiciously review scale and chord theory to ensure proper note choices. Additionally, don't forget to listen to recordings by professional pianists. Listening will help your ear gradually discern right and wrong notes. Wrong notes do exist. There is a difference between dissonant note choices and wrong note choices. If you're careful and meticulous in your study of music, you will gradually learn how to play solos that impress listeners and musicians alike.