Quick Tip: Discard Your Click Track
Tutorial Details
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Time: 5 minutes
- Requirements: Any software DAW
I’ve never been good with a metronome. The tedious and tiresome repetition brought forth by playing scales over and over again to a metronome has never appealed much to me. Maybe it has something to do with me being the I-want-it-now generation that I just didn’t have the patience to practice to the steady beat of a metronome all day. I had a much better time learning Metallica riffs and with playing them over and over again, I had an easier time gaining finger dexterity and some speed in my playing that way.
But because I’ve never liked playing to a metronome I’ve never actually been able to play well to a click track. I absolutely despise the tick-tock monotonic feel of the typical DAW click track and I’m never able to play correctly to it. I know I’m not alone because I’ve encountered many instrumentalists that can’t record properly to a click track. They see they can’t feel musical and have a hard time getting their groove into playing alongside a droning click track. But there are a few ways you can get your players to record with more confidence and feel.
Discard your click track
There are plenty of rhythmic options inside your DAW that you can use to evoke a better performance out of an artist.
Change the click. In Logic Pro, you can actually change the sound of the click-track by going into the environment. In Window>Environment you can open up the environment window and change the synth that’s used to play a click track.
Use a drum machine. Create a simple beat with kick, snare and hats for a more human feel. You could even program an alternating drum beat that has a few different parts to make it even more real. Better yet, try to program a beat that accents the type of playing that’s about to be recorded.
Use percussion loops. Use shakers or other percussion type loops. Guitarists often respond much better to the live feel of a typical shaker than a harsh click track.
Use real drum loops. If you’re recording a hard rock song, maybe you need something a bit more substantial than a shaker. Try using some rock drum loops that have crashes and big sounds so you can get the performer to lock in with the song.
Don’t use a click track. Maybe this particular song doesn’t need a click track? Be careful when opting not to use a click track because if the players that build the foundation or rhythm structure are all over the BPM map, it’s going to be harder for the following players to record on top. That said, you can get a really nice feel out of certain genres when you allow the players to weave in and out of rhythm as they want.
Conclusion
If you are anything like me, or know that your fellow recording musicians are going to be, be ready to give them a few more options when they record next. Instead of trying to squeeze a forced performance out of a player that’s struggling to keep up with a click track, see if you can’t make him feel better with an alternative option. Throw in a shaker instead and see if he responds better to it. Use some drum loops or program your own beats that follow the performance of the track recorded. It’s all about getting that great performance out of the musicians, and by keeping these things in mind you can both accommodate your musicians and accomplish you goals at the same time.
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I’m in the I can’t play with a click track camp. My producer and cowriter is great he produces drum tracks
with the drum machine method mention. And when all else fail there is always the
audio quantize function.
I find it really annoying that a lot of people I work with can’t play to a metronome. And also when students complain about playing to a metronome, but want to be this fantastic shredder. Suck it up and deal with it. Practicing constantly is the key to virtuosity, and you gotta have good timing too!
The reason we use the annoying square wave in audio is cause it will cut through everything in their headphones so they can play tight. If you want a pro sound you got to have tight connected playing. It doesn’t matter how good the actual quality is if the playing is off. I understand trying to help them out but as a collegiate musician and audio engineer I say suck it up and deal with it. You should only need it for the drums and bass anyways assuming your overdubbing everything else.
Better idea is to tell them to practice with a metronome as an ensemble before they get to the session. Its not hard to learn if you spend the time. My experience says it usually takes about 6 hours of honest practicing with a met before someone gets used to it; the more the better.
Mike and Dr. Prententious, there is a misunderstanding here, he his not saying not to play tight or in time,
he’s saying you don’t have to play to a metronome or click. Practice is key to virtuosity, a metronome, a click track, is not. A click track is only an optional modern day tool. Great musicians played music “in time” long before the annoying click track was invented. I say let musicians use whatever tools that works for them.
like I said in my post, “Practicing constantly is the key to virtuosity, and you gotta have good timing too”. It doesn’t matter how well you can play by yourself if you can’t keep in time with a band. And furthermore, I was just commenting on how irritating it is that so many people CAN’T play to a steady beat when they’re recording. If you’re tracking the whole band at once, sure it’ll probably get off time a bit. But if you’re recording to a click or artificial drum beat or whatever, then you’d better be good enough to stay on time.
