I'm 66 and don't desire to play in bands no more. I'm interested in playing again but at home, with backing tracks, floor pedals and headphones. Thanks for relevant material.
Great tips. On tip #10, we were playing this gig when the drummer's bass pedal broke; while he did a quick, 5-6 minute reparation, we were able to continue because we did a couple of songs with drums in the backing tracks... files that we used for drumless practice. Same thing happened another time: the guitarist was involved in a traffic accident on the way to the show and we where able to start on time playing songs that were not too guitar heavy but with the guitar parts in the backing tracks.
I've been struggling with backing tracks for about 3 years. And you managed to gather and organize all the information I found and more. Your channel is exactly what I've been needing. Thanks, I really appreciate it.
I love two tips in particular: including spoken cues (e.g. "4, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1"); and giving the drummer one knob to boost the level of the click track. I used to play in a Blondie tribute band that used quite a few backing tracks, and we did occasionally get out of sync, usually because our drummer didn't quite hear the start of the click, so ended up a beat or two behind the track.
Hi Scott, I have learned a lot from your videos. Thank you. My drummer hated the idea of playing to tracks and a click but I wanted to put my keyboard on backing tracks so I could get out from behind the keys and focus on being a better frontman. With a programed click the performance was stilted and sterile, the drummer really hated it! So I recorded a live “rehearsal” just the two of us without the rest of the band- drums with just 1 mic and my keys direct in one mono channel . Then I had him record his own click playing to his original drum track using a cowbell sound triggered by one key on my keyboard. This created a custom click that was based on his performance and had the natural ebb and flow/swing that was missing. This solved the issue he had with playing to a click so we did it for all our songs. (It also helped to prevent him from speeding up each song, :)
Oh man, my drummer was the same, he hated click tracks and never was able to keep steady beat so I totally gave up on backing tracks because as usual I'd be doing all the work. At least you got it going....I failed.
@@M5guitar1 yeah I know quite a few great drummers actually that can't play to a click. Kind of make some useless nowadays. Fortunately the drumline I work with now is awesome with a click. He always shined in the studio when it came time to work with the click but now we are working with backing tracks and our problem is fundage for gear. Glad I came across this video now I got a few ideas how to approach this from a different perspective as long as we can get him a click in his ear we should be all good. Great video thanks for posting new subscriber for sure.
Wow, experience is undeniably valuable! When you gig as much as you apparently do you quickly figure out what works and what doesn’t work so well. Thank you so much !!
Excellent breakdown of the backing track pros , cons and tips. Im in a duo and it always seems to be some kind of compromise, too much , too little , none , everything.. 🤯 i think you nailed at the end when you say people are there to enjoy themselves whether youre a one man show or a 10 piece band, so if youre having fun on stage the audience will enjoy it too. 👍🎶
"Focus on the performance" mate, I've just found your channel. I work as a drummer/MD/Playback engineer and I love hearing other peoples methods. I'm always learning. So much useful info here. I always think - I'd rather have all the options and know how to utilise them just in case. Then your own taste comes into play when using tracks. I toured fro years with an artist that had lots on track and we only had vocals, electric guitar and drums live. The general paying public just want a great performance... all this stuff can enhance that. Thanks!
This is nice for all the new kids: and for me, I still pick up some good tips from this. I'm into loops now, but I still use tracks. I remember how everyone was telling me that it was not real music, but they weren't getting my pay and it was so much simpler for me. Thanks for all the great ideas.
Good video, one tip I'd like to add though, it may seem simple, but it can be overlooked NEVER, EVER, STREAM TRACKS. I've seen too many people rely on mobile data or venue wifi (assuming the venue even has wifi) to play their tracks, and it NEVER goes smoothly. Always locally store your files!! For effects, my guitarist and vocals run through my setup, so my daw applied the effects live in track with the song. And for varying band lineups, what I like to do is separate the band parts of the song (drums, guitar), and put them in the daw with the rest of the song, but as separate tracks. This way, if a member can't make it, I just unmute the track and boom! Back in action
Absolutely! Good advice. Never stream tracks! And that’s a cool way to do the effects too. I did something similar (kind of), but I ended up overloading my laptop haha
Glad I found your channel. Ive been a working musician for many years and have been apprehensive using backing backing tracks when I play solo. I've finally decided to give it a shot and your channel has helped immensely with getting me headed in the right direction. Thank you again. Looking forward to more videos.
Fantastic video! This has given me the confidence I needed to take my 'one man band' live with a laptop in absence of having a drummer - hopefully getting out there in any capacity will help me find one so it doesn't look as awkward on stage!
