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.
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.
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 !!
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
"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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!! 😃
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
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.
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!!!!
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.
Very helpful video. The most valuable one for me was splitting the Click and Trax panned to either sides, and how it’s routed using a DI box. I haven’t gone through your other videos yet. Is there one on how Ableton Live is used to create backing tracks?
Thanks! And I haven’t made tracks in ableton but how I use ableton for tracks, I did a video on that: th-cam.com/video/4VXyFgJTRQ0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=vcKTbA1DuMtBQ1wF
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 🤙
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
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 :-) )
Thanks for the video Scott, great info. Just started experimenting with backing tracks and wasn't sure if I really wanted to make the leap. (Old School Guy) Kinda worried about the backlash from other musicians and the audience. This video not only helped me realize how helpful backing tracks can be. You got a new subscriber and fan here. Looking forward to checking out your library of videos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks! I appreciate it. And in my opinion, unless you are doing super proggy technical stuff that appeals to other musicians…. What other musicians think should not matter. Musicians are some amazing people…. But also probably the most opinionated people I’ve ever met lol. You definitely cannot please them all… so do what’s best for you!
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.
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.
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.
Thanks, I have a 4 piece group + I was playing 1-2 keyboard parts, 2nd guitar and lead vocalist. Too much. I am going to midi Keys and secondary parts. Very helpful in understanding how to make this work and allow me to mainly deal with singing a majority of the time. I appreciate the insight.
Hi Scott... I can't tell you how useful your video is to me. We are just looking at introducing a backing drum track into our act here in the UK and this info has been very helpful indeed. Thanks so much. I've subscribed to you and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your uploads. 👍
Very useful info, Scott. I especially liked the idea of a mixer for the drummer with a Click Track volume knob and a Mix volume knob. As the lone guitarist in a 3-piece, I want to add in rhythm guitar and/or keys to help fill out the sound. But, I need to find a drummer than can play to a click track.
As always you're you are great and explained everything beautifully, one question these street musicians is what kind of backing track box do they use? Thanks, buddy keep up the good work God bless
Thanks! And they likely have all sorts of places they get backing tracks. Everyone does it differently. But the karaoke version is a good place to start looking!
Thank you so so so much!! I will check out the in ear video!! Question, do we need a licence if we are using only bass and keys from backingtracks for cover songs??
Not sure how I got to your video but I freaking love it! Thanks for all this information. I will be watching all your other videos. I learned a lot. Thanks.
Super helpful hints. I just started using backtracks for a singer/drummer combo. The mixer idea is great and I am definitely going to set that up. One thing we struggled with was getting all of the tracks at the same volume. We did 'maximize' the tracks, which gets them close but I am not sure how to normalize across all of the tracks. Any thoughts on how to get consistent volume levels at mix down - or do you just play them through your system and set the playback level for each track? Thanks putting the tips together.
Yeah that’s definitely a problem for sure still with me. I did a song we haven’t played in a long time and realized how loud the tracks were compared to another one. Use LUFS meter. That’s the way to do it… and I need to start doing that too hahaha
Another great video, Scott! Do you have any videos of you performing with your band, with backing tracks? I have a group of musicians that I'm working with and I'm trying to "sell" them on using backing tracks--so, I'd like to share your channel with them and if you have some performance videos, that would be great to show how effective backing tracks can be. Thanks for sharing your expertise with us!
Thanks! I know musicians can be hesitant on that if they are old school. It’s not for everyone, but it’s worth it for most. I have some clips of me performing on my instagram where you can see some of it there 🤘
Very informative! Sorry if I missed this but how do you make your track clicks for in ears? Do you pan the Click all the way to the Left and the track tot he right lets say? Thanks in advance!
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.
Nice! Glad to help 🤘
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.
Glad to help!
Please check out my animation and music youtube.com/@pleaselikeshare?si=vEkhDCTN1QYzF4Ix
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, :)
Nice! That’s awesome! Glad it convinced him with the power of backing tracks 😊
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.
@@M5guitar1 I know your pain. My last drummer was the same 😒
Good problem-solving
Wow, great information ❤. I'm a slow learner and think I'll have to watch each video 5 times before it starts to sink in.
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 !!
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
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.
You popped up on my YT home. I'd been looking into backing tracks to possibly use on some solo projects. You shared a lot of great info. Thanks!
You, sir, are a gentleman, a scholar and a fantastic teacher! I am very thrilled to have stumbled upon your channel!!
Thanks and welcome 🤘🤘
Really helpful and entertaining! Just transitioning to backing tracks and the options are dauntingly wide!
The DI Box through trick is a great idea so the drummer can hear the tracks and not just the click. We will look into that. Thank you!
Yup, our drummer loves it!
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.
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.
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!
Nice! Glad to hear that! 🤘🤘
"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!
