Why I Use Click Tracks
- By Cory Alstad
- Published April 19, 2008
Cory Alstad
Cory is the Worship Pastor at North Langley Community Church in Langley, BC, as well as one of the Click Track producers for PraiseCharts. Cory has been involved in the music world professionally for over 10 years. He is an accomplished keyboardist as well as a writer and arranger, and has had his music featured on both national television and radio. He plays regularly in the Vancouver area with worship leader Andy Park and other artists. Cory is married to Sheri and together they have 3 kids and a cute (though sometimes annoying) dog, Henri.
I love Click Tracks. Now, when I tell you that I’m one of the Click Track producers with Praise Charts, you might (legitimately) argue that I’m biased. But the truth of the matter is, I’ve used click tracks now for many years and I am completely hooked on them! It’s a great thing to be able to produce them for PC but the truth of the matter is, even if I didn’t, I would still be using them on my own. Well, actually, wait a second – I do use them on my own! I’m a Worship Pastor and have been doing this now for, hmmmm – yes, it’s been about 8 years of full time ministry. Wow. That’s quite a while – I still feel young. But, I digress. There are a few reasons why I use click tracks that I’d like to share with you!
One of the big things is that the band is just SO much tighter. It’s true. In fact, recently I was watching a video recording of our Easter services and I was so happily amazed at how tight everything felt and sounded. And this was on a video where the audio had not really been mixed for video. You know what I mean, right? You’ve probably had that experience where you’re watching a video of yourself or the band and it sounds terrible because no-one was mixing for audio at all – they just turned on the camera and that’s it! So you’ve got the drums cranked, and the voices cranked – especially that off-tune alto, but no guitar, no keyboard and no bass. Sound familiar? Well, this time around – I was just really amazed with how tight the band was and how full the sound actually was. And I realized that a HUGE part of that was the fact that we were using Click Tracks for a number of the songs. It’s a very cool thing for me to listen to these arrangements (after the fact) without hearing the click in my ear! You see, we run the Aviom in-ear monitoring system and so whenever we’re playing along with a Click Track, I hear that metronome in my ear – “click, click, click, click” – and it keeps us tight. But to hear what the band sounded like without hearing the click was amazing! Everything was locked up, there were no ‘rushing’ or ‘dragging’ problems with the tempo – it was all right there. And it sounded good.
The other thing I really enjoyed was the extra sounds that were coming off the stage from the sequence. We did the song “The Glory of it All” by David Crowder, and I had put a sequence together to kind of keep the same vibe as what he’s got going on in the recording. And hearing it being played along with the live band was a very cool thing – because it just fit so nicely into what was happening with the band. We also used the Click Track for Tim Hughes' "Happy Day" (www.praisecharts.com/2702) which sounded great.
One of the things that I think of when I think of Click Tracks is the word ‘glue’. You see, the Click Track tends to glue things together. Not only does it keep everything rock-solid in the tempo, but it also glues things together in a tonal and musical sense. The extra sounds tend to fill in any ‘gaps’ that might be there with the real band. Often, (let’s be honest) we don’t always have access to professional musicians that will be able to cover everything exactly the way we want it, and this is where Click Tracks are so beneficial. Whether it’s an extra ‘pad’ sound or a cool, lead synth-type sound, there is always something in the Click Track that is complimenting what is going on live.
To me, the bottom line is creating something beautiful. Creating something excellent. Not perfect, but always striving for excellence. In our culture these days, there is a high bar as far as excellence and good quality in music and the arts. The Church should be no different (in my humble opinion). If anyone has good reason to create something beautiful, it’s the followers of Christ! In fact, it’s one of the things, historically that has always been associated with the Church: excellence in the arts. One of our tasks is to reflect the beauty of God into this world, and making great art is one of the key ways that we can do it. I think that Click Tracks are a great tool that can be beneficial in this. It’s the reason that I continue to produce and use them myself! That’s my 2 cents. And now, it’s bed time.
One of the big things is that the band is just SO much tighter. It’s true. In fact, recently I was watching a video recording of our Easter services and I was so happily amazed at how tight everything felt and sounded. And this was on a video where the audio had not really been mixed for video. You know what I mean, right? You’ve probably had that experience where you’re watching a video of yourself or the band and it sounds terrible because no-one was mixing for audio at all – they just turned on the camera and that’s it! So you’ve got the drums cranked, and the voices cranked – especially that off-tune alto, but no guitar, no keyboard and no bass. Sound familiar? Well, this time around – I was just really amazed with how tight the band was and how full the sound actually was. And I realized that a HUGE part of that was the fact that we were using Click Tracks for a number of the songs. It’s a very cool thing for me to listen to these arrangements (after the fact) without hearing the click in my ear! You see, we run the Aviom in-ear monitoring system and so whenever we’re playing along with a Click Track, I hear that metronome in my ear – “click, click, click, click” – and it keeps us tight. But to hear what the band sounded like without hearing the click was amazing! Everything was locked up, there were no ‘rushing’ or ‘dragging’ problems with the tempo – it was all right there. And it sounded good.
