Backing Tracks?

[Bajazz]

Words cannot express how uninterested I am in forming or looking for a band.

This is excactly how I felt after my divorce!!

[Bajazz]

Got vids??

Was busy playing and singing...

[John Bartus]

Here's another bad one I've heard about: singers gigging accompanied by Band in a Box played through the PC's General MIDI synth.

I've seen that bad movie, too. There used to be a computer-based musician down here years ago who not only did Band In A Box/laptop/sound module thing himself, he also set up similar systems for other local musicians. Instead of a music stand, these people would stand (or more often, sit) on stage with their eyes glued to their laptops as the song's lyrics would scroll by.

Now that's entertainment!

[machman]

My music is the big band sound and unless i can secure at least an 8 piece big band and find places that are willing to pay for that then for me it is a no brainer really.
The tracks i use are recorded by an actual big band,yes it costs more per track but the sound is worth it.
I have no problems with backing tracks at all,everything has its place,after all we are there to entertain and keep the crowd happy,not just stroke our own egos about how good we are singing or playing an instrument.
What i have found is that the karaoke jibe usually comes from someone who plays in a band and hardly ever has anyone in the audience made that comment.
For me, the voice is just as viable an instrument as a guitar,drums,bass,keyboards etc,etc...

[richardmac]

 

For me, the voice is just as viable an instrument as a guitar,drums,bass,keyboards etc,etc...

 

 

You know, for me, I find that to be true and not true at the same time. On one hand, voice is by FAR my favorite instrument. Every singer is so unique... much moreso than guitarists, for example. And the human voice is more expressive, to me, than any other instrument, and you have lyrics.

 

On the other hand, almost everyone can sing. Most sing badly, granted, but someone singing is hardly unique because almost everyone sings, in the shower, in the car, wherever. Whereas a much smaller percentage of people play guitar. And people who can sing AND play guitar are more "rare" in the general population. Grab 20 people off the street randomly and 18 will sing, 2 will play guitar, and 1 will sing and play guitar. And those numbers came completely out of my butt. But you get my meaning.

 

I don't know anyone around here who just sings to backing tracks. But I'm sure there are guys and girls out there who do it. I'd imagine that would be for an older crowd. Most people my age or younger couldn't name more than 3 songs by Frank Sinatra... Um, "My Way," and... "Come Fly With Me," and... and... I dunno.

 

But somehow crooning to a big band backing track is different than singing to a backing track of "Last Friday Night." I think it's because you can get away with it if you're doing the crooner stuff, but it's a stretch for anything else. I'm not sure why I think that is. Probably because we grew up seeing guys on TV singing into a mic alone, with the band hidden in the shadows, or something...

[EightString]

Hmm... good point about the plethora of people who can at least carry a tune.

 

I live in Los Angeles, where even some of the Karaoke bars here have FIERCE talent, so if someone is actually gigging and ONLY singing to backing tracks around here, they had better be nothing short of a vocal god(ess), or I'm probably off to find a proper band or a performer who at least plays an instrument.

 

And I think you're on to something regarding the jazz standards. I think we ARE used to television shows, where, say, Sinatra would come out and sing by himself on a stage, but off-screen, unseen, would be Nelson Riddle and his orchestra. It maybe makes a solo crooner more tolerable.

[sventvkg]

I've seen that bad movie, too. There used to be a computer-based musician down here years ago who not only did Band In A Box/laptop/sound module thing himself, he also set up similar systems for other local musicians. Instead of a music stand, these people would stand (or more often, sit) on stage with their eyes glued to their laptops as the song's lyrics would scroll by. Now that's entertainment!

 

Who the hell was hiring them? I would NEVER Play those places again because the managers are CLEARLY putting you in the same lot with them!! I've quit places for similar reasons..