Couldn’t agree more, thanks for the comment man 🤘
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!
Well Said. "We are NOT performing for MUSICIANS, we are performing for non musicians who are paying for our entertainment.
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.
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!
Awesome! Glad it helped 🤘 It’s insanely useful for sure. Such a valuable tip. I’m grateful for the musicians who showed me it
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.
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.
Nice! Glad to help!
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?)
Yup! Dealing with bad musicians can be soul sucking for sure. I’ll take tracks over that any day. Although my current band mates are awesome now 👍
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!
Great video, you are SPOT ON on everything you described 😊 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.
Yup, haters will hate, but tracks are a great addition to my setup for sure 👍
usually we get hate from other musicians but when we go to the show everybody has a good time and enjoys the songs we play..
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
Glad to help! It’s definitely a valueable tip 🤘
thank you! my new band is running backing tracks for the first time ever this coming weekend so this was very helpful.
Glad to help!
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.
Bro, may God bless you more and more for how you’re helping me with your tutorial videos!
This is excellent info for us smaller 4 piece bands who need to sound bigger. Always great stuff, Scott.
Thanks man, and yup absolutely!!
Thanks Scott!
Just another note of appreciation for the excellent quality and depth of the information you provide!
Thanks man!
Wow this just explained everything I have been wondering about for a long time. Thank you!!!
🤘🤘
Incredible video. I use tracks exclusively and this has been a tremendous help. Thank you
Thanks!
So much good info in here! Thanks, Scott.
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.
Yeah I’ve done shows where the sound guy sends us the click. It’s been ok so far, but I’ve seen it happen where it’s a real problem before!
A helpful video. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
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.
Thanks Mark 🤘
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.
Thanks! And I kind of go over that here: th-cam.com/video/nw8wZfFSQ2w/w-d-xo.html
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.
Yup ST3 is amazing
@@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
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!
Nice! Glad you found the video helpful 🤘🤘
Excellent 👍👍👍👍
Love seeing the SCA220 on the wall. Love mine. So fun to play.
Nice! Yeah one of my first guitars I ever bought :)
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.
Thanks! I appreciate it!
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.
Thanks! And yes, always have a backup for sure
VERY GOOD , like to order some backingtracks, including bakingvocals !
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!
Thanks man! I appreciate it
@@ScottUhlMusic as do I! Hey if you get to Oklahoma on a gig gimme a shout, I'd love to come see you play
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.
Nice! That’s awesome!
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!! 😃
Thanks, glad the videos have been helpful!
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
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.
Nice! Yeah KV would be good for that for sure
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!!!!
Thanks! Glad to help 🤘
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.
Thanks! Glad you’ve found ST3 as helpful as I have 🤘
It is great help. Very informative, very educational! Congrats!
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful 🤘
Thank you! Learned alot and will come back.
Amazing info!
Glad it was helpful!
You have a really well done channel - thanks ❤
Thank you 😊
Man , really informative and great info!!!
Thank you 🙏
Good info. Thank you 🙏
Glad it was helpful!
Very helpful video. The most valuable one for me was splitting the Click and Trax panned to either sides, and how it’s routed using a DI box.
I haven’t gone through your other videos yet. Is there one on how Ableton Live is used to create backing tracks?
Thanks! And I haven’t made tracks in ableton but how I use ableton for tracks, I did a video on that: th-cam.com/video/4VXyFgJTRQ0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=vcKTbA1DuMtBQ1wF
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 🤙
Thanks Tony! I really appreciate that! Glad the videos have been so helpful 🤘
Scott, you're great!
Thank you 😊
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
THank you for the tip for the Drummer with the small mixer and DI box with the Thru!! Very cool
It’s a super cool setup, and very helpful!
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 :-) )
Nice! Glad to help 😊
Several friends and I have started a band. I'm the drummer and this is excellent info. Thanks for taking the time to post this info.
Glad it was helpful!
Good things to know I'm trying to implement backing tracks....for tonights practice
Great video.
Thanks for the video Scott, great info. Just started experimenting with backing tracks and wasn't sure if I really wanted to make the leap. (Old School Guy) Kinda worried about the backlash from other musicians and the audience. This video not only helped me realize how helpful backing tracks can be. You got a new subscriber and fan here. Looking forward to checking out your library of videos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks! I appreciate it. And in my opinion, unless you are doing super proggy technical stuff that appeals to other musicians…. What other musicians think should not matter. Musicians are some amazing people…. But also probably the most opinionated people I’ve ever met lol. You definitely cannot please them all… so do what’s best for you!
Thank you for this video ! it resolved many of my questions. Greetings from France
Killer work man!
Thank you!
I’m going to do my first solo gig as a guitarist so I will be looking through you videos.
This is the best thing I have ever watched on the internet regrading live music. Mate - legend
Thanks man! Glad to help out 🤘
This was exactly what I needed about adding cues to click for drums live
🤘🤘🤘
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.
