I wrote a small article about this topic in my blog. It would be nice if you gave it a look and send me some feedback. We could, at the end, publish it in the articles section of this site.
Thanks!
/Lukas
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Awesome write-up! @ProudMusicStudios
The only thing I would question would be your statement of
You will have to follow a tempo when recording your song.
Under the “Click track”
Do you find that bands have to record with one? Is the “click” used for the bands’s benefit or the ME? …this seems a little rigid to always have to use one.
Interesting point. Maybe for a song where there is only a guitar and vocals it is not needed.
I believe that if there is drums it is a must (the click track). Don’t know what to decide here. Maybe we can work this one out togheter?
I do think it benefits the band. The song will turn out to be coherent. Slight errors in the instruments don’t do any harm. Sometimes it gives more life to the track. But a drumset or bass out of tempo really affects the song. What fo you think?
/Lukas
[quote=“ProudMusicStudios, post:3, topic:933”]
I believe that if there is drums it is a must (the click track).
[/quote] I guess it could be a must, maybe that is just a modern perception? As long as it contributes to the song, it is a win.
[quote=“ProudMusicStudios, post:3, topic:933”]
I do think it benefits the band.
[/quote] If it keeps the drummer in time, it would definitely help the other musicians out.
[quote=“ProudMusicStudios, post:3, topic:933”]
But a drumset or bass out of tempo really affects the song
[/quote] definitely! Though you will always have an instrument playing on/ahead/or behind the beat .
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Click tracks are just a tool, I think. Use one if you think it makes the record better. Modern styles rely heavily on them, to the extent that I think the assumption is there will be one unless there’s a really good reason to turn it off.
I think you just need to be sensitive to how the musicians play. If they’re used to playing without one and keep good time, I’d just ask myself if a click was really going to make the music better. After all, tempo changes aren’t by default a bad thing, and being free to adjust tempo can be very expressive on the part of the performer.
Of course, modern production methods rely on the DAW being able to keep time with the music, so sometimes we’ll use a click selfishly to make our lives easier as far as editing, tempo-synched effects etc go. But I’d rather make my life harder if it make the performance better.
That said, in my band we use click tracks and record to tempo maps which we work out in pre-production so I’m musing more from a philosophical standpoint…
This depends on the band. I usually try to see the band live or hear something they have done before I get them in the studio. 98% of the time, they need one… at least with the bands I get, and some of the hiphop/rap guys need them as well…
But in the end I think its for both of our benefits. I never tell the band they have to be dead on the click, but it keeps them from trailing off or anything too radical, combine that with that its hard enough to get some of these artists to get one chorus vocally or musically good enough, I cant imagine trying to go through that multiple times for every song…
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totally disagree about having to record to a click track.
that should only be required if you are using samples or midi parts (synths etc) in the live recording.
unless the click track is set up perfectly i feel it can make a performance sound too sterile and have no soul.
yes it makes the engineers job easyer later on but teh band should rehearse enough to be tight time wise.
the timing of a band is for me THE MOST important element, that and lead vocalist ability to sing.
if timing is off rehearse more or get a better drummer.
record to a click track if you must and yes many famous bands do but i believe you shouldn`t need to. a good drummer and rythem section should be free to lead the song as they feel, otherwise you loose that special element you are trying to capture.
but yeah if the band want a click track thats cool
Sticking to the tempo of a musical piece does not make a it sound lifeless… In classical music it is a must and it does sound beautiful. And, having a click track does not mean that every instrument is gonna be perfectly in synch. Probably not. But it guves the musicians a reference which is very important to produce a coherent song.
Now, an experienced musician maybe doesn’t need it. But probably has it embedded in the brain.
The target of the small article I wrote is the not so experienced musicians (when recording). Which are the ones that would actually read such an article.
/Lukas