Click Track & Live Drums

[Big Tyme]

What is the purpose of a click track when recording live drums???

[gargoyle]

Well, if you have a click trak and it is to a grid, than, everybody including the drummer is playing to that...IF YOU LIKE!

If not, fine. Some drummers don't or can't play to a clik, while some can and like it and can play in front of it or behind it or until you can't hear the clik at all.

Back to the grid thing. If your song is to a clik and is to the grid than you have the option of flying in parts or re-arranging the whole song. after. You will have to be a bit creative with blending the parts.

As an experiment, I tried to record my own version of Elvis' "Return to Sender" the big hit version. The timing on that one moves around a lot, very cool! So what I'm saying is if you work to a grid/clik it's possible that you may never eclipse Elvis. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Sean

[J. FO]

unless you're working with a real pro, chances are most drummers won't play that steady. it's not our fault, it's just that playing that steady just isn't all that natural. a click provides a reference point for everyone, and for me takes my mind off of thinking about time. i can just play to the guy that only ever plays the cowbell but sometimes the woodblock.

[BradLyons]

Even some of the best studio drummers out there use click tracks....so don't be afraid to use one yourself.

[Critical Bill]

My band always records to a click. Keeps the music tight. And flying parts is great. Why have a singer sing the chorus 3 or 4 times in a song, especially when he is doing multiple harmonies, when you can cut and paste it. Sounds great everytime.

In my opinion, if a drummer can't work with a click, they need to practice more. I know James Jamerson Jr., son of the Motown bass legend. He says when he's in a session and the drummer can't play to the click, they either fire him or they have him play to the click and then the drummer has to play to him. And he has played on hundreds of albums. A drummer is a time keeper, setting the beat of the song. If he can't keep time, what good is he? As a bass player, I religiously practice to a metronome, something I take more seriously since I've seen James work in a studio.

[The Mighty Burner]

It may be worth noting that a click track is useful for recording any instrument, not just drums!

It's also the type of music that makes it appropriate...if it's a rubato type style (free of strict rhythmic meter) like solo jazz guitar, then it's probably not appropriate as the meter is dicatated, at will, by the musician, and the performance hinges on feel more than anything.

Having said that, 99% of popular music uses strict meter (even if it changes tempo), especially music with trap drum kit.

keep trackin,

[GORILLA]

I know These guys drummer Tony and he plays to a click in all their "live" shows! I think he's amazing!!!
www.mp3.com/Nile listen to "black seeds of vengeance"!!!
Their style is deffinitely NOT for everyone, but pretty wild "Egyptian Metal"!!!

[guiroo]

Hey, hey, I just wanna chime in as a drummer and producer.

As a drummer practice, practice, practice with a click. It will improve your sense of time and help you avoid the "run away" fill - which leads to the runaway chorus.

As a producer, I agree with Burner, first consider the style of music. Then consider technical needs. Will it be alot of cut-n-paste? Is it all sequenced? If so, go with a click.

Then consider the drummer. Quality talent should be able to play with or without one. If they put up the "I don't believe in clicks cause they ruin my feel" front then beware the run away fill! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

That being said, if the drummer has good time and you don't need a click for technical purposes then by all means, don't use one cause you'll lose the feel. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[captain54]

Not wanting to play to a click is just an excuse for a lot of undisciplined drummers with sloppy timing to justify their lack of technique...

I am a drummer and practice with a click religiously...it is absolutely imperative to record to a click when you work solo in a studio like I do and fly parts back and forth...once you get used to doing it, it becomes second nature....

who cares if some of the classics from the 50's or 60's didn't follow a strict bpm.....its like saying I can bang on a broken $5 guitar with 4 strings like Robert Johnson did back in the 30's and still make brilliant music....

[English Jim]

"Having said that, 99% of popular music uses strict meter (even if it changes tempo), especially music with trap drum kit."

"who cares if some of the classics from the 50's or 60's didn't follow a strict bpm.....its like saying I can bang on a broken $5 guitar with 4 strings like Robert Johnson did back in the 30's and still make brilliant music.... "

That of course would be part of the reason a lot of "perfect" popular music is er... shall we say not very good. Since when did technology become a substitute for talent? I guess I kind of answered that myself with my first sentence. Since technology allowed mediocre hacks (in front of and behind the glass) to polish poop to within an inch of it's life.

Beck, David Lindley, Kurt Cobain to name but a few have all made "brilliant music" with broken $5 guitars.