Is it fair to play live with a metronome?

They should also ban sheet music on stage! This is not an open-book test, people. You should have studied and done your homework. Anyone who objects will also be blind-folded.

Don't think this is ever gonna happen. There are too many gigs where the band gets hired at the last minute or the arrangement gets changed. My friend is a crazy good sight reader and actually prefers the gigs where he shows up the day of the gig, does a few run throughs, performs and cashes the check!

Wish I could sight read better. It would really cut down on rehearsal time!
 
you can't improvise period, nobody ever has nobody ever will.

you are put in a tight little box with no way of getting out of it.

I like having the freedom to take the tune where ever I want too take it.

Bonzolead

I'm sorry, but what kind of crap is that? You can improvise within it. If you want to take it outside of the box, turn the thing off. But saying you can't play creatively with a metronome is bunk. You clearly haven't given it enough time. Enough time with one widens that tight little box.
 
I'm sorry, but what kind of crap is that? You can improvise within it. If you want to take it outside of the box, turn the thing off. But saying you can't play creatively with a metronome is bunk. You clearly haven't given it enough time. Enough time with one widens that tight little box.
just press the button and go right? the best thing in that reply was "Turn the thing off" again no soul with metronome I agree to disagree with you but it's not the first time you disagreed with me but then again you're not the first & I know you won't. be the last

Bonzolead
 
Incoherent spelling and punctuation are two reasons why I hardly post here any more...
 
woah. ignore the band. hmmmmm.....not sure thats a good idea...

I know what you're saying but, in context, there's not much he can do if the band's timing is out and they are ignoring him. It can really do your head in when a band with inaccurate timing is pulling ahead of the click and you're hearing two pulses in your head - the band's and the click - it defeats the purpose of having a click and something has to give (hopefully not your sanity).

The band is supposed to follow us, especially if we're synchronised with a click that everyone agreed on, dammit! :) Not much point having a click if people are getting excited, hearing the correct tempo as being too slow and then pulling ahead.
 
you can't improvise period, nobody ever has nobody ever will.

you are put in a tight little box with no way of getting out of it.

I like having the freedom to take the tune where ever I want too take it.

Bonzolead

I beg to differ.

Dennis Chambers :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxfC09J0xUo

There was also a video of Steve Gadd playing to a clicktrack and he grooved just as well.

If you dont want to use a metronome, then fine, but dont try to convince everyone that metronomes take out the soul of everything. If people didnt practice to metronomes they would be sloppy and be all over the place.
 
I beg to differ.

Dennis Chambers :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxfC09J0xUo

There was also a video of Steve Gadd playing to a clicktrack and he grooved just as well.

If you dont want to use a metronome, then fine, but dont try to convince everyone that metronomes take out the soul of everything. If people didnt practice to metronomes they would be sloppy and be all over the place.
All i'm saying is that the internal clock is more important, In the studio I understand using a click just not live. I knew there would be haters out there when I did my posts. If you don't. have a good internal clock and you don't. feel the beat inside you, It doesn't. matter how long you spend with a metronome it just not going too happen. you might as well get a drum machine & hit play.

Bonzolead
 
All i'm saying is that the internal clock is more important, In the studio I understand using a click just not live. I knew there would be haters out there when I did my posts. If you don't. have a good internal clock and you don't. feel the beat inside you, It doesn't. matter how long you spend with a metronome it just not going too happen. you might as well get a drum machine & hit play.

Bonzolead

Yes, the internal clock is more important, I agree. I'm not a "hater", but I see the potential in technology to make everything better.
 
i'm trying to imagine a stituation where I'd need to have a click track to play to live. No, I've never done it and the only time I've ever seen it done is when Keith Moon had to wear headphones to play along to the sequenced tracks the Who were using at that time.

It all seems pretty high-tech. Is this something that is being done more and more these days, drummers playing to click tracks? Do only the drummers have the click tracks or do all the players have it?

In other words, is pre-recorded music being used more on stages these days, thereby requiring that the players sync with the recordings, and if not then why use a click at all?
 
Of course its fair, unless you are truly good enough to play without one. I use one when I'm playing stuff that I can't quite lock into on my own, and I don't feel like a cheat. Who said you have to use it all the time. If it makes your job easier, I say go for it. Just make sure your band can stay in time aswell, otherwise it can get very messy.
 
i'm trying to imagine a stituation where I'd need to have a click track to play to live. No, I've never done it and the only time I've ever seen it done is when Keith Moon had to wear headphones to play along to the sequenced tracks the Who were using at that time.

It all seems pretty high-tech. Is this something that is being done more and more these days, drummers playing to click tracks? Do only the drummers have the click tracks or do all the players have it?

In other words, is pre-recorded music being used more on stages these days, thereby requiring that the players sync with the recordings, and if not then why use a click at all?

Yes, there are more bands using pre-recorded bits, loops, sequences, or just additional layers, and thus you do need a click to lock in. In the bands I've done it, only I have the actually click, and everyone follows me. Which is cool, because then I'm in charge!! hehe..

As for clicks live in general, even without pre-recorded music, there are a few things at play (which I'm not saying are right, just my observations).

So many albums are done with clicks, or with drum machines or sequencers instead of drummers, there is a certain level of perfectness associated with the music. So in order to replicate it live, a click is used.

As I pointed out in another thread, in 1985 maybe 3 songs in the top 10 of any given week didn't have real drums on it, but today, zero songs in on average Billboard top ten have a real drummer.

Any one under 30 has lived their entire life with music featuring machines. So a perfect machine drum part is almost engrained in many people's minds as the way music sounds. So more and more bands use the click to embrace the way either they and/or the audience expects that music to be played.

In the 60's and 70's, few albums were made with click tracks. Times could be all over the place, but as long it felt good, producers, record companies and audiences were happy with it. But now, anyone with a computer can put a drum track up on a grip and analyze the perfection of time to death. And because it can be done, more people expect it to be done. Which might not be right, but it's certainly been my observation that's how more and more music is made these days.



Which in many ways is sad that the great feels of Led Zeplin or the craziness of The Who have gone out the window in favor of constant perfection, but what can ya do?

There is one benefit of using a click live: No one ever fights over the tempo of the song! It doesn't matter is the singer tired and exhausted or the bass player drank 10 cups of coffee, no one can claim the song is at the wrong tempo because the click over rules anyone subjective feelings on the subject.
 
Can't quite believe this thread is still unresolved. In my most humble opinion, YES it is definitely fair to play live with a metronome. I can't quite believe it's actually a point of conjecture.

Bonzo.....I fully respect your decison NOT to play with one. It's your call and I'd never try to argue that. Truth be known, I've had no real need to use one myself on an ongoing basis. Many cats do though, and they can be a neccessary tool to many musos in many live situations. But, to suggest they don't have their place is completely futile and unworthy of further argument.

Conrad, I think you'll find that they have made their way further into the mainstream due to the fact that so many more acts are relying on sequenced or sampled music/backing track to accompany their live tracks. In this sort of situation the click can be ideal.
 
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