That thing is quite cool!
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.
Thanks! And stage Traxx allows for changing the song structure: th-cam.com/video/uUb3M-hYtE4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=G_Cu-6Y08hgGXVPj
Pure gold. This video alone deserve massive subscription!!! ❤
Thank you 🙏
Great overall orientation to playing with tracks. Thanks so much. Will definitely check out your other videos.
Awesome, thank you! 🙏
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.
I always like to keep learning new stuff thank you
Thanks, I have a 4 piece group + I was playing 1-2 keyboard parts, 2nd guitar and lead vocalist. Too much. I am going to midi Keys and secondary parts. Very helpful in understanding how to make this work and allow me to mainly deal with singing a majority of the time. I appreciate the insight.
Great video thank you! Looking forward to watching the playlist on how to make them 😊👍🏼 subscribed for this valuable set of ideas, cheers!
Thanks! And the video is live here: BACKING TRACKS for LIVE PERFORMANCES - COMPLETE Step by Step Guide
th-cam.com/video/nw8wZfFSQ2w/w-d-xo.html
Hi Scott... I can't tell you how useful your video is to me. We are just looking at introducing a backing drum track into our act here in the UK and this info has been very helpful indeed. Thanks so much. I've subscribed to you and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your uploads. 👍
Thank you!
Very useful info, Scott. I especially liked the idea of a mixer for the drummer with a Click Track volume knob and a Mix volume knob. As the lone guitarist in a 3-piece, I want to add in rhythm guitar and/or keys to help fill out the sound. But, I need to find a drummer than can play to a click track.
Yup, it definitely helps a lot to have that fail safe for the drummer!
awesome tip, thanks man ;0
thank you !!
As always you're you are great and explained everything beautifully, one question these street musicians is what kind of backing track box do they use? Thanks, buddy keep up the good work God bless
Thanks! And they likely have all sorts of places they get backing tracks. Everyone does it differently. But the karaoke version is a good place to start looking!
Great tips!
Thanks!
Hi Scott, would like to see a video about solar panel set up for busking, please help, great videos
Thank you so so so much!! I will check out the in ear video!! Question, do we need a licence if we are using only bass and keys from backingtracks for cover songs??
To play it live? No… but you cannot use it for a recording and sell it
@@ScottUhlMusic great thanks so much dear!! I appreciate your response and hope you get all your wanting in your music career. Blessings 🙏
great advice, first gig with backingtracks on saturday 🔥🔥🤟
Nice! Have a great show!
This was a lot of help I’m going on a boat and have never done it before
Great tips, Scott. Thank you. Just getting into your channel, and learning a lot.🤙🏼❤️🤘🏼
Thanks Mick! 🤘
Thank you, super useful! Didn't even think commenting tracks
Glad it helped!
Not sure how I got to your video but I freaking love it! Thanks for all this information. I will be watching all your other videos. I learned a lot. Thanks.
Thanks Joe!
Scott, your videos are excellent. My cover band is considering backing tracks, your experience and thorough explanation is much appreciated.
Thanks! Glad you’ve enjoyed the channel 🤘
Super helpful hints. I just started using backtracks for a singer/drummer combo. The mixer idea is great and I am definitely going to set that up. One thing we struggled with was getting all of the tracks at the same volume. We did 'maximize' the tracks, which gets them close but I am not sure how to normalize across all of the tracks. Any thoughts on how to get consistent volume levels at mix down - or do you just play them through your system and set the playback level for each track? Thanks putting the tips together.
Yeah that’s definitely a problem for sure still with me. I did a song we haven’t played in a long time and realized how loud the tracks were compared to another one. Use LUFS meter. That’s the way to do it… and I need to start doing that too hahaha
Another great video, Scott! Do you have any videos of you performing with your band, with backing tracks? I have a group of musicians that I'm working with and I'm trying to "sell" them on using backing tracks--so, I'd like to share your channel with them and if you have some performance videos, that would be great to show how effective backing tracks can be. Thanks for sharing your expertise with us!
Thanks! I know musicians can be hesitant on that if they are old school. It’s not for everyone, but it’s worth it for most. I have some clips of me performing on my instagram where you can see some of it there 🤘
Thanks a lot, man!
Very informative! Sorry if I missed this but how do you make your track clicks for in ears? Do you pan the Click all the way to the Left and the track tot he right lets say?
Thanks in advance!
Hopefully this video will help you: th-cam.com/video/UmbdfJpxiIE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=umtidDipAQt9nHXb
I appreciate everything. I'm trying to go solo, so this was very helpful. Thanks.
Glad to help 🤘
You are great, you try to cover everything to try to help a musician. Thanks
I appreciate that!
Very very useful. thank you Scott!
🤘🤘