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.
I can't believe how useful this was. I have been using backing tracks for about 5 years now, tried several ways of doing it an I found lost of things that I never thought of. Big THANK YOU, man!
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 !!
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.
Awesome video. Have played for a living all my life (heading toward 78) And now have the desire to do some busking with light drums and bass looped. Thank you for dragging me into the 21st century!
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. 👍🎶
This is great info here!! Plannin on a busking career next Spring :-) Using electric guitar and backing tracks so your vids are invaluable. Thx so much
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
@10:07 THANK YOU! My drummer stumbled onto this whilst messing with a barrage of Y splitters and junk but I knew there had to be a more efficient way. Then I found your video! Not only does this give the drummer the monitor mix from FOH, they now have the click & backing on all separate channels.
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.
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
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!! 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 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!
I'm planning my first ever solo performance after being a home studio musician for the past 10+ years and this video gave me some amazing tips! Especially the idea of putting spoken cues into the click track was something I hadn't even thought about! Thanks a lot!
"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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
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 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!
Super tips again! On song pointers or cues, yes there are times when they might be necessary but if a musician needs them as a memory aide to know, for example, when to play a solo, or number of times to play the end phrase, then they haven't learned the song properly. This is the difference between learning the arrangement and following directions. I program all my own tracks and have no clicks or cues, and learn the lyrics and arrangement by heart. This is the way we used to do it until ipads and MP3s arrived. Yes, it's laborious, and requires much more focus but there's more time spent on the music than technical stuff. It's not an approach that suits everyone which is fine but I would argue that it places the music and performance so much more deeply into the performers soul. 😊
Thanks! Definitely works for you it sounds like 👍 We find what works best for us. However, one of my bands has 220 songs. Another has 150 songs. And I just checked the drop box of another band I play with and there are 450+ songs in that Dropbox (to be fair some are wedding first dance requests, so it’s likely around 400)…. But still. The cues are extremely helpful with that because we will change up the setlist based on what the crowd is into. Having those cues are extremely helpful for remembering a structure to a song I haven’t played in months. Believe me, I do not need cues for Uptown Funk or Don’t Stop Believing 😅
Hi Scott, I discovered your channel a few weeks ago and have been doing a deep dive in all of your material. Your explanations have already been super helpful and I love how you don’t overcomplicate matters. A big thank you for that. 🙏
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!
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!
One thing I found pretty important earlier on is it is very beneficial if your tracks are played from a device that has solid state storage. Ideally you don't want a laptop with a "spinning rust" hard drive, as these can skip like CDs if the vibration gets up around it. Not so much of a problem these says as most machines have SSDs. We used to get around it by using a little Mp3 player. It made the tracks very portable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Awesome. I’m just starting a nightwish tribute band and will definitely need backing tracks. Glad I found your info. Will definitely be looking up more from you. Thanks.
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](/img/1.gif)
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 🤘
As a gigging musician. You have made my life so much easier. Thank you!
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!
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.
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
You, sir, are a gentleman, a scholar and a fantastic teacher! I am very thrilled to have stumbled upon your channel!!
Thanks and welcome 🤘🤘
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.
Extremely helpful for someone who has never used backing tracks, but is about to. Thanks.
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!
I can't believe how useful this was.
I have been using backing tracks for about 5 years now, tried several ways of doing it an I found lost of things that I never thought of.
Big THANK YOU, man!
Glad it helped!
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 !!
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
Awesome video. Have played for a living all my life (heading toward 78) And now have the desire to do some busking with light drums and bass looped. Thank you for dragging me into the 21st century!
Nice! Welcome aboard 💪
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. 👍🎶
Exactly! I agree for sure 🤘
This is great info here!! Plannin on a busking career next Spring :-) Using electric guitar and backing tracks so your vids are invaluable. Thx so much
🤘🤘thanks for watching!
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!
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.
Thanks for the practical real world tips mate - I will check out more or your content Cheers
Thank you man!
Greetings from Papua New Guinea thanks alot Scott 😊
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! 🤘🤘
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..
So much good info in here! Thanks, Scott.
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.
Great video, you are SPOT ON on everything you described 😊 Thanks 🙏
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
Thanks for this brief, strait to the point video. This man likes to teach, it is a plus
@10:07 THANK YOU! My drummer stumbled onto this whilst messing with a barrage of Y splitters and junk but I knew there had to be a more efficient way. Then I found your video!
Not only does this give the drummer the monitor mix from FOH, they now have the click & backing on all separate channels.
Hell yeah! Glad you found it helpful. It’s SO useful for sure 🤘
Very helpful thanks.
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.
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
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 🤘🤘
Great insight Scott, always well done.
Thanks!
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 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
I always like to keep learning new stuff thank you
Excellent presentation on some very important information to help my band use backing tracks like a pro!
Glad it was helpful!
Love seeing the SCA220 on the wall. Love mine. So fun to play.
Nice! Yeah one of my first guitars I ever bought :)
I'm planning my first ever solo performance after being a home studio musician for the past 10+ years and this video gave me some amazing tips! Especially the idea of putting spoken cues into the click track was something I hadn't even thought about! Thanks a lot!
Glad to help!
I find myself watching your videos over and over because I glean something new from them every time. Keep it up dude…you’re the best!
Thanks Chuck!