[EightString]

As musicians our sole responsibility is to entertain. If I can sound like a kick @rse tight full band using backing tracks then I will. *For the record I don't put guitars on the backing tracks except for a couple of tracks where there are two guitars in the original and it sounds 'empty' without a rythm guitar while I am playing the main riff, all solo's etc I do live

[machman]

RichardMac posted:You know, for me, I find that to be true and not true at the same time. On one hand, voice is by FAR my favorite instrument. Every singer is so unique... much moreso than guitarists, for example. And the human voice is more expressive, to me, than any other instrument, and you have lyrics.
On the other hand, almost everyone can sing. Most sing badly, granted, but someone singing is hardly unique because almost everyone sings, in the shower, in the car, wherever. Whereas a much smaller percentage of people play guitar. And people who can sing AND play guitar are more "rare" in the general population. Grab 20 people off the street randomly and 18 will sing, 2 will play guitar, and 1 will sing and play guitar. And those numbers came completely out of my butt. But you get my meaning.

When i played in a band i sang and played guitar so i understand where you are coming from but still for me it is not just about singing but how you can play and manipulate phrases,melodies etc that for me is what seperates singers from good singers.

I don't know anyone around here who just sings to backing tracks. But I'm sure there are guys and girls out there who do it. I'd imagine that would be for an older crowd. Most people my age or younger couldn't name more than 3 songs by Frank Sinatra... Um, "My Way," and... "Come Fly With Me," and... and... I dunno.

Surprisingly most of the crowd i play to are in the early 20's age group,maybe because of the popularity of Michael Buble.In fact it is also surprising the amount of young males who can't get enough of Dean Martin songs!

But somehow crooning to a big band backing track is different than singing to a backing track of "Last Friday Night." I think it's because you can get away with it if you're doing the crooner stuff, but it's a stretch for anything else. I'm not sure why I think that is. Probably because we grew up seeing guys on TV singing into a mic alone, with the band hidden in the shadows, or something...

I can see how that makes sense but i would also like to point out that if places were willing to pay the bucks then i would have no hesitation to also have a backing band and do away with the backing tracks.

[kurdy]

To me, if you

[leftyjay]

i played in bands thru the late 70s and 80s. i got tired dealing with egos and making $50-75 a night. i was the keyboard/guitarist/lead singer in the bands.

one day i walked into the local music store and played a bunch of guitars and keyboards, not noticing a small black gentleman following me around and listening.

he finally came up to me and asked if i played in a band? i said yeah! he asked me if i made $50 a night? i hung my head and said yeah! he said why dont you do a solo act? you play guitar/keyboard/and you can program a drum machine. all you need is a sequencer to lay down your own tracks.

needless to say, i went home and thought about the move over to a soloist. went back to the music store and bought a sequencing keyboard. laid down about 60 songs (drums, bass, piano) and played the guitar and lead parts and sang. if the song was keyboard dominate, i laid the drums and bass only and played the keys to fill the song out.

its been 24 years ago since i started my solo act. i have made well over 1100 backing tracks. i take everyone of them with me everynight. i can play "ANY" venue, "ANY" style that is needed. i gig 220-240 performances a year. i've weeded out all the low paying gigs and only play prime $$$ venues. needless to say, it was the best move i could've ever made.

i cant tell you how many times i thanked that small black gentleman that turned me on to doing a solo act. by the way, he was Paula Abdul's producer for her hit album back in the 80s before anybody even knew who she was.

i'm on youtube playing a variety of music and instruments. just look for "southpawjay".

[YeahDoIt]

Hey Jay, Thanks for posting. I am enjoying your videos.

Your "Georgia On My Mind" is very nice.

I like your web site too.

[leftyjay]

thanks, yeah, finally a forum that i feel at home in. i'll be watching this forum a lot

[tlbonehead]

I do mostly straight acoustic and vocals but have a about a dozen songs that I use bare-bones tracks to. I just use my drum machine and play bass guitar and store that in my Jamman as a backing track. So those songs are similar to a power-trio sonically.

[donkey 12]

My duo does not use backing tracks. We play blues music mostly from the 1920s and 30s, along with a spattering of blues from other eras and originals, and I just do not think it would work well for us. I have a foot percussion contraption that I use on some songs to give a percussive thump like a bass drum, but other than that we are pretty much just guitars and vocals.

