As a recording engineer of 20 years, I’ve found it personally disappointing when a group hits the studio for their first recording, only to find out that they’re unable to play with a click.
In short, they’re not ready to record.
The basis for the click track being of such importance in the studio is because of the extensive amount of work we do on small increments of the project — punch in’s, edits, multiple takes, overdubbing, cleaning up trouble spots, etc. To take full advantage of the features and opportunities digital recording offers, playing with the click is a necessity.
Of course, we can do without the click all together, but as the project progresses and more and more tracks are built up, the song gradually falls more and more out of the groove until it becomes nearly impossible to play with after weeks or months of reworking. In extreme cases, the song can become a sloppy mess, not fit for public sale.
Having had the opportunity to observe players at all levels over the years, I’ve observed that there are four basic levels of click following skill, and the fourth, highest level is a wonderful and inspiring thing to watch. For this reason, it’s my thinking that the non-click player would be well to find himself inspired to take on the learning of this skill.
Here are the four general levels of click skill I’ve observed:
- Beginner – unable to stay with the click. The playing tempo lopes in and out of time as the player(s) first rush the beat, then compensate by slowing down.
- Advancing beginner – this is where the player is now able to follow the click accurately, but his playing has become stiff and constrained. All the focus is on following the click and not much is left to create a groove or musical feel.
- Accomplished – this is where the player or the band as a whole are able to follow the click precisely while maintaining an infectious and inviting rhythm.
- Advanced – at this level, the player has mastered all aspects of playing with the click and taken it to the level of an advanced skill, or art form. One of the most fascinating tricks I’ve seen studio musicians pull off in this realm is a thing I call the “tempo illusion.” Let’s say there’s a ritard in the middle of the song. By playing ever so slightly behind the click, while gradually playing more softly and using fewer notes and less rhythm –through the course of the ritard, these players create a tempo illusion that sounds exactly like a slowing of the tempo, but the tempo has actually not changed at all. When the click is removed, the listener would swear that the music has slowed down through the “fake” ritard. It’s a fascinating and inspiring thing to watch, and I hope readers might take this as a motivation to work hard on click skills.
When it comes time to overdub, edit, add pre-recorded loops or add time-based effects in the mix, a song that’s played well with the click is a time and money saver as well as being a more solid song to the final listener.