The other thing I really enjoyed was the extra sounds that were coming off the stage from the sequence. We did the song “The Glory of it All” by David Crowder, and I had put a sequence together to kind of keep the same vibe as what he’s got going on in the recording. And hearing it being played along with the live band was a very cool thing – because it just fit so nicely into what was happening with the band. We also used the Click Track for Tim Hughes' "Happy Day" (www.praisecharts.com/2702) which sounded great.
One of the things that I think of when I think of Click Tracks is the word ‘glue’. You see, the Click Track tends to glue things together. Not only does it keep everything rock-solid in the tempo, but it also glues things together in a tonal and musical sense. The extra sounds tend to fill in any ‘gaps’ that might be there with the real band. Often, (let’s be honest) we don’t always have access to professional musicians that will be able to cover everything exactly the way we want it, and this is where Click Tracks are so beneficial. Whether it’s an extra ‘pad’ sound or a cool, lead synth-type sound, there is always something in the Click Track that is complimenting what is going on live.
To me, the bottom line is creating something beautiful. Creating something excellent. Not perfect, but always striving for excellence. In our culture these days, there is a high bar as far as excellence and good quality in music and the arts. The Church should be no different (in my humble opinion). If anyone has good reason to create something beautiful, it’s the followers of Christ! In fact, it’s one of the things, historically that has always been associated with the Church: excellence in the arts. One of our tasks is to reflect the beauty of God into this world, and making great art is one of the key ways that we can do it. I think that Click Tracks are a great tool that can be beneficial in this. It’s the reason that I continue to produce and use them myself! That’s my 2 cents. And now, it’s bed time.
Spread The Word
4 Responses to "Why I Use Click Tracks" 
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said this on 20 Apr 2008 2:39:43 PM CDT
When you are playing with the click tracks, how are you using them? In other words, I'm assuming the click side is going into everybody's headphones, and the audio track is coming through the house with your instruments? I'm going to have to try that. It sounds like a really cool idea. Do you burn them to CD so you don't have to worry about the computer messing up?
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Author/Admin)|
said this on 21 Apr 2008 9:43:53 AM CDT
Hey Michael - thanks for the comment!
With the click track it is exactly as you've described. We make the stereo tracks so that the 'click' part (or metronome) is panned off to the left and the 'sequence' is panned off to the right. I use an audio/midi interface with my laptop and so I send a 1/4 inch cable from the left out, into a DI box, and that goes to a particular channel. Because we use the Aviom system it works for everyone to hear the click. The sound guy just knows to keep that particular channel muted to the house. So the band are the only ones that hear the click. Obviously it's most important for the drummer to hear the click, but being in-ear, it's nice for us all to hear it. And then with the sequence I send a 1/4 inch cable from the right out on my interface. That also goes to a DI and that channel gets mixed by the sound guy as another instrument. So we hear it in our monitors and the audience hears it as well. As far as your question about a CD - using a disc man or whatever is a bit dangerous because of all of the 'physical' music going on (bass, kick) and the disc can easily skip. I've heard a few stories about that. Instead, using a lap top is a great way to go, or a number of guys I've talked to, simply use their ipod and have a stereo mini that is split into 2 cables - right and left and the same scenerio as I've described above. The way that we've produced these click tracks is so that they're a high quality, stereo mp3. So it's actually not a big deal for the computer to play it - I use quick time to play the files - never have had a problem. I wouldn't normally use Reason or another recording software to run stuff live - would just feel a bit too risky - although I have done it before. Hope this helps - if you want a more detailed description check out the below page on Praise Charts and also check out our catalogue of Click Tracks. I think they're great! http://www.praisechar ts.com/clicktracks Let me know if I can help you out in any other way! In Christ, Cory |
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said this on 01 Jul 2008 12:56:03 PM CDT
Help! I need "Click Tracks for Dummies"! We don't have in ear monitors and I'm not sure how to use the click tracks at all really. We have very basic equipment and a small band and I think click tracks could really inhance our sound but don't even know where to get started.
Thanks! |
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said this on 02 Jul 2008 2:24:21 PM CDT
Hey Kristal - want to email me at corya@nlcc.ca and I'll be happy to walk you through it. I agree with you - click tracks will really enhance your sound and your band!
Talk to you soon! |