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Band Technique: Playing to a Click

CRAP
Total votes: 44 (63%)
NOT CRAP
Total votes: 26 (37%)
Total votes: 70

Band Technique: Playing to a Click

21 by bubbleboy_Archive
JC Keane wrote:NOT CRAP. :WF: 2

You have no Soul. The Click has Soul.

You would like it if the Machine were Wrong.... Hey man I think that Click is off...

The Machine Is not Wrong. You are Wrong Mortal Fool. I used o think Playing to a click was for Soulless Musicians more Intereted in Playing tight than Playing something interesting.

I was Wrong. Musicians Groove Harder and Better if they can play to a Click. A constant Reminder of the Beat is Freeing, Liberating, If you know what you're doing. It should only constrain you and cause frustration if it is something you never practice.

Think of the Click as a member of the band, not a machine. A member with excellent meter and time.

Some tunes and arrangements are implausible with a click, but I reccomend it whenever possible.




Gotta say, I agree fully. I din't untill recently believe that it was liberating neccesarily, I liked using clicks if I was senquencing against a live band and that was it but I have recently recorded a couple of awesome drummers who reach a whole new level of brilliance in terms of groove and feel when playing to a click. True, i think it "de-rocks" songs slightly but I liked that for the recordings we did.

Definitely not for everyone and if you've got a live band in a room setup which I guess you mostly will have at ea then theres definitely no point but as JC said, some drummers can be liberated by the click.

Band Technique: Playing to a Click

23 by sndo_Archive
tmidgett wrote:click tracks suck

fuck them

i hate them and they are crap

unless you are metallica and you program the click to vary the tempo of the song continually. like intro at 140bpm, verse at 136bpm, chorus at 138bpm, solo at 148bpm. this is so retarded that it becomes brilliant, and therefore not crap.


they really do that? it's not such a bad idea, that is, if you've already resigned yourself to playing to a click in the first place.

Band Technique: Playing to a Click

24 by rbs_Archive
johnnyshape wrote:I particularly dislike a 'live rock band' with sequencers / tapes where you see the drummer with headphones on, staring at a fixed point concentrating on the click so hard and playing flat and boring and rigid and not locking with the other musicians. Actually I don't think I have ever seen anything really exciting or interesting done this way.


I once saw a great drummer playing in an "industrial" band which used a lot of loops and he used headphones live to keep track of it all, basically as you describe above. The difference was that he was a great player, very musical, and the click and loops allowed him to play really incredible parts while staying locked in with the rest of the group and direction of the tune. It was amazing to see that level of concentration and musical expression. I guess it's all about the drummer, but it can just as easly be a departure point as a crutch.

Band Technique: Playing to a Click

25 by congleton_Archive
to boldly state that the use of click tracks are globally useless or useful is inane. i could not possibly think of anything that is a more case by case scenario in the studio.

i have worked with bands that have it bolted to their brains that they must cut their drum tracks with a click and when it fails they feel defeated about themsleves as players. when in reality the click is what in fact is hurting the performance.

on the other hand i have had many drumers tell me that a click is a wonderful liberation for them becuase they can think about their part and not the tempo. it more or less cuts duty in half.

so basicly i do what the drummer wants, that is of corse unless he wants the band to do "one of his songs".
maytheforcesofevilbecomeconfusedonthewaytoyourhouse

Band Technique: Playing to a Click

26 by OneFiveFour_Archive
sndo wrote:
tmidgett wrote:click tracks suck
unless you are metallica and you program the click to vary the tempo of the song continually. like intro at 140bpm, verse at 136bpm, chorus at 138bpm, solo at 148bpm. this is so retarded that it becomes brilliant, and therefore not crap.


they really do that? it's not such a bad idea, that is, if you've already resigned yourself to playing to a click in the first place.


haha.. anyone noticed on 'st anger' that although the bass drum (or whatever you care to call that tittt sound), though obviously triggered/heavily processed, is appx. 25% louder on the downbeat on every measure? metallica never cease to amaze..

it would take days, possibly weeks of studio time to program a click track to create the kind of rhythm that john bohnam or jaki liezbeit rehearsed to create naturally.. and even longer for the drummer to record something along to it that is supposed to invoke the same feel.

if you really need cues that badly for lack of mics/rooms/tracks/whatever, why not just record a vocal or guitar guide track from a live rehearsal?

Band Technique: Playing to a Click

27 by connor_Archive
My band's new drummer, already kind of on thin ice, pulled out a click track at our last rehearsal. I had never played with a drummer on a click, neither had the other guitarist. I was right to wince: this was one of the most frustrating and excruciating experiences I've had while playing in a band.

The drummer's frequent lags were replaced with catastrophic stumbling, a newfound hesitancy and a rigid dedication to staying in time not with the rest of the band, but with the fucking click. He missed a bunch of changeups too.

Click tracks blow. I cannot see why you'd ever want to use one unless you're a drummer practicing by yourself.

So, any Austin drummers out there looking for a band?
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