Members fingerpicker Posted October 7, 2011 Members Share Posted October 7, 2011 Stunning--Are you in the United States? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintagevibes Posted October 7, 2011 Members Share Posted October 7, 2011 I have worked 5 to 8 gigs a week since 1997. Four-Five years with tracks. I made more money with tracks, but wasnt happy using them and thats what it comes down to. Until last week I've been doing 6 gigs EVERY week for the past several years.( Now 5) Some people are better without and some are better with. My main thing is guitar and singing is secondary so I want to feature my electric guitar playing. If I was a singer who just used guitar to accompanied myself I might prefer no tracks. Or if I was a great singer and great acoustic player tracks might just get in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted October 7, 2011 Members Share Posted October 7, 2011 There should be no argument, after all, there is more than one right way to make music. Playing with tracks has its compromises. Playing without tracks has its compromises. The compromises for each are just different. If the musician can make it work, whichever way he/she chooses is one of the right ways to do it. Insights and incites by Notes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted October 7, 2011 Members Share Posted October 7, 2011 You have seen my pic?? Yes, with sexy violin! BTW I don't really think you are egoistical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bajazz Posted October 7, 2011 Members Share Posted October 7, 2011 You can't do justice to Santana's Europa or ACDC's Highway to hell without backing tracks. WHAAAT???? At a recent gig I played Highway to hell w/o backing and everyone was up dancing, jumping and yelling!!! The venue exploded! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stunningbabe Posted October 8, 2011 Members Share Posted October 8, 2011 Yes, with sexy violin! BTW I don't really think you are egoistical. Thank you sir. In no way at all am I an egoistic maniac. When the time is right, I will post a photo of myself again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted October 8, 2011 Members Share Posted October 8, 2011 :confused:Wait ... aren't you the one that started the post a picture of yourself thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stunningbabe Posted October 8, 2011 Members Share Posted October 8, 2011 :confused:Wait ... aren't you the one that started the post a picture of yourself thread yay...indeed. However...this is 'solo & duo acts' section. I dont perform solo or duo...so I am exempted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingerpicker Posted October 8, 2011 Members Share Posted October 8, 2011 Still havent answered the most obvious of questions...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted October 8, 2011 Members Share Posted October 8, 2011 Thank you sir. In no way at all am I an egoistic maniac. When the time is right, I will post a photo of myself again. Good, I look forward to your pixels! You want to pm some pics to me first, though? I will be glad to help you select the best one! I'm that kind of guy.. (pink floyd cramer in a previous life) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stunningbabe Posted October 8, 2011 Members Share Posted October 8, 2011 Still havent answered the most obvious of questions...... I am not in USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kbrdGuy Posted November 21, 2011 Members Share Posted November 21, 2011 I don't use backing tracks but some might think so hearing me live. Instead I use a pedal-driven real-time orchestrator software. My left foot drives a midi expression pedal and allows me to control the mix of voices as I play. Here's a youtube example. It's "God Bless The Child" and uses expressed mixes of piano, Rhodes, B3, strings, and others.Some people have posted that cruise lines no longer allow backing tracks fro their solos and duos. This might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pine Apple Slim Posted November 21, 2011 Members Share Posted November 21, 2011 I'm too lazy & dumb to program anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted November 22, 2011 Members Share Posted November 22, 2011 I have too much self-pride and pride in my musical output to play anything but the backing tracks that I create myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members beatnick fly Posted December 19, 2011 Members Share Posted December 19, 2011 Whew!! a lot to read here, but except for the author, (Richardmac) you're all preachin' to the choir. Who cares what you do?? It's the audience that decides, six20aus had it right. I'm 66, played solo, in 4 to 8 piece bands, now doing a duo with a 58 year young woman with an outstanding voice. They come to hear her and I sing, and I strictly use backing tracks, high bit-rate ones, played through a high end lap-top (Asus with dedicated sound technology) and a higher end PA, (Crown amp, SM58s' with JBL speakers). I defy anyone to tell me it does'nt sound "live". It's consistent, always shows up for work, and makes no mistakes. We do everything from Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum to Billie Holiday and Keeley Smith. Play in restuarants (the worst!! NO $$), to mostly private parties- but NO clubs, not at our age. Since I switched to totally using backing tracks, our weekends are booked solid. After 50 years, I found out that no one cares HOW I play guitar or keyboard, but if I sing "Dream Lover" , I wind up with senior groupies. As technology advances, using these tracks will be inevitable for everyone. There's an amazing amount of variety, and your audience will love it. Don't get me wrong, if you want to play your original songs, with an acoustic guitar, that's fine and also has it's place. But don't knock this backing track idea until you hear it done well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stunningbabe Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Whew!! a lot to read here, but except for the author, (Richardmac) you're all preachin' to the choir. Who cares what you do?? It's the audience that decides, six20aus had it right. I'm 66, played solo, in 4 to 8 piece bands, now doing a duo with a 58 year young woman with an outstanding voice. They come to hear her and I sing, and I strictly use backing tracks, high bit-rate ones, played through a high end lap-top (Asus with dedicated sound technology) and a higher end PA, (Crown amp, SM58s' with JBL speakers). I defy anyone to tell me it does'nt sound "live". It's consistent, always shows up for work, and makes no mistakes. We do everything from Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum to Billie Holiday and Keeley Smith. Play in restuarants (the worst!! NO $$), to mostly private parties- but NO clubs, not at our age. Since I