They're Wrong About Click Tracks

Some people will tell you that click tracks are bad for music. They're wrong.

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[michaeltablet]

Excellent video! I once worked with a drummer who was in a military band. He trained by working with a click track 8 hours a day, and he was like a human metronome. Every song started and ended the same bpm. It was amazing!

[danemiljoshua]

man I can’t even imagine myself making music without a click track

[DrPhil]

Without having read all 80 comments, i would also add … if you program drums and have those done already … even a simple quarter note high hat pattern … works well as a substitute for a true click track.

[bradzillarocks]

Using a click doesn't have to mean "aggressively sticking to the gridlines like a drum machine". You can go in and tighten after the recording, but it may not be needed. The drummer can still play in a natural feel but it will still be on beat, or close enough to the beat that it's steady while keeping the sound of a human performance. Once everyone else puts their stuff over it and it's tight to what the drums played it'll sound tight regardless if the drummer's performance is exactly on the grid or not.

[jeremythornton]

I record to a click track every time I record. I wouldn't even think about about not using it.

[aharown-yt]

So true! It was such a huge breakthrough for me when I discovered that I could actually play with a click track. I'm still not good at it, but at first it felt impossible. Not anymore. Sometimes I have to play for quite a while before the click track stops being distracting, but it does eventually. Absolutely worth it.

[rhinestonecb]

Click track is essential and you get used to it. And if you get click bleed when recording (with closed back headphones), try using in-ear monitors instead.

[davedunhill]

Love your stuff. I struggle playing to a click so play to drum beats on YouTube. Gets the same results and might help those that struggle with a click. 👍

[bradbatchelor_]

100 percent agree. I always record with a click, and the best band I ever played in used a click. Super tight band, and my band mates were excellent musicians. Great video, Joe!!

[davidhiser]

I would never dream of recording a song without a click track. Most people struggle with the click sound. I have found that changing the click sound to a kick drum sound usually fixes the fear of a click track because that is something they are used to hearing.

[craigiscraig]

Those poor musicians who didn't have a click to play to. That's why Miles Davis sucked so bad

[robertfoshizzle]

Musicians should practice regularly to a click, and if you're recording solo or tracking instruments individually, it's almost a necessity in a lot of cases. That said, I don't think a click track is ALWAYS a must. For instance, if you have a REALLY well-rehearsed band and you're recording everyone together, some songs just sound better without a click track. I'm not anti-click though. It just depends on the situation, and a pro musician should be able to adapt either way.

[DerekPower]

Story time 😁

For most of my music-making journey, I either used a click track/metronome or played to some kind of drum pattern. Most of the time, it was to a fixed tempo that felt right for the song (and often times, I used a “tap tempo” to get a good number). There were a few times where I mapped out a piece when I know there would be a tempo change or even time signature change.

And there have been a few instances where I performed without a click track or to a clearly marked tempo. In fact, the album I’m working on has no fixed or predetermined tempo whatsoever in any of the tracks. This is largely deliberate on my part as this is more about getting the right feel and flow without getting too preoccupied with specific numbers. The arrangements are simple and are open to a freer playing style and tempo. It also gets closer to “working with tape” where you are focused on performances and not to a grid (and yes, I know that even back then, people could still work to a metronome/click track).

My point is sharing all of this is that I’ve “done it all” and what ties it all together is deliberate intention. That’s the most important thing above all else.

[carmvecchio]

As an old school live musician, I originally HATED click tracks. The very idea was insulting. Eight years ago I was forced into using click tracks for live performance, but today I cannot imagine recording or playing live in church without a click. Joe, you nailed it with this one.

[spydestroyer]

To me as a musician doing mostly electronic music but playing my parts as I record them I use the click as a time and groove reference click track are the most important . As Live Sound Engineer I couldn't agree more of the usefulness of a click track in the Live arena as it makes the band so much better sounding . Here's a quick anecdote, I was recording a Prog-Metal band and since it's Progressive Metal there is a ton a tempo and time signature change in the songs . In 2023 late winter/early spring , me and the band went to the drummer's cottage and I challenged them to do 4 songs in 4 days . The band rehearsed like crazy BUT they were not as good using a click track/metronome . When the recording was done, I came back to my studio and I tried real hard to edit the recordings to be on par with professional productions and since the band didn't really had experience using click tracks it failed horribly . The band was so out of sync with the tempo map that it became impossible to edit to the metronome since the songs structure was so complex . So all in all, I 100% agree on the importance of a click track/metronome for both Live and Recording . I salute all the way from The Great White North of Quebec, Canada .

[projectJ]

I wrote and recorded two songs. Used a metronome on the first and it was absolutely necessary because of the fast tempo, and the guitar needed to be precise for the dramatic structure of the song. The second song is slower, and more dark and emotional I guess, and unlike the first song, I wrote the guitar track after the lyrics. Went to record it and figured out pretty quick that using a metronome was not helping.

[johngreen]

I struggled with using the metronome for a while. After I got used to it, ohhhh how things got better.

[greenloungerecording]

Well you are going to get the comments you expected Joe. A couple of my observations. Some musicians can’t play to a click, and it becomes very apparent very quickly. In that case, see if you can get just the drummer to play with the click, then the rest of the band aren’t even playing to the click. If that doesn’t work, try different click sounds. If that doesn’t work, try a very simple drum loop. But sometimes, you have to work with what you’ve got, and abandon the click. Probably 90% of musicians that say I never play to a click (for whatever reasons they give), can’t and the rest are excuses. The golden rule is still, you have to work with what you’ve got, and try and get the best performance out of that situation.

[GMS]

Click tracks are like that person you argue with but they always end up right.
They're super annoying but necessary

[lngsrp]

I have a really really really really really dumb question. When you say things like "when we didn't record to a click track in the studio", what did you record to, the live drummer who could possibly be off time? That's the only thing I can think of. Thank you!