JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Bass and Drum Forum Do Click Tracks Stink???

Hey gang, I am a little late chiming in on this one, but better late than never.

Anyway, I blame Mike Caro for addicting me to the click track. Everything he has said above is true and more. When i came into his studio to record and heard the click in my ear, I became a lost puppy. But, I did not rebel against this disturbing machine, I embraced it. And somehow, he knew I would. I swear he's psychic.

I bought a stereo metro for only me to hear and introduced it to the whole band. My, my, did it straighten a lot of rhythm problems out and make the band much tighter. Mainly, because of my improved sense of timing.

I quickly got used to the sound of a click in my ear and found myself not even listening to it but right on the groove. When I did not use the click and it was off, I still heard it in my head and realized my sense of timing had become the click.

When there is a timing problem in a segment of a song it is either the drummer first, then the other musicians. I have found musicians way off the groove and I ask them to play behind the drums during that segment. They are amazed at how much time they have all of a sudden to go from one note to the other with long holes in between. Suddenly playing has become easy allowing for more intense dynamics and feel to the song.

I have brainwashed my band through the use of a solo click track in my ear only. And now, I have become their click track. It allows me to spot timing problems instantly and save time from playing the same part wrong, over and over again.

I test the band after the same song has been clicked for awhile. The transition from verse to chorus, bridge and back to verse again has become smooth and effortless without the use of a click track.

And that is the glory of using a click track. Once you get used to it, the clicking goes way into the background where it belongs and it becomes nothing more than an aid, like a sustain pedal or a wawa box or a cow bell. Using a click track is like learning how to play an instrument. It takes time and practice to get used to it and then it starts to become natural.