[Chip Stewart]

I think it's easier for a duo to not use backing tracks because you can fill out the sound a lot better. If I were in a duo, I think I could go either way.

 

 

That's why I'll only gig as a duo. I need a lead instrumentalist to fill out the sound. I'm not good enough on guitar to have a full sound on my own. I will play open mics solo, but that's just for fun so I'm not worried about it.

[fingerpicker]

In a nutshell: BOTH TRACKS AND NO TRACKS HAVE THEIR PLACE.

 

I am almost 40 (young) but have been playing solo gigs since 1988, and have been playing 5 to 8 gigs a week since 1997. I have seen venues that will laugh you off the stage if you have tracks, and I have been to certain places where if you dont have tracks you probably wont keep the gig because thats what is required. If you think you can play ANY venue with one or the other your mistaken. This thread...ugh. Just like what you do.

[JimboKeys]

I play keyboards with left-hand bass and backing tracks. Like several other respondents, i generally create my own tracks. My aim is for the backing tracks to be limited to drums, plus anything that's required that i don't have enough hands to play live. But i play sax solos in several of the songs, during which bass and chords get added to the backing track.

Everything is stored on the keyboard as MIDI files. I've considered putting the tracks on an Pod but i like having everything all on the keyboard (more convenient, plus i have some strange conception that having the sounds generated by the keyboard are somehow more 'live' than playing an MP3 --- certainly it makes it less obvious to the audience that the parts are pre-programmed).

- Jimbo

[EightString]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqIimHpNRsQ

[Chip Stewart]

 

 

I guess the question is, how much of that was played live and how much was just recorded? It didn't look like her hands or feet were matching up with the notes for a large part of the song. Personally, I would rather just listen to the CD.

[rockerdiva]

I'm putting this edit first - rather than after - my original post. I don't feel like I have to take the whole post down, as this is the internet and if people are offended by strangers they are being just a bit too sensitive IMO. But I will apologize in advance for anyone just reading it now. Some of my wording was harsh. "Hate" is a pretty strong word, and saying it turns my stomach? That was not necessary or even true. If I came across as condescending, that was truly not my intent while typing. Sometimes I don't think about how things sound. Sorry.

 

I agree that there is a lot of snobbery in music. People who tell me I should not use a capo, people who tell me I should do more originals, people who tell me I play too much popular music, I should do this, or shouldn't do that, blah blah blah, whatever. I do what I love to do. I like the music I play and that's why I play it. I am very glad that I am lucky enough to enjoy playing music that keeps me employed. And I'd never put anyone down for doing whatever they do. I have a good friend who uses a harmonizer, and I understand the financial reasons that people would want to start using tracks, but that being said - I really dissagree with your statement that a person just with a guitar is boring to the ears. I mean, the better ones aren't boring. I'd MUCH rather hear a guitarist vocalist than to hear someone play with backing tracks. I would HOPE my act is not boring. Not meaning to offend anyone here, but when I see someone playing with backing tracks or using a vocal harmonizer, it kind of turns my stomach. Don't be offended because I'm just honestly answering the question. If you love doing it and it makes you feel creative to do that - ok! Or I guess, if you do it because you can command more money or get get gigs you could not otherwise get? That sounds really sad to me, but if that is a fact where you live, I say ok to that too. But I just gotta be honest and say ... I really REALLY hate it ...

 

Oh and BTW (haha) I do have a music stand on my solo stage. And it is low, and rarely does anybody ever see me glancing at it, and I only use it for maybe 30 songs of my 600+ song repertoire.

 

So yeah, I say no to the backing tracks thing. But don't you try to tell me I'm stupid for using a music stand and/or a capo. Some dude last week started telling me my capo was a "cheater" - you know what I said? "Yes, I know, because in the olden days, when guitars grew out in the woods on trees, we didn't have capos" ;p

 

So I am not about to tell somebody that backing tracks are cheating. But honestly to me, it just doesn't seem to have the vibe of being real music, when any part of it is not coming from a human being.

