General Music Chat

You know whats funny?
I can play to any drum beat/live percussion thingy that could possibly be thrown at me, but I have a hell of a time playing to a click track...
Weird.

Maybe it's because I've always played witha drummer.
Even when I was just starting to learn.
My best friend was starting to learn drums at the same time, so drums were always there.
Maybe I never did enough metronome work. Sub dividing beats and what not.

Yeah me too. I was a front man/bassist with many drummers that had lousy timing, so I had to sing, play, and keep them on time. Not an easy task.
But when recording with a click track it drives me crazy. I just can't seem to find a setting that I can follow well. I dunno what the hell it is either!

Ya just need practice, gentlemen. Your mind's ear can easily break it up into fills & such, if you work with it awhile. Try setting a drum machine to a simple snare/kick beat, only on the beat, & you'd prolly pick right up on it, even though it's the same thing as a click track.

Screw a click track. Lots of people are in this position. They can play with any number of beats mechanical or human based. You try to play with a click and it's a train wreck. There is an EASY solution. Grab a keyboard, select an appropriate beat that jives with the song, and record that onto a track. Play the instruments along with it then delete the beat or don't put it in the mix. It works every time for me.

Wow! I didn't know that so many people had a problem with a click track. When I started piano at 3, my teacher always had a metronome sitting on the piano and then my parents got me one for home as well. Now...I'm the lead player in the band always changing between clean and distorted tones and I have to keep time for the band because the drummer isn't really good with timing. The other guitarist and bass player fall into the drummer's malfunctions, so our singer put it all on me to keep it in order. It's really fun when I'm in the middle of a lead and the drummer speeds up and slows down...


All those years with a metronome paid off!!!

Click tracks suck.

The audio engineer was amazed that Steve could insert drum fixes just by listening to the playback sans click track.

Steve told him, that's how I taught myself to play, listening and playing to the radio and CDs.

I don't / won't dispute the advantages of practice to metronome.

But music is about soul not a metronomic tic-toc-tic-toc.

No problem with click tracks for me. They tend to stop the slight tempo changes you have while playing difficult passages. For me even keeping time with my foot can do a better job that nothing at all.
And I agree with most that a suitable canned drum beat is best. It's more fun to have when working out a song. Unfortunately I haven't found any drum tracks made to order so far. I have to tailor my playing to them for the most part. But that works in a pinch.

I always practice with a click unless I'm playing to some music I like. I found it was difficult at first but over time I've learned to flow with it. Just because you practice or record with a click doesn't mean your music can't breath a little. I'm always amazed at musicians with poor timing, especially drummers and bass players. Drummers and bass players have to be the backbone that vocalists and soloists can rely on.

I always practice with a click unless I'm playing to some music I like. I found it was difficult at first but over time I've learned to flow with it. Just because you practice or record with a click doesn't mean your music can't breath a little. I'm always amazed at musicians with poor timing, especially drummers and bass players. Drummers and bass players have to be the backbone that vocalists and soloists can rely on.

I'm sure this is the root of the issue with me. I hate unfamiliar territory.
Necessary as it is.

Click tracks suck.

I don't / won't dispute the advantages of practice to metronome.

But music is about soul not a metronomic tic-toc-tic-toc.

no it no tic-toc-tic-toc but if you don't have a solid meter to play off (syncopated rhythms or pushing or pulling the beat) it sounds sloppy...

The meter should be the same at the begin and end of the song. If you'll (in the band) personal practice with a click it tights up your interal clock, and make the band tighter. I notice the difference between players that can play with a click and those that can't ... JMO

We always have the drummer on the click in the studio ...

Looping gave me my rhythm. You have to have bullet proof rhythm in looping or it becomes a train wreck. I have recorded with a click. "let it go" in my player started with the drummer and me on bass playing with a click. I much prefer using a canned beat AS a click track. Tic Toc was referenced above. It's not Tic toc. Instead it's toc toc toc toc. If the click track was actually Tic toc I would bet with confidence that every player could follow it easier.

Ummmmmmm..."tick-toc" is the sound that a real metronome makes. It's still in my head.

Aha...
My problem as a guitar guy, stems from say, practicing triplets on a scale.
You (or I) start the triplet on the toc. Or you can double the speed making it a sextuplet, but it still starts on the toc.

But this makes sense for just playing along to a toc toc toc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nFikXk2 ... ata_player

Sweet. There's a series of videos under BerkleeMusic on Youtube.

Ummmmmmm..."tick-toc" is the sound that a real metronome makes. It's still in my head.

But we're not talking about a metronome. We are talking about a click track.