The Karaoke-Versions tip is an excellent one. They produce very good covers, almost indistinguishable except for the vocals. That’s not an issue when simply using various parts for backing tracks, i.e. pads, synths, etc. The files are MP3 though. But recently they added the option to download WAV files. The WAV file options are ~$24 and ~$60. One being labeled for hobbyists, and the other having an ASCAP/BMI type license with it, presumably allows for public performance. I think in most cases that type of issue belongs to the venue. Good tips for incorporating backing tracks to a live performance. They are great for practicing solo too.
It helped me realize that I can add backing tracks with various instruments and leave out certain instruments. I also learned that some things I'm already doing, such as having an extra smartphone, and using a click track to count into my songs.
I just did my first gig using your tip for sending click and tracks thru a dual DI to my personal mixer. Having the ability to control volume on the monitor mix, click, and tracks was fantastic. Thanks a million for the tip!
Great video, Scott. Our band have been using tracks for about 12 years since our keyboard player departed (musical differences ;-) ). Only the drummer (that's me) can hear the click track. We also have song name announcements and I have a few points where I have cues to remind me that e.g. we're reaching the end of the song - as you said, some songs have seemingly endless outros - repeat until we can't remember where we are! We had been using an iPad app that our bassplayer used, but in our first post-covid gig (just in December there!) we switched that around so that I'm running the tracks using a bit of software I wrote (in Java) and running on a PC. We have the whole setlist set up in that, and before each song I can click a button to have it send out MIDI patch changes to switch patches on my kit (Roland VDrums). My feed from the desk includes the click, plus a bit of everything else, but most especially the click! That is patched through the drum module into my headphones so I have a bit of control of the levels reaching my ears and can turn up the click with one knob on the module or down if I can't hear myself play (OK, that doesn't happen very often 🙂). Next up is to convince our lead guitarist to also take a MIDI feed for pre-song patch changes - that's often the limiting factor on keeping things quick between songs, as he dances the Dashing White Sergeant on his pedal. The set manager program I wrote can also run a MIDI track alongside the audio for in-song MIDI changes, but we haven't tried that yet. Good to hear from others that are taking very similar approaches. The other thing we haven't tried is your point about having inter-song music or extended intros to cover the gaps. I might look into that... Thanks for sharing your ideas and tips.
Excellent video!! We've been using Backing Tracks (BT's) for the last 4 or 5 years. I've also been using Karaoke Version and the actual songs moggs to create them. I have a old cell phone I use as my main unit connected directly to a XR-18 Behringer. And I also have my own actual mobile, and two tablets as backups. Each musician has a monitoring app to make their own mix and I use Setlist Helper for my setlists and BT's control with a bluetooth page turner pedal to manage the show.
Just wanted to plus 1 this video. My live setup is a laptop running Ableton Live, MainStage (software synths) and DMXis (controlling lights). I run a stereo mix, a track to automate my HX Stomp patch changes, a track to automate my keyboard patch changes, and a track to automate my DMX lights. Works great! One downside is that you really need two computers for this, because there IS no show without the laptop. But you can buy a 2015 Mac laptop used for about $399 and it's good enough. That's what I have. And it's amazing to not have to worry about anything. One downside is that you have to rehearse like MAD to make sure all the backing tracks, guitar patches, and keyboard patches are the same volume level.
Yes, for sure always have a backup! Although the same is true about a guitar amp and stuff like that too. You do always need backups for live shows in general 👍 Thanks for commenting!
Thank you for this, Scott. I teach lessons for a living and I often get some of my students together to perform for their family and friends. I often find myself playing the role of mix engineer, musical director, stage tech, guitarist, and percussionist all in the same gig. I've been looking into backing tracks to elevate our production value as well as lessen my need to accompany them so I can focus on mixing. This has been immensely helpful and you are an excellent teacher!
Excellent video Scott! I'll keep this short, but I totally agree with you about using backing tracks. Other "musicians" frown upon them, but as I was telling one musicians even yesterday, "We are NOT performing for MUSICIANS, we are performing for non musicians who are paying for our entertainment. Other musicians do not financially support our art. Music lovers do." I'll stop here before I get the soap box out! haha P.S. I always hit the thumbs up bc I learn tons AND I know you put so much into them. Thanks!
Thanks Izzy! And yeah, I personally have never heard a good reason not to use them. And almost every single musician I’ve heard say “no tracks” has eventually used tracks. People can do what they want, but I definitely like using them. Thanks again!
