Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
There is a big controversy among musicians about using backing tracks or not. However, it's important to know that there doesn't seem to be one with audience members.

My vote is Yes but with a lot of practice.

First of all, you will find the tempo of your backing track to be very strict. It's like playing with a metronome. When I started using a drum machine in the late 1970s with our old trio, it seemed like the drummer sped up and slowed down -- of course the machine wasn't doing either.

Next you need to know that your arrangements are static. It's like playing in an orchestra using charts. If one of you get lost, there will be no "vamp 'till cue" or any of those other devices to get you back on track if you get distracted. I get around that by using a DAW to put audio cues in the music. Depending on the song, a percussion instrument or an identifiable lick before the B part or wherever needed.

And rest assured, distractions will happen. You'll be playing away and someone will come up and ask you to play "Happy Birthday" to a mumbled name that you will have to ask them to repeat so you can understand it, and the backing track will not care, it will just go on and on.

And be sure to have good monitors or speaker placement so that you can hear the backing track well.

I've been playing with self-created backing tracks in my duo since 1985 and I've gone through a few different methods from cassette tapes to hardware sequencers to software sequencers and so on to the method I'm currently using. I made an instructional web page about that, it may be much more than you need, but you are welcome to use what you want and ignore the rest.
http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html

Insights and incites by Notes


Thanks. When I do my solo gigs, I always use real tracks for my gigs because I play the melody and I need a "backup band". What I like to do somethimes is include solos real tracks to make them feel realistic as possible. I do notice that when playing in a band, you can do a lot more than BIAB can do. You can have the chords be played however you want, with what ever inverstion or extension you want. You can make the horns parts exactly as you want.

Computer: Macbook Pro, 16 inch 2021
DAWs: Pro Tools, Logic, and Maschine
plays drums, percussion, bass, steel pan, keyboard,
music producer/engineer