Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Dreamsploitation - Our Future Salad Days
The use of backing tracks is not only for karaoke singers but for performing artists too. If you are in a band of any sort then this information is for you to help take your act to the next level. Especially if you're performing in some sort of tribute act or cover band.
For years I've been singing and playing in various rock bands and for the greater part have been very well received in front of audiences. Up until not too long ago I would be inclined to pick songs that we performed based on how accurately we could represent that song from a stage. That is, could we cover all the required parts that make a song a hit and do it justice. Every so often a song would come along that required keyboards that were so important in the song that the song was just not worth doing without it. We wouldn't be able to do it justice. So, rather than ruin the song we would put it on the shelf as a song we wished we could do. I didn't see the sense in hiring a full time keyboard player to play in 20% of the songs at best so it made more sense to not do the song.
As the time went on of course I joined a band that was using backing tracks to cover piano parts in songs and even complex backing vocals and instantly realized what those tracks are worth to a performer. That meant that the very difficult backing vocals could be spot on every time and the back up singers could sing easier lines when playing live, giving the back ups a lot of depth. It also meant of course that the music was greatly enhanced. The average audience member doesn't really pick up on a band using tracks. All they realize is this band sounds far better than the band last week but don't really know why. The answer is in the tracks. The lead singer can harmonizie to his own voice more easily than someone else can do it so he should be the one getting recorded. Be careful not to put in too much though or you risk the show becoming a karaoke act.
An important point to consider is what to do if you have technical problems. You need to have a way out. You have to know your show. I've been onstage and had the monitor system fail and not been able to hear the backing tracks and had to rely on the drummer keeping proper time. Using the tracks he has a click track in his left ear he should at least be able to keep time. He gets the click from a pre-recorded track that has a click track on one side and the song sample on the other side. Using a small mixer on stage he can send the music the main mixing console and nobody in the audience will hear the click track.
Using backing tracks are a great way to give your show a very competitive edge and set you apart form the rest of the bands in your circuit, area, etc. I will always use them now and am happy to because all the songs that I put on the shelf in the years gone by can now be done properly.
Ian Kurz is a singer/guitarist and the owner of the site http://www.discoveryoucansing.com
Visit his site here to learn more about using backing tracks on stage. They will give your act some serious edge.