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!
Bro, may God bless you more and more for how you’re helping me with your tutorial videos!
"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 🤘
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.
Awesome thanks! And welcome to the world of tracks 😊
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!
Wow this just explained everything I have been wondering about for a long time. Thank you!!!
🤘🤘
Really helpful and entertaining! Just transitioning to backing tracks and the options are dauntingly wide!
Thank you! Learned alot and will come back.
This was exactly what I needed about adding cues to click for drums live
🤘🤘🤘
Incredible video. I use tracks exclusively and this has been a tremendous help. Thank you
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.
Very informative video. Thank you.
It is great help. Very informative, very educational! Congrats!
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful 🤘
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.
Good things to know I'm trying to implement backing tracks....for tonights practice
I’m going to do my first solo gig as a guitarist so I will be looking through you videos.
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!
Thanks Scott!
Just another note of appreciation for the excellent quality and depth of the information you provide!
Thanks man!
Thank you for this video ! it resolved many of my questions. Greetings from France
Awesome info! I want to check out all of your other videos!
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 🤘
Excellent. Well explained. Good advice on use of backing tracks and clicks.
Thanks!
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
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!
Super tips again! On song pointers or cues, yes there are times when they might be necessary but if a musician needs them as a memory aide to know, for example, when to play a solo, or number of times to play the end phrase, then they haven't learned the song properly. This is the difference between learning the arrangement and following directions. I program all my own tracks and have no clicks or cues, and learn the lyrics and arrangement by heart. This is the way we used to do it until ipads and MP3s arrived. Yes, it's laborious, and requires much more focus but there's more time spent on the music than technical stuff. It's not an approach that suits everyone which is fine but I would argue that it places the music and performance so much more deeply into the performers soul. 😊
Thanks! Definitely works for you it sounds like 👍 We find what works best for us. However, one of my bands has 220 songs. Another has 150 songs. And I just checked the drop box of another band I play with and there are 450+ songs in that Dropbox (to be fair some are wedding first dance requests, so it’s likely around 400)…. But still. The cues are extremely helpful with that because we will change up the setlist based on what the crowd is into. Having those cues are extremely helpful for remembering a structure to a song I haven’t played in months. Believe me, I do not need cues for Uptown Funk or Don’t Stop Believing 😅
Yup, I get it and really admire the work in that. 😊
Excellent help! Thank you
Excellent video. Very useful information
Love your videos really great information .
Excellent video thanks.
You have great content. Thank you Scott.
Thank you 🙏
Super helpful video!! Thanks a lot!!
Great overall orientation to playing with tracks. Thanks so much. Will definitely check out your other videos.
Awesome, thank you! 🙏
This is excellent info for us smaller 4 piece bands who need to sound bigger. Always great stuff, Scott.
Thanks man, and yup absolutely!!
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
ruclips.net/video/nw8wZfFSQ2w/видео.html
You are great, you try to cover everything to try to help a musician. Thanks
I appreciate that!
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!
This was a lot of help I’m going on a boat and have never done it before
Hi Scott, I discovered your channel a few weeks ago and have been doing a deep dive in all of your material. Your explanations have already been super helpful and I love how you don’t overcomplicate matters. A big thank you for that. 🙏
Awesome, thank you! Glad you’ve enjoyed the channel 🤘
Man , really informative and great info!!!
Thank you 🙏
You have a really well done channel - thanks ❤
Thank you 😊
Thank you sir for this video🤘 Me and my band just started playing with a backing track..
🤘🤘🤘
Outstanding video. I stumbled upon this but now I will check out your other videos. Thanks!
Thank you!
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!
Definitely looking forward to your videos on Multitracker. I've been messing around with it for a while and it is really cool what you can do with it!
Yeah it really is! I still need to dive deeper into it, but I plan to release that one in about a month or so 🤘 Really cool app!
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!
holy xxxx...this old school drumR got some ('er, alot) of stuff to learn. surmise I must go to the beginning. THX Scott
One thing I found pretty important earlier on is it is very beneficial if your tracks are played from a device that has solid state storage. Ideally you don't want a laptop with a "spinning rust" hard drive, as these can skip like CDs if the vibration gets up around it. Not so much of a problem these says as most machines have SSDs. We used to get around it by using a little Mp3 player. It made the tracks very portable.
Oh yeah! Definitely
Great advice Scott, lived this video.
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!
This is the best thing I have ever watched on the internet regrading live music. Mate - legend
Thanks man! Glad to help out 🤘
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!
Pure gold. This video alone deserve massive subscription!!! ❤
Thank you 🙏
that karaoke website has saved me sooooooo much time, thanks man!
Dude I know, same here!
GREAT STUFF, THANX SCOTT!!~
Great video! Thanks!
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: ruclips.net/video/nw8wZfFSQ2w/видео.html
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
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 🤘
I’m an instant fan of this channel
Thanks Shane!
Thank you, super useful! Didn't even think commenting tracks
Glad it helped!
Awesome. I’m just starting a nightwish tribute band and will definitely need backing tracks. Glad I found your info. Will definitely be looking up more from you. Thanks.
Nice! Nightwish was (and is) one of my favorite bands of all time. I listened to the hell out of Once when it came out especially
@@ScottUhlMusic I was totally blown away when I heard them the first time.