It’s not that people can’t play to a steady beat. Give me a looped shaker any day of the week instead of a constant tick tick of a click track. People can stay on time, but you should give them the most comfortable method for them to stay in time. Usually a click-track isn’t a comfortable method.
For me it’s a musical thing. I get more musical and confident when I have a musical rhythm, like a shaker or a steady drum loop underneath instead of a monotonous click-track. Which I can’t really say is musical, although it is used in music.
Just wanted to mention this tutorial I found a few weeks ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSBfq2Yk0Ec
I haven’t personally tried this yet, but it seems like a good way to sync up Logic to a metronome-free performance — just overdub a clap track, and use that to set the tempo.
Not having a steady tempo might sound awful for certain types of music, but having some breathing room can really add a ‘human touch’ to a song.
Nice tut.
Strange but somewhat understandable, I have a band mate who can’t record to logics metronome. Replace that, though, with a hi-hat & its no problem. He says the metronome just feels mechanical whereas the hi-hat feels normal.
I guess it boils down to what your ears are more comfortable hearing, so part of your brain can lock onto it while the rest can get carried away with the performance.
Slightly off topic here, but …
I never use a steady tempo any more. I only use the click track once I’ve played in a live performance and beat mapped the whole thing in Logic. I record/produce singer-songwriters who are just not used to being so mechanical, yet, they do have a steady tempo, if not perfect. You know, you may want that bridge to be a little faster. You’d have to program the whole thing in your tempo track only to find out that it inhibits the performer. I prefer letting them play a guide track totally free of any restrictions, then I go in and beat map to the best performance and overdub any extra necessary instruments. It works every time and feels a LOT more human than a steady tempo.
Steady tempo may be great for dance music (although even that I would have to somewhat disagree with), but if you want a human feel, let the performance dictate the tempo.
Thanks for sharing you experience.
Its all about mental control guys. If you have good rhythm it shouldn’t matter what kind of sound keeps you in timing. Be it a tick from a metronome or a car horn.
If you can’t play to a click, then you just can’t play. Musicians make music. Chumps make excuses.
i agree with jack . if you can’t play with a click , then you suck .timing is the most important part of having a great recording.if you won’t play with a click , or loops , then you don’t understand what timing and subdividing is . a hole note in 4/4 time is 4 beats long. if you don’t have a constant then 4 beats could be 2 days long. if music isn’t in time then it is just noise . i run into this a lot recording drummers . they have been playing for 10 yrs or more and do not even know what a metronome is .and they wonder why their band isn’t as good as their favorite major label band . some take to it pretty easy . others have a very difficult time with it . it is humbling for some . some never get it and don’t even want to understand , because they think it takes away from ” the feel of the music” . thats bs . every musical rhythm will fit into the subdivision of the tempo . pretty much all your favorite songs were recorded with a click .or they did 500 takes to get one that was close . but why do 500 takes to get good timing . use a click and fix mistakes as you go .i could go on for days about click tracks . either learn to play with a click and have great timing or continue to suck . your choice .
I think it depends on what your role is. If you’re the performer, by all means you should try to have proper mental control to perform with consistency under any and all conditions. You can’t always be in an optimal environment and feel cozy, whether it’s in the studio or on stage.
If you’re recording someone else, however, you have to find out what works best. Time and patience are often in short supply, so whatever captures the performance well, is usable, and won’t give either of you migraines is probably the best option.
For what it’s worth, I usually create a simple kick-snare pattern to record my guitarist. Some songs, particularly acoustics, I’ve just let ‘em go with nothing… the feel is looser, but it’s a pain to sequence drums around later.
Drums generally go first. As a drummer, I prefer the square wave sound, it reminds me of my little korg metronome that I use for practicing rudiments. In order to be a great musician, you have to learn to push yourself. Sometimes that means doing things you’re not comfortable with. But with enough practice, you can do it.
I can see letting an acoustic guitar player/singer keep his or her own time… but the greats use metronomes… even if there are multiple tempo and time changes.