Speeding up/altering recordings

[quietnoise]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what your views are are on speeding up sections of your piano recordings?
The reason I ask is that I have done this several times in the past with sections of recordings I have presented to family an friends and posted online, and I continue to suffer great depression as a result (I have anxiety and depression issues anyway). I feel so guilty that the recordings I have presented have had sections sped up.

I am considered to be an advanced amateur, with a repertoire consisting of Chopin, Alkan, Liszt etc, and I can perform these pieces excellently in front of small groups of people but whenever I try to record them I totally mess up. At the time I didn't see any problem recording these pieces in sections and speeding up those sections which I tought needed to be. I regret this more than anything, because I feel like I have decieved many people (even though I can actually play this music), and I wish I could reverse time and not alter them in any way.
I didn't set out to decieve, I just wanted to present people with something I knew I could play.
The sections I sped up were played almost to tempo anyway I just altered them to save time.

Is this a common practice amongst professionals? I realise that if I was good enough I wouldn't need to speed anything up after performance but I am only an amateur and I don't have infallible skills. If I tell people I sped certain sections up it would preobably cause them to question the integrity of further thins I achieve in my life.

This may seem trivial to many of you but It continues to cause me great distress. I feel like a fraud evn though people have seen evidence of my ability on the piano.

Anyway thanks for your time and I look forward to seeing your views on this.

Thanks,

Steve

[stevebob]

While the ethics of your decision to edit your recordings are debatable, my personal opinion based on the information you’ve provided is that you’re probably being too hard on yourself.

My understanding is that when professionals make studio recordings, their “performances” are microengineered to near-perfection; after many “takes” on the same piece, the best passages may be melded and spliced into a product superior in all details to any individual attempt in its entirety.

Unless I’m hearing a recording of a live performance, I assume that a professional’s recording will have been tweaked or manipulated to some degree.  That’s probably not the default assumption for an amateur’s recording, but you didn’t explicitly lie unless you represented that your effort was in fact recorded in real time and unedited.  Otherwise, you omitted a detail that might be critical to some listeners in some situations (e.g., an audition, an entry in a competition, etc.) but would be of minimal importance or insignificant to others (e.g., a gift for Grandma, or an example that represents your true skills rather than how you mess up when that red dot is blinking).

The question for your conscience then is whether such a doctored recording actually does depict your proficiency.  Were the tempo, accuracy and expressiveness really something you could achieve on a good day under optimal conditions?  Or was that speculative, hypothetical wishful thinking?  Did the recording you created showcase your pianistic ability—or display your technical skills as a user of audio-editing software?

By the way, I doubt that a genuinely amoral person would even give a thought to the questions you’ve raised.  I admire your introspection and your candor in sharing this dilemma.  If you conclude what you did was sufficiently wrong, resolve not to do it again (or, if you do, be totally upfront about it).  I don’t think it’s necessary to confess your past actions, though, as no one seems to have been hurt by them; let it be water under the bridge, and stop beating yourself up over it.

[quietnoise]

Stevebob, thankyou very much for your informative reply.
I could achieve the same proficiency on my recordings on a very good day, but being an amateur I seem t'o have great trouble maintaining the high standards I set for myself, but that is a different issue.
I certainly won't alter tempo on my recordings again, because I feel that is more dishonest than cutting and pasting things together.
Today again I became very frustrated at trying to perform at the tempos on my recordings, and have finally concluded that I just don't have the technique required to be consistant.

Steve

[richard black]

Most recordings for most musicians are edited, but not often to a ridiculous degree. There's almost no limit to what one can do these days with the right software, but in practice the majority of recordings are made from typically 2-5 takes of a piece or movement plus, perhaps, a few 'patches' to cover individual sections that just won't go right, and outright manipulation is very seldom used.

[Bob]

I'm for honest recordings.  What you hear on the recording is what the performer actually did and can do.  I think it starts stepping into something else the more it gets edited, an edited recording I guess.  That might be closer to what the performer wants, the ideal, but if it's not them actually playing that way and they can't perform like that?  Ugh.

[thinkgreenlovepiano]

For me, recordings are like a diary. If I edit them, then in the future, I'll never be able to know how I really played it. I'd be tricking myself...
 
But I agree with stevebob, don't beat yourself up over this....

[quietnoise]

Thanks for the replies.
So do you think any pros tinker with speed on their recordings?
I wouldn't have thought so but I'm curious as to whether this takes place.
I totally regret altering my recordings but I can't reverse what I've done. In the future I would never present anything I thought was not a true representation of how I could play at that time.
I think I was just too eager to record something to give to people to demonstrate my hard work. In hindsight I should have played the sections that I sped up over and over again until I could record them accurately at tempo, and not go for the easy option.
There is no point in presenting something no entirely accurate.

This quandry has actually caused me to seriously contemplate giving up the piano, as I find myself struggling to perform this music as it is on my recordings, at tempo with no mistakes. I'm putting far too much pressure (in this instance, but also generally) on myself and it has caused me mental issues. Now all I do is associate practicing and playing the piano with stress and depression.

I take things way too seriously.

[stevebob]

Why does such a quandary exist?  Have you considered that less advanced music might be easier to record with far fewer flaws and much better fluency and accuracy?  Is it necessary even to make recordings at all?

It might be a good idea to examine the role of piano in your life and, more generally, what you feel to be the reason and purpose for musical expression as an amateur.  An avocation should be fun and self-fulfilling; it should alleviate anxiety and depression, not aggravate them!

Does your own sense of enjoyment and satisfaction truly depend on making recordings “at tempo with no mistakes”?  I think you should try to accept that such a goal is untenable, at least at the present time.  It would be a significant step toward reconnecting with the aspects of your piano practice that you genuinely find intrinsically and personally rewarding.

It sounds as if you and I have much in common; I’ve had some experience with the psychological issues you’ve described, and I’ve had significant periods of ambivalence, alienation and even antipathy toward piano.  Though I’m uncomfortable with a detailed public discussion of those circumstances, it's disturbing to know you are feeling so distressed  Feel free to correspond privately with me if you’d like.

[quietnoise]

stevebob I have sent you a private message. thanks

[richard black]

So do you think any pros tinker with speed on their recordings?

You can bet your shirt it happens, but it doesn't happen often. I've done every conceivable job related to recordings so I do have a little inside knowledge.

[liszt1022]

It depends how you define "pro."
In the world of classical piano, the successful recording artists are able to back up their skill in live performance - things like winning competitions and putting on great concerts are what get them the record contracts in the first place. Glenn Gould recorded without concerts later in life - but that was after a concert pianist career. David Helfgott plays awful concerts and records awful CDs... why did I bring him up? I forget, moving on...
Joyce Hatto recorded at home, we know how THAT ended up.


///

It depends on your goals. If you'd like to demonstrate how the music sounds, you'd still need to have all the fine points of touch and balance worked out regardless of speed. Even still, without recording at tempo it would be unethical to call it a "performance" from yourself.
If you'd like credit on ability to play the music, it would have to be recorded at a tempo appropriate to your skill level.

[emill]

Interesting!

Well i guess if it is the universally accepted practice of the industry
then it is likely ethical. So that in your case, is altering the tempo a
usual, accepted practice?  From the answers so far it does not seem so.

More than that, let me say that I admire your honesty in grappling with an
issue that affects you a lot by the guilt it generates.  Everyone commits
things like this once in a while and the more important thing is to recognize
it, be sorry about it and make corrections rather than attempt to rationalize ....
only lawyers do that!!  

[quietnoise]

There were only a few small sections out of many that were sped up, and even then only slightly to match the rest of the recording. Ironically the guilt has made me practice much more. I did lose a lot of self-belief when thinking about the issue, and I'm sure with time it will settle in my mind. I know I will never alter the spedd on recordings again though, and I would never present something that wasn't my own (the Joyce Hatto case comes to mind)