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Thread: Click tracks

  1. #1

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    For those with iPhones/iPads/MacBook what is the best app to get to set up clock tracks for a full set list? I’m looking for something straight forward and simple.
    Six Piece Mapex Saturn V, Five Piece DW Performance Series, NOS Slingerland Snares, Centent Ardor and Emperor Cymbals


  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by DrumWhipper View Post
    For those with iPhones/iPads/MacBook what is the best app to get to set up clock tracks for a full set list? I’m looking for something straight forward and simple.
    Will you be playing to pre programmed music like a sequencer or something similar?

  3. #3

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    "American composer and critic Daniel Gregory Mason wrote that the use of the metronome is "dangerous" because it leads musicians to play by the measure or beat instead of the phrase, at the expense of liveliness, instinct, and rhythmical energy. He references that "good performances" commonly feature retardations and accelerations, in contrast to the steady beat of a metronome.[41] This opinion has also been expressed by music teachers; for example, teacher Jennifer Merry relates the steady beat of a metronome to the structure of contemporary popular music, and says that both factors hinder understanding of rhythm and tempo in young children.[42] These criticisms emphasize the importance of intuition, nuances, and style, rather than the rigid, steady beat of a metronome.

    Many notable composers, including Felix Mendelssohn, Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi, and Johannes Brahms, also criticized use of the metronome."

    If I go back to 1961 and my 1st band and jump up to 2005, I've probably played 10-12K gigs. If you are playing a song at 100BPM and the guitar player has a solo and gets up to 103-4 BPM, if you go with him (or her) and assuming you are working with good musicians, he (she) will notice and you can bring them back to time.

    On the other hand, if you are playing a rigid 100BPM and the guitar player is at 103-4, everybody will know the song is dragging.

    Metronomes belong with cowbells and china cymbals, sleeping with the fishes.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  4. #4

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    Saw a band the other day that used a click track. It was frightening. Even with that they couldn't get it going. I think it messed them up more than it helped them.

  5. #5

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    I played to a click track for 4 years. The band I was in at the time used a sequencer to play all the bass parts , they were programmed by our keyboard player. In this case the click was necessary for me to keep the band in time with the sequencer. Over time I learned how to play around with the click , pushing and pulling it , keeping the feel of the songs natural and not robotic. During this time I was also playing a Simmons SDS7 E-kit.

    When that band ended and I went back to an acoustic kit and playing without a click it took me a full year to get my crap back together. Playing to a click for 4 years messed me up , I became dependent on it. Playing without it felt strange , it became a crutch. I swore I'd never do it again and I haven't. I think it's fine in a studio setting where you may be recording a few songs or an album , but not for every song every night for any length of time.

  6. #6

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    "I became dependent on it"

    That's what happens. In all the years that I've played I have heard it all: too loud, too soft, too much drums, not enough drums, but never once was my timing called into question.

    In the early '70's when I used to go to jams up in Harlem, you would have somebody come over and snap their fingers and say that that's the tempo they want. Some would tell you that they like a lot of drums in their song, and some would say to stay in the windows.

    You play the damn drums, if your timekeeping is that bad, someone will let you know rather quickly I would guess.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  7. #7

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    I’ve seen the dependency thing hurt drummers. I know one who never played without one. He was playing in church when the click went out. He froze up. He didn’t know what to do.
    Six Piece Mapex Saturn V, Five Piece DW Performance Series, NOS Slingerland Snares, Centent Ardor and Emperor Cymbals


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