I understand wanting to play electric guitar I guess and not being able to solo ... as a solo ?? But no no no, no tracks for me. I don't even want to ever PLAY with a drum machine at home, I'd be really upset if I started to dig it.

[six20aus]

I agree that there is a lot of snobbery in music. People who tell me I should not use a capo, people who tell me I should do more originals, people who tell me I play too much popular music, I should do this, or shouldn't do that, blah blah blah, whatever.

 

 

 

So yeah, I say no to the backing tracks thing.

 

 

I love it. Pointing out that there is snobbery and then applying said snobbery.

 

Shows why there is no end to this argument.

[DonH81]

Hey guys. New to this forum and forums in general actually (can't even figure out how to get a picture on the side, there)

Thought I'd offer my 2-cents as I didn't see anyone that does exactly what we do. We lay down all our tracks using the on-board sequencer on my keyboard (Roland Phantom G8) so there's no crappy sound module issue. We also have a live drummer who plays electronic drums so it's not obvious to the audience that we're even tracking at all.

My band consists of a guitarist, a drummer and a singer/keyboardist with occasional light guitar work. We do acoustic and electric versions of popular rock from the last 20years or so, very little classic. We only started tracking because we couldn't find a competent bassist and wanted to keep playing. I figured bass was the one instrument in which your average non-musician wouldn't notice that he hears a bass playing but doesn't see anyone on stage playing it. So I laid down all the bass lines on my sequencer, ran a click track to the drummer's IEM and just like that we had the perfect bassist - plays flawlessly, never offers an opinion and doesn't even take a cut.

It didn't take long to occur to me that, now that we were playing to a click, there was no limit to how full we could make our sound. I started adding little flavors and background parts, pads, etc. to fill out the sound. One limitation we have is that no one else in the band has a strong enough voice to do harmonies. So I a sequenced a silent track that was solely the vocal harmonies. Basically just a midi trigger for the vocal harmonizer. Now my Voice Live 2 plays the exact harmony for each part of the song without me constantly stomping on it to turn harmonies on/off, change presets, etc. I barely have to touch the thing during a gig.

The part I like the best is that, if I'm playing keyboard during a song, I can just concentrate on playing the main piano or organ part. The sequencer takes care of all supporting strings, horns, etc. I'm a much more effective entertainer if I'm just playing and singing and not dicking around with patch changes. On songs with non-essential keyboard parts, I'm free to be out from behind the board interacting with the crowd and playing rhythm guitar without losing the background keys.

One rule we live by:
- Never sequence a lead or signature part of a song, e.g. a piano intro or organ riff, etc.

[MattMayfield]

Regarding electronic drums - that makes sense: people wouldn't notice sequences as much as with acoustic drums since the whole sound is PA-produced, not acoustically-produced.

Watch out for adding too much stuff to the tracks though! I find that the less I include on backing tracks, the more "live" it feels.

My biggest priority with backing tracks for my solo act is to be as non-cheesy as possible, so I take several precautions:

1. I switch between songs with and without backing tracks.
2. All the tracks are ones I make myself.
3. 97% of tracks have only bass, drums, and harmony vocals (2 parts max).
4. My PA includes a little subwoofer (Yorkville LS200P) which helps fill out the sound of the kick drum.

[richardmac]

 

Regarding electronic drums - that makes sense: people wouldn't notice sequences as much as with acoustic drums since the whole sound is PA-produced, not acoustically-produced. Watch out for adding too much stuff to the tracks though! I find that the less I include on backing tracks, the more "live" it feels. My biggest priority with backing tracks for my solo act is to be as non-cheesy as possible, so I take several precautions: 1. I switch between songs with and without backing tracks. 2. All the tracks are ones I make myself. 3. 97% of tracks have only bass, drums, and harmony vocals (2 parts max). 4. My PA includes a little subwoofer (Yorkville LS200P) which helps fill out the sound of the kick drum.

 

 

You're not just on the same page as me - you're on the same sentence. I agree with everything you said.