BECAUSE OF MY RECENT TEACHING EXPERIENCES I’M POSTING THIS AGAIN. EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PLAY TO THE CLICK. HERE’S HOW…

Today’s discussion is about the famous “click track.”

A term used to literally describe the track on a tape or computer recording system that is dedicated solely to the metronome. A concept first developed in film production when they wanted to align musical cues with the action that was happening on screen. The conductor would listen to a click track printed directly onto the audio portion of a film and conduct the orchestra to match what was happening in the movie. Then it became a staple in studio recording. Now we use it for live playing as much as we do for studio work.

Playing with a click or metronome is one of the biggest challenges for musicians. From my early years of study on drums, percussion, and piano all of my teachers required that I practice with this tool of the trade. And so it is today. I use it for EVERYTHING! Practicing, recording, and live events get the same attention to the mark of the metronome. The infamous b.p.m. (beats per minute) rules the drummer’s life.

I’ve played with clicks, clacks, pops, beeps, dings, and many other sounds. So let me show you a few tricks to make this experience more enjoyable. Hopefully this will help you and the whole band feel like the click track is your friend.

Ultimately you should be able to listen to whatever is sent to you as a click sound. There are still times when I have to listen to an annoying pop or beep.

The main thing is to be the team player and don’t complain. But if you can be the one who creates the click then make it something you want to hear all day.

There are some sessions where they like to hear that old sampled pop that is typical on the Akai MPC machines. I normally like to have a soft sounding high cowbell sound on the quarter notes and then use a small shaker for the subdivisions of the beat.  Some want a different sound on the quarter note (or pulse) of the song. Other players I’ve talked to like to hear just a shaker playing 8^th notes, 16ths, or triplets depending on the feel of the tune. Be careful with the sound of the shaker you use for a click. There are times the sample hits a little strangely and it doesn’t sound steady. That’s why I normally choose a short snap shaker sound.  WOW!  Say that fast 4 times. “Short snap shaker sound”…….

There are so many metronome devices on the market today there’s no excuse for all musicians not have one. I just got a music distributors catalog in the mail today and the whole back cover is full of metronomes. Everything from a basic $11 mini version up to multi-functional Yamaha Clickstation that list for $189. I don’t think Yamaha even makes that anymore except as an app for your iPhone or droid. I also like the Tama RhythmWatch or the Boss DB-90.

If you can spend a little more I highly recommend getting one of the little drum machines rather than an ordinary metronome. In stores everywhere and on line there are always drum machines for sale. You can easily spend under $200 and get a machine that will work great. An Alesis SR-16 is a great little inexpensive machine. You can even use a foot switch to start & stop it. I keep the switch by the heel of my hi-hat pedal.  I like to use the percussion sounds that I can program rather than a plain click or beep sound. The main point is to start with something that works for your budget. There’s just no reason not to have a metronome.

The first time you play to a click can be a very frustrating experience.

I recommend starting with the metronome playing double time. In other words if you want to play notes at 80 b.p.m. set your device to play 160 b.p.m. and so on. If your machine can play the subdivided notes then you can easily keep the main pulse at 80 and then let the other sound play double time. (ie: cowbell on ¼ notes and the shaker on 1/8^th notes) Listen and count for several bars before you start to play. 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4; then begin. We call this “internalizing the time.” Stay very relaxed and keep your strokes smooth. Don’t allow any stiffness in your arms, wrists, or fingers. If you feel your tempo is wandering a little don’t tense up. Just try to feel the pulse and lock into it. If you get totally lost; STOP! Breathe; start counting again; internalize the time; and start again. You should feel your ears and hands locking into the sound of the click. I often tell my students not to think of a click as isolated blips, but as long notes that are connected. Picture in your mind the bouncing ball image. “Follow the bouncing ball!” If you think of clicks and all percussion sounds as having length it should be easier to keep the proper tempo spacing in your playing. I had one teacher tell me to thing of the pulse of music as being “round,” not pointed or square. Whatever picture you can use to get this idea hang on to it. It really does work!

I would also use ear buds or headphones to listen to the click. Most metronomes have a headphone plug. Use it!  In most band settings this is the way you should monitor the sound anyway. Don’t send the click sound through the speakers. If you have to, get your own small headphone mixer.

Again, they are easily found in music stores and catalogs. In one channel I have the monitor line sent to me (2 lines if a stereo mix is available). I send my click line into a totally separate channel. If I’m using drum loops, that is also in a separate channel from the click and mix sends.  Having the music mix and the click in separate channels allows you to adjust levels according to the moment. In softer songs you can turn the click down, but when everything is loud you might need to turn it up.

Trust me; there have been enough times when I couldn’t control the click volume, and I wished I had taken the time to set up my little mixer. If I have no choice I will ask the engineer to send me the click at a much higher level in my mix so that I know the music will never cover it. This can be very annoying if you have to listen to a loud click the whole time you are playing.

But do what you have to keep your tempos steady.

I use a click for everything. Besides always using it “on the job,” I use a click when practicing rudiments, snare and drum kit studies, and even when I’m soloing. At least 95% of my work out is with a metronome or drum machine.

Try different ways of using the click. I’ll set up only a ¼ note pulse for some exercises. If I’m mixing the subdivisions of the beat I don’t want the machine playing them for me. It might be interesting to hear triplets against 1/16^th notes, but sometimes I really want to focus on just the main pulse.  If the primary feel is heavy with a certain subdivision then I will allow that to keep playing.

For the opposite approach try playing with a click only on the “off beats.”

Rather than hearing the ¼ note pulse, only hear the “and” of the beat (for 8^th notes) or the “and ah” part of the beat if you playing a 1/16 note feel. Try other variations of this concept. If you use a drum machine, program a pattern that accents the notes you “don’t” play. When you do this you really get a feel for how well you are grooving around the time, because you can hear the other notes. The ones that you’re “not” playing. You should think of the machine as another player and begin to relax as you play along with the click. Again let me emphasize the word RELAX! Stay loose!

Other tricks that are fun would consist of leaving beats out. Have the machine click 1, 2, 3, but rest on 4. Try any variation of this you’d like. You could also count the clicks as only sounding on beats 2 & 4 and you have to place the 1 and 3 in the gaps along with all the patterns you are trying to play. I got that idea from my friend Don Harris; an outstanding bass player with impeccable time. By the way he always practices with a metronome too.

If you play with a basic click on ¼ notes try keeping the volume of the machine down. When your time is perfect you won’t even hear the click. We call that “burying the click.”  This is also a great way to tell when your playing “on top” (a little ahead of the click) or “laid back” (slightly behind the click). Mentally you almost feel like the machine is rushing or dragging, but believe me it’s you, not the click, that’s moving. Don’t become tense when you hear this. Concentrate and become aware of your feel of the time. There are musical settings when you want to change where you feel the tempo. The key is to learn what it feels like and to be able to control it at will. A little pushing and pulling can be very musical, but keep it smooth. Never let it feel like you’re jerking the time around. Again, RELAX!

If you start using a click everyday you should notice your time improving.

Hopefully all the musicians will start doing this as part of their routine as well. But even if no one else does, do it for yourself and for the sake of the music. Your team will notice the difference.

Maybe you can suggest that everyone use a headphone monitoring system and listen to the click with you. Even if they do just at rehearsals it will help. I know several groups that have gotten so comfortable with it that they use it all the time.  It’s amazing how the whole band will improve their time as you all play along to your friend the click track.