Using a click track live (without a backing track??)

[SimBass]

Hey people,
Just looking for any knowledge on using click tracks on a live stage. Here's the situation.
My click track experience:
I spent a year an a "gap year" in a band which play chart and pop music,we used a mini disk player with a backing track and the drummer had a click to keep us all in time with the backing track. I've also used them during recording (obviously) to keep in time with the track. So I have reasonable experience of using them but always as a tool to stay in time with the backing track/recording.
The current situation:
I play bass in a church band (big church , for the UK) its a 1 year old purpose built 2,000 seater auditorium its great to play in with quality gear, we all use in ear monitoring on the big stage...usualy about 9 musicians and 5 singers. Our drummer is an awesome drummer, he is serisouly good for some one who drumms only at church, however the old joke is true (how do you know if a drummer is at the door? the knocks get faster) So the powers at be have decided to try to add a click track in order to keep things a bit tighter and to stop some of the irratic speed changes which happen every now and again.

Any thougths on this?
1. Is it a common technique to use? I've never heard of using clicks for generic live work unless its for a backing track but I guess if its the only way to get your drummer in time?
2. Should all musicians have the click (have any of you bassists ever had a click in your ears for live work)
3.And the main question is what technology to use, My experience of using it was in a band with a 25 song set list so it was just a seperate click for each track which the drummer started from a minidisk player next to him, but at church we have hundreds of songs (most do have a tempo mark thankfully!) so is it just a metronome??? is it the drummer who controls it,
4.Church music often has to have seamless links between songs...how does this work if a new beat has to be set up...its not like a mini disk play where you just hit track 5 and go?? a slick..surely going straight into another song at adifferent tempo is near impossible unless teh click is sounding at the new spend at the end of the 1st song.

Sorry this is so long, unfortunatly as the only one who has used clicks before they're all looking to me?
Cheers

[Guest subaudio]

Hi

It is little odd to play live to a click for no reason other than the drummers bad time, but he could program a drum machine with seperate "songs" with different bpm's that way the delay would be minimal between songs?

Only the drummer would need to hear it in his in ears as he will I asume be counting everyone in.

Hope this is helpfull



[quote name='SimBass' post='56532' date='Sep 6 2007, 02:26 PM']Hey people,
Just looking for any knowledge on using click tracks on a live stage. Here's the situation.
My click track experience:
I spent a year an a "gap year" in a band which play chart and pop music,we used a mini disk player with a backing track and the drummer had a click to keep us all in time with the backing track. I've also used them during recording (obviously) to keep in time with the track. So I have reasonable experience of using them but always as a tool to stay in time with the backing track/recording.
The current situation:
I play bass in a church band (big church , for the UK) its a 1 year old purpose built 2,000 seater auditorium its great to play in with quality gear, we all use in ear monitoring on the big stage...usualy about 9 musicians and 5 singers. Our drummer is an awesome drummer, he is serisouly good for some one who drumms only at church, however the old joke is true (how do you know if a drummer is at the door? the knocks get faster) So the powers at be have decided to try to add a click track in order to keep things a bit tighter and to stop some of the irratic speed changes which happen every now and again.

Any thougths on this?
1. Is it a common technique to use? I've never heard of using clicks for generic live work unless its for a backing track but I guess if its the only way to get your drummer in time?
2. Should all musicians have the click (have any of you bassists ever had a click in your ears for live work)
3.And the main question is what technology to use, My experience of using it was in a band with a 25 song set list so it was just a seperate click for each track which the drummer started from a minidisk player next to him, but at church we have hundreds of songs (most do have a tempo mark thankfully!) so is it just a metronome??? is it the drummer who controls it,
4.Church music often has to have seamless links between songs...how does this work if a new beat has to be set up...its not like a mini disk play where you just hit track 5 and go?? a slick..surely going straight into another song at adifferent tempo is near impossible unless teh click is sounding at the new spend at the end of the 1st song.

Sorry this is so long, unfortunatly as the only one who has used clicks before they're all looking to me?
Cheers[/quote]

Edited September 6, 2007 by subaudio

[SimBass]

yeah thats exactly my thoughts, could be alot of hard work for a little gain (or gain taht could be solved by the drummer learning to keep better time).
Also not all song have drums from teh start but i guess we'd just have to have hi-hats for some timing, thats what we did in the old band.

[gilmour]

To use a click track live, have it only going to the drummer and then play off of him. As with Subaudios response (above) I'd have a drum machine set up with a pre-programmed "set" to reduce time in between tracks.

I've played with drummers who have clicks live, it does keep you tighter, but it's important to remember that Tempo just like Volume and Pitch can be used as a musical expression, if you change speed it isn't always a bad thing. I try to only spend 50% of my practice time with a click.

[Cantdosleepy]

[quote name='gilmour' post='56601' date='Sep 6 2007, 05:04 PM']Tempo just like Volume and Pitch can be used as a musical expression, if you change speed it isn't always a bad thing.[/quote]

Or at least, that's my excuse