Click tracks

jubilairesjl

I have heard about these things but I don't know what exactly they are. I think they are like a backup track to make the band sound better but could anyone explain it better?

harrisonmerwin

jubilairesjl wrote:

I have heard about these things but I don't know what exactly they are. I think they are like a backup track to make the band sound better but could anyone explain it better?

when recording you want consistant and perfect timing and tiem changes in a song. A click track is a click, beep, or whatever sound you want, that clicks to the tempo. This is so everyone in the band is playign to the same time, and just makes life easier. If you have a longer, or more complex songs with tempo changes, you need to make a "tempo map" including all yoru different clicks and tempo's, its neat stuff, and really helps with recording.

Harrison

awake

in a typical recording, drummer would listen to the click to make sure tempo is correct and does not waiver, then band plays along with the drummer.

in some cases, where backing tracks are used in a live setting, the drummer plays to a click to keep the band in sync with the backing track. common uses would be keyboard backing tracks, or backing vocals, and in some extreme Milli Vanilli cases the lead vocal.

I have actually played drums with a band that had backing vocals on tape, basically the DAT tape had vocals on the right channel, click track on the left channel. (my personal preference is cowbell on 1/4 notes, tambourine on 1/8ths). Left channel was run to my headphones, right channel went to the board and PA, and voila, huge backing vocals ala Def Leppard.

This is also usually the way to keep a band on track with light shows and video footage if they need to be in sync with the band.

All Those Yesterdays

Its extremely big with the digital recording ways now a days. Makes copying and pasteing much easier. It has it uses, but it still sort of rips the heart and soul out of a song in my opinion.

jubilairesjl

Thank you very much

samquigley

These examples, while correct, are not always what is meant by "click track". It doesn't necessarily have to be electronic metronome-based. Often, the click track simply refers to the part of the recording (usually the start of the song) before the drums come in and the drummer simply clicks his/her sticks together, in time, to keep everyone together and help with dropping-in more than one instrument at a time.

harrisonmerwin

biffhardon wrote:

These examples, while correct, are not always what is meant by "click track". It doesn't necessarily have to be electronic metronome-based. Often, the click track simply refers to the part of the recording (usually the start of the song) before the drums come in and the drummer simply clicks his/her sticks together, in time, to keep everyone together and help with dropping-in more than one instrument at a time.

a click track is a..."track" meanign it plays throughout the song, and can change with the song, obviously you as the listener would never hear it, its submixed to studio monitors (headphones) and sometimes to drummers when playign live. when a drummer hits his snare or sticks, its more of a cue, than a track

Harrison

ps: im in a commercial music + recording class, this stuff is all i talk about! sounds kind of lame but i love it