Originally Posted By: eddie1261
<...snip...>
PS - I delude myself into believing that if the software is only sending data and clock to the hardware devices then I am NOT using tracks. I only consider it tracks if it's recorded music or voices.


I make my own tracks. I play sax, flute, wind synth, guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard synth. I also sing.

Making tracks is time-consuming, but it keeps my chops up on those instruments I don't play on the gig.

Plus by making the tracks myself:
  • I can put them in the best key for our voices
  • I can leave out the most fun parts for Mrs. Notes and I to play live on the gig
  • I can do a custom arrangement for the song
  • I can leave room for an improvised solo for the solo hog (that would be me) laugh
  • I know the song inside-out, the chords, the substitutions, and everything else so I can play the best solo
  • I can exaggerate the groove, rush bridges, and do scores of tricks that a live band does and karoke or purchased tracks do not.
  • I can customize the mix to make it sound more like a live band than karaoke.

How do I customize the mix?

When you go out to hear a live band, what do you hear most, even from the parking lot? Bass and snare drum. That's the starting point. High horn stabs a tad sharp. Background vocal parts on synth. and so many, many more.

The object is not to sound like the record, but to sound like a band covering the record. There needs to be more energy than the recording. Even the original artists in concert don't sound like the record, why should we?

There is an art to playing for the audience. There is an art to making good backing tracks. I've learned a lot in all my years doing it, and I continue to learn. That keeps the job interesting.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks