Recording that very first bit

I find that the beginning is the toughest - particularly when recording acoustic guitar. Typically, what sounded "pretty good" when playing live takes on a more defective tint once the microphone is turned on. All those little string buzzes, thumps and other mysterious noises that would never be heard in a live situation are captured by close micing and preserved in pristine digital format for all to hear. Ugh.

I remember my first experience with this phenomenon - I was recording a rhythm track with my acoustic guitar and, when played back, I detected an intermittent clicking noise. I had never heard this before and was mystified. "What IS that?" I would play it again and not hear it, recording it again, and there it was. Is there something wrong with my recording gear? No, it seems to recording other sounds without the clicking.

Finally I watched very carefully as I play the section again...and I heard it. Actually, I felt it more than I heard it. My relatively new wedding ring on my chording hand was tapping against the neck of the guitar when I played certain chords. This would NEVER be a problem playing live, and, I had become used to it enough that it was a background noise to me and was tuned out. Mystery solved.

Back to Confeditore...

As I recorded my first take of the 8 measure introduction I was inspired to switch from a strum to a picked pattern and back again. A great idea, I thought, but the level of complexity increased and with that, the number of 'little problems'. The mic revealed that sometimes certain strings would buzz a little bit, changing the tone. I guess I need to press those strings harder. Now I am focusing on removing the buzz by pressing harder and I find that I miss my timing on switching from strumming to picking. Sigh.
Although tedious, the good thing about this process is that I am becoming a more precise and overall better guitar player.

But 75 takes to get 8 measures lasting 10 seconds or less?