switched to totally using backing tracks, our weekends are booked solid. After 50 years, I found out that no one cares HOW I play guitar or keyboard, but if I sing "Dream Lover" , I wind up with senior groupies. As technology advances, using these tracks will be inevitable for everyone. There's an amazing amount of variety, and your audience will love it. Don't get me wrong, if you want to play your original songs, with an acoustic guitar, that's fine and also has it's place. But don't knock this backing track idea until you hear it done well. I think no one can say this any better. I fully agree with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingerpicker Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 did you have to resurrect this thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 But don't knock this backing track idea until you hear it done well. I've heard it done really well. And sorry, but when I close my eyes listening to it, I just can't really tell the difference between that and karaoke. That's not to say it has no value. It certainly does to the client paying for it and making money off of it. What I think about it is irrelevant. The mark of a truly talented musician and performer for me, though, is in the ability to sit down with just a guitar or a piano and take any song and strip it down to it's most raw elements and make it come to life. I realize that this kind of performer is not playing a dance or party gig, though. I just like to play great songs and try to make them interesting with just myself and a guitar. To each his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dparr Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I've heard it done really well. And sorry, but when I close my eyes listening to it, I just can't really tell the difference between that and karaoke. That's not to say it has no value. It certainly does to the client paying for it and making money off of it. What I think about it is irrelevant. The mark of a truly talented musician and performer for me, though, is in the ability to sit down with just a guitar or a piano and take any song and strip it down to it's most raw elements and make it come to life. I realize that this kind of performer is not playing a dance or party gig, though. I just like to play great songs and try to make them interesting with just myself and a guitar. To each his own. ^ This. IMO backing tracks add nothing to a live performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I'm with the above but I have one puzzlement I'm working through. Besides ordinary songs, which I wouldn't even consider using backing tracks for, I've written a small collection of compositions that are fairly pure electronica. At some point, I'd like to perform these in public (like at a CD launch party) and can't quite imagine how to do it either solo or even with local musicians. I suspect I'd have to remove an instrument or two from the mix and maybe any vocals and use the remainder as a backing track. Forgivable, you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 Besides ordinary songs, which I wouldn't even consider using backing tracks for, I've written a small collection of compositions that are fairly pure electronica. At some point, I'd like to perform these in public (like at a CD launch party) and can't quite imagine how to do it either solo or even with local musicians. That song sounds like it would work well as a live looping thing. Or drum machine plus keyboards if you could set it up to play a different sound with each hand (one keyboard with a split or two separate keys). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I am still going back and forth on backing tracks. I have always considered them cheesy, yet I like the idea of a fuller sound to back me if I were to play up there by myself. I can see myself programming/recording them one song at a time and then getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over every time I play. But there is a part of me that can see its appeal. Still, like others have said, I appreciate the skill of musicianship that comes out of someone with just their voice and a guitar and being able to draw people in with only that. If they can, that's something really special in my eyes. I love live music because it is LIVE, mistakes and all. I love that human element. Backing tracks make it seem less special to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted December 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 did you have to resurrect this thread? LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sharkbait Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 My experience using backing tracks was way back in the early eighties, with an original music band. The Cocteau Twins and Soft Cell- and the overblown production styles of that era- were our inspirations. We sang and played guitars over taped percussion and kind of eccentric extra sounds. It was super fun creating the tracks, which we did on a four-track cassette recorder. Not many people were doing it- and not many people liked it! People were used to the punch of a real, live drummer. Random thoughts: Interesting how much times have changed, with regards to the audience's acceptance of canned backup sounds. I suspect that general listeners are less demanding/discerning than those of us who are writing here. Personally, at this point, I would rather hear organically made sounds than even skillfully done imitations. If the processed sounds are designed to sound "fake" (I have a soft spot for the old analogue drum machines), to create a blatantly inorganic musical effect, I'd be way more inclined to like it. On the other hand, I can dig the "lounge combo" thing when it has a certain cheesy quality. In a screwy way, it's kind of heartwarming and timeless. I think you people know what I mean. Some here are even... pretty much.. doing it (and I like it). To me, loopers have gotten real old, real quick. At least the way a lot of people use them- building up a rhythm, then jamming on, usually, one chord. Anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted December 20, 2011 Members Share Posted December 20, 2011 I suspect that general listeners are less demanding/discerning than those of us who are writing here. A lot of it too, IMO, is that for tracks to work, you have to have a really good set of tracks and a really good sound system dialed in extremely well to the room. Hearing a band like Soft Cell at a concert would be wildly different than your average club act with boxes on sticks through a powered mixer. I dunno, just a thought. Even CDs played by DJs in clubs don't sound live to me. It's a completely different vibe, and the average solo/duo artist PA doesn't help matters quality-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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