{"id":17540,"date":"2016-08-15T15:16:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T15:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/?p=17540"},"modified":"2019-08-01T15:18:11","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T15:18:11","slug":"working-with-backing-tracks-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/blog\/working-with-backing-tracks-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"Working with backing tracks and MultiTracks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technology in worship is here whether you like it or not<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s amazing how much technology drives and redefines the very sounds of the music we make. From electric guitars to sound on sound recording, then synthesisers, decks, loops and now recorded elements being integrated into live music, all these new technologies serve as the paint brush to create new sounds, which changes the very music we make, whether we like it or not.<\/p>\n

And when it comes to live and particularly live worship music, the introduction of the drummer\u2019s click track a few years ago has had a massive effect on the sound of worship songs. But now again the wheel has turned and backing and multi tracks used alongside live worship bands is becoming a reality for more and more churches.<\/p>\n

Even churches with lots of musicians are using backing tracks<\/h2>\n

Of course it\u2019s not just churches with missing musicians that use tracks to fill out the sound, there are plenty of larger churches with full compliments of musicians using tracks to produce more of an \u2018original album\u2019 sound that simply can\u2019t be recreated with a 5 or 6 piece band.<\/p>\n

Wherever you stand on the merits of production verses participation in live worship, there are a number of things to consider before launching a track on an unsuspecting congregation (or even band)!<\/p>\n

Three things to avoid making mistakes with backing tracks<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Firstly, treat playing to tracks like learning new instrument. Playing in time to a click track is actually quite difficult if you\u2019re not used to it so practice it together as a team A LOT before you introduce it into a live church setting. If your track has a click track element do make sure it\u2019s loud enough to be easily heard over the live instruments. If it doesn\u2019t have a click try to crank up the treble frequencies so that the snare, hi-hats and other rhythmic elements can be picked out. You\u2019ll soon discover which team members unintentionally speed up or slow down and they\u2019ll need to invest some hard work into improving their timing. Being frank, if you do have musicians who simply can\u2019t play in time you\u2019ll either have to abandon working with tracks for the time being or ask them to take and break and get some lessons to develop this fundamental core skill.<\/li>\n
  2. The next difficulty is following the arrangement. If your backing tracks have mixable vocals then do add them into the monitor mixes at low level so everyone, including vocalists, have sung cues to follow. Conversely trying to follow a vocal-less track can lead to awkward moments getting lost somewhere in the song structure. If that\u2019s true for your tracks do make copious notes to map out the structure; making special note of odd length chorus repeats, number of intro link sections bars etc. You\u2019ll be surprised how many things can catch you out. We\u2019ve found plenty of strong vocalists missing where they need to come in when they are using backing tracks karaoke-style but without the benefit of the bouncing ball!Once you\u2019ve learned your song structure well, be demonstrative in communicating that to the rest of the band as you move through the song. Use eye and body movements and spoken word vocal cues to keep everyone together and try to communicate what\u2019s happening at least two bars ahead \u2013 not as it\u2019s happening! Don\u2019t get stuck in your notes or chord charts. Look up, look around. Don\u2019t \u00a0be five individuals who happen to be playing the same song at the same time. Listen to each other. As long as you stay in time there\u2019s plenty of scope to play off each other\u2019s parts interact and inject meaning to make your worship music come alive!<\/li>\n
  3. Lastly, get to know the software you\u2019re playing the tracks on. Whether it be Ableton, Mainstage one of the proprietary worship band focused players like our own Worship Backing Band<\/a>, get to know it inside out. If you\u2019re the lead musician learn how to control it yourself rather than leaving it to another musician or sound tech. Think of it like an orchestra you conduct and learn how to make it follow you and your leading, not the other way around!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Other articles your might find helpful<\/h2>\n

    Real world transistions between song sections and what happens with backing tracks<\/a><\/p>\n

    Which two questions are we always asked about our MultiTrack Player and tracks?<\/a><\/p>\n

    Tips for using Worship Backing Band live ans some feedback on the Player<\/a><\/p>\n

    The Worship Backing Band MultiTrack stems explained<\/a><\/p>\n

    Get started with tracks with our top 10 and top 25 best selling MultiTracks<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Technology in worship is here whether you like it or not It\u2019s amazing how much technology drives and redefines the very sounds of the music we make. From electric guitars to sound on sound recording, then synthesisers, decks, loops and now recorded elements being integrated into live music, all these new technologies serve as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":16803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[98],"tags":[636],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWorking with backing tracks and MultiTracks in worship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use of backing and multi tracks used alongside live worship bands is becoming a reality for more and more churches. 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