I started playing live in the late 80's through the 90's and through 2002. I had a great career since then in flight simulation, training air force pilots and working for the FAA in research and development. I'm out of that now and am going to play life music for whatever time I have left. Your videos are great for catching me up on the tech of life music now. We used none of this back then. So thanks a million man!
Awesome videos! Helped get me and my band started on backing tracks! Only having piano and drums at band practice due to musicians not showing up sucked and this has helped us round out our sound with bass backing tracks and adding keyboard layers with Moog and Hammond sounds.
Hi Scott, I really like the tip on adding players and having different versions of the backing tracks to fill the gig! Great info and video once again! Thanks
Great tips, thanks. I've always fed my tracks into the Behringer to split the click and music but using the double DI box seems a much better idea as gives more control.
Such a wealth of shared experience! Thank you so much, Scott! (I'm doing a solo act in Dominican Republic these days, with sax as lead for covers, as an amateur sax enthusiast - people enjoy a lot :-) )
Appreciate your tips, Scott! As I move from solo guitar/vocal to adding my own BT's and looping, I particularly noticed your first tip: having a back-up. I'll address that! Thank you.
Very informative! After nearly fifty years of using various backing devices clubs and casuals, I’ve settled with Stage Traxx 3 as a controller, running playlists for various genres generated in BIAB or midi. The new ST3 version can loop sections, which is handy. My female vocalist has her tracks on a separate iPad and has a song ready when mine ends. You’re correct in stating how important having backup is. Important also to be able to play everything without them.
@@ScottUhlMusic Another tip for tracks is in the song title. Putting the key after the title and an ‘I’ for intro or ‘N’ for no intro /cold start saves a lot of grief when you deal with a large library. I’ll also put info the lyrics to steer me or sidemen through the track. If it’s something I don’t use often, that’s really helpful
I perform in Baja Mexico at various bars and restaurants and when I lost a couple of my bandmates and it is so much easier for everything and with a few margaritas, I don't have any silly critics about using tracks. I am now using a Bose S1 Pro plus and an IPad with Onsong and I can plug in my guitar and microphone, and take the right side track into speaker. I wish I could figure out how to go direct to my left ear for the track without having to use a mixer which would greatly add to the portability and lack of electricity at some of my beach gigs.
Great job, Scott! One thing I learned in using backing and click tracks is to be self-contained. This way the band can go from venue to venue and maintain a consistent backing track set-up and have sole control over what we hear in our in-ears. At one time we would send the sound operator both the click and backing track and rely on them to route it back to us. It proved to be problematic. Either they would inadvertently mute the click or mess with the levels to the point we couldn't hear the track. Your segment on the Drummer Click Safety Knob is a variation of how we're set up. From our track source, the click and backing track go directly to the drummer; the rest of us get just the backing track.
I started using backing tracks from Karaoke-Version about ten years ago. They are excellent. I got tired of flaky, unreliable band mates, and went solo. At first I was a little reluctant and even self conscience about what might be considered 'cheating'. But the audience loved it, and it gave so much more depth to the music. I'm glad to see it become more common. ( A year or so ago I went to a show by a major act, and I noticed he was using backing tracks and MIDI a lot, so now I figure if a big money professional can do it, why not me?)
I use same source, then use Audacity to customize, add vocal cues and only download the parts missing from our 4 piece. Drummer gets the click....PA gets the music and its the ONLY way you can sound authentic like the records, still have live vocals and rhythm and not have to hire a ton of musicians.
It depends, just like anything there's a fine line between using it as a crutch or to mask bad performing, or using it as an enhancement that takes a performance from good to outstanding.
I'm a solo performer, just me and my guitar, and am struggling with the thought of using backing tracks... HOWEVER.... I must admit the audience would probably enjoy the sound of more instruments. I'm considering it. Guess you use them and never looked back?
@@garybradley1510 I do both solo gigs just me and my acoustic as well as full rock band gigs, I'd say it totally depends on your style and situation. For me, I'm physically LAZY. So I just don't want to lug around any extra gear and set up any extra stuff. I like the simplicity of just me, my guitar, my JBL EON Tower, a mic stand, and 2 cords. When we play with the band it's a totally different story, that's all in-ear monitors and full PA and light show, but for solo, I just want to roll in with all my gear in one trip, which is important around here, parking close with all the gear isn't always easy for my solo options. I say physically lazy, because I'll do whatever it takes, hours and hours of practice to make it sound good with just me and my guitar just to not have to plug in another cord lol. But anyway, that's my situation and what I've learned, hopefully it helps you make an informed decision for you!
Well presented....Nice job. Working in a duo (guitar, singer) - usually limit the track arrangements to drums, perc, bass, and harmonic support (piano/acoustic guitar) My biggest issue is keeping myself "chained to the track" while not allowing performance energy or emotional energy to alter my flow and disconnect from the track! Other than that - A great tool, to say the least. Thanks again.
Been using tracks for a while now and the best thing I've found is the Voicelive 3 Extreme. Each channel preset can be assigned its own song so I never have to take my hands off my guitar to switch to the next song.
Really excellent video. Our usual lineup is me on guitar my wife on keys and vocals and a female lead vocalist who plays a little guitar. We have used tracks for bass and drums mostly though we do on occasion sweeten them a bit with some brass parts. Karaokeversion has been our goto for tracks and in general they are very good. I picked up from you a better way to use the click and from a later video moved everything to Stagetraxx 3 after your recommendation. Best money I have ever spent on a program. Thanks for all the words of wisdom from this 50+ year veteran.
Good info. We’re an alternative/hip hop duo with no band behind us so our entire performance is backing tracks. People love us everywhere we go yet I somehow still feel weird about it.
thanks again Scott.. your info/advice is definitely helpful.. I'd like to see/hear a video of how you mix down the backing track stems to arrive to the final backing track mix.. especially from the point of view of using them for your duo setup.
The backing track website was super helpful. I have a helix and do vocals. I was wanting to start doing cover artist shows in my area, but high end quality musicians are hard to find. making my own tracks was shaping up to be a huge time commitment on top of needing them to be leveled professionally. So this just opened the doors a lot to streamline this process and save money. I also loved the idea of having a few different options of tracks in case I do find musicians to work with that can come in and out of the set
Yeah that site is super helpful. Sometimes they sound pretty awful and I’ll add strings or something to them, but for the most part they are really good and saves me a TON of time
Scott, just wanted to say thank you for all your videos. By far the best videos on you tube for live performance tips, midi programming, backing tracks, click set up You have turned our incredibly completed show into a seamless running machine that’s as professional as it gets. Thanks a million for doing these videos 🤙
Great video! I’ve watched several of your vids, they are amazing! I’m a singer also a songwriter and producer and I am planning on playing live by myself with backing tracks and this was so helpful I will definitely watch all of your other videos! Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!! 😃
Amazing video! I must agree on your controverial take, my band and I lost two bandmembers to flakeyness. Unfortunately they had very unique skillsets and were therefore difficult to just replace, so we just decided to switch to backing tracks and your videos really helped us out a lot. Thanks
So happy I stumbled across your channel. Gonna pass this along to my grandkids so they can learn about backing tracks and using suggested gear. Great job, thanks. Just subscribed and now it's time to check out all your other videos.
Looking to start a new project and am keen to be using clicks and backing tracks so some good tips but really keen to go back and look at your playlist on building backing tracks. Looks like your channel is going to be a priceless find, cheers.
Hey Scott great videos so thank you - new subscriber! I use StageTraxx 3 which is a brilliant playback app worth looking at but I am also looking to your video on Multitracker which is looks like it has great potential for adjusting what instruments to be used. However I believe the developer is due to put out a major update soon so you may want to check that out?
@@brianlewis2641 Oh nice, I'll have to check that out. I haven't heard of that. I still need to dive deeper into this program. It's pretty crazy all it can do!
Hi Scott this was eye opening!! We are getting our Funk fusion band back together and the Keyboardist is out. We are knew to using backing tracks, but form all 10 tips was great!! especially the drummer click and the adding it to the board with a separate small mixer. also having full backup of all your track, was eye opening. Really enjoyed your teaching/info sharing style!! PROPS!!!!
I used that karaoke site when I helped a theatre group. Up until then it had been cheesy midi backing. Also you pay once and alter the track as many times as you like
It's a thought I've had before, but this video has sort of re-inspired me to do fully produced tracks for my acoustic set -- light drums, bass, everything -- and just mute the parts I intend to play. I like the idea of a more freeform gig with acoustic stuff, but there are so many songs I find feel lacking with just one guitar. "Endlessly, She Said" by AFI is one that I do where the guitar parts are a bit thin, so having a bass and some percussion would be good. And I have yet to find a way to do "Boys of Summer" so it sounds good with one guitar. Also, karaoke-version was a good shout. it's worth three bucks to me to hear the backing vocals by themselves, even knowing I'm going to re-record them in my own voice.
