How Bands Use Backing Tracks Without ANYONE Noticing

[@philipodinakachi]

This is very informative and on-point. A lot of people assume using tracks means you're being lazy and are not a professional musician capable of playing live.

[@danoneill130]

When I was touring several years ago, we used some backing tracks. A little bit of shaker and tambourine or some percussive elements that weren't "loud", just enough to create openness and movement. There were some tiny bits of key pads, pedal steel, and minimal loops. It was all done in really good taste. It all came together to create dynamics and emotion. The rest was played live, drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitar and vocals. Bgv's were live. It all sounded massive, especially when you have a great FOH guy like we had which was also our TM.

[@sabusatsha]

Hey Will, this is something to dive deep into. Very informative, would love that podcast!

[@byronsanto]

I’ve used backing tracks in 4-piece bands, ie L-Vox, Gtr, Bass & Drums starting around 1987. The only individuals that I’ve encountered that noticed the tracks were other musicians and we covered a wide variety of music.

[@randyroystorms]

Hi Will, thanks for you work. You're the first guy I turn to when I need to fix or do something in Live. I've been using Live for about 2 years now on stage and rehearsals. I use it for Clicks, Cues and certain backing tracks. I use the MIDI side to send page down and song change mssgs to Bandhelper, change the presets on my Roland FA-07 keys, and my Roland GT-1000 guitar effects. Since we use a Behringer XR18 for mixing I control Snapshots using MIDI on CH1 and control the MUTEs using Ch 2 via LoopBe (thanks for turning me onto that). I use Live to control all our lighting via MIDI to the Q light controller in sync with each song. I have the entire set of tracks in Ableton so when a member calls me at the last minute to say they will be late or can't make a rehearsal, I just switch on their parts the backing tracks. Thanks again!

[@wabashandlakemusic]

We've been using clicks with tracks for the past 4 years. At first, it can be weird, but most of the time, it disappears into the mix, and you're just vibing with your other band mates. We went this direction because I personally, as the guitar player, wanted more of our production elements from the recordings in our live show, but our Drummer wanted it for lights. I would say that both have heightened the experience and feeling we are trying to emote in our live set. We have keys and synths, but we also do some enhancing, like big over the top drum hits. Basically most of what you've hit on this video we've utilized and we always get compliments on how professional we sound. Your videos have helped a lot with a technical aspect here recently

[@gvibes69]

And even with all this bullcrasp and te tech new bands are much worst than the oldschool acts that actually know how to play their instruments !!! If you cannot replicate your studio album live well !!!!! practice more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@metalpuppet5798]

​@@gvibes69you CAN NOT faithfully recreate orchestral parts, beats, synths etc fully live in a regular band setting. Its simply impossible. It has NOTHING to do with being good or bad. In some genres and songs its vital to have the extra instrumentation. And you also can NOT just rearrange the songs to fit just the band. As I said its impossible to recreate all that faithfully. Your fans deserve THE song. Not just some pathetic version that sounds nothing like it. THAT is what they paid for. Also touring with all the extra musicians to play everything fully live is financially and logistically impossible for pretty much any band. Even Metallica only played two single shows with full orchestra

[@bobbysbackingtracks]

You CAN really used backing tracks creatively in a LIVE situation. Great vid!

[@jeremymelton]

absolutely do a follow-up. I am tracking with you (BA DUM!) 100% but I have band members that aren’t convinced it isn’t “cheating.”

[@xicoamc]

I'd love to hear your take on hip hop/rap/rnb artists playing live with real drums and mixing those real drums with the 808/trap drums.

[@tomutschig]

Will, please show examples in Ableton. Thanks Tom

[@JonValtandtheEvilRobots]

The question about tracks is even broader than that. I play with a home built synth furniture setup. Sometimes the computer is playing samples, sometimes a whole track. And that’s the thing. A “sample” can be a sound bite, fart sound effect, or “the entire band playing the second verse”. 🤣 Some of my Scenes in Session View are several instruments and clips, some are just a single sample that is the entire backing track!!

[@musicbydavidyoungs]

Yeah, useful video, thanks man. Ableton spelling tutorial included as well, bonus 🙂.

[@Necropheliac]

I’m curious what people think about this. I’ve written and recorded some songs that have some extra instruments in the arrangement. The band only has vocals, guitar, bass, keys and drums, but some of the arrangements have horns and strings and a mixture of piano and organ. Even if we could find horn players, and the extra hands to join our shows, we can’t afford to split the earnings to that many people and have it still be worthwhile for everyone to show up to gigs. Frustratingly difficult dilema. So should we do the 5 piece band with tracks for the extra instruments? Or just do the songs live without the full arrangement? The genre is blues/pop/classic rock. I’d like to use tracks to get the full arrangement so the audience can hear it the way it’s intended but I’m worried about how they’ll react hearing horns when there is obviously no horn players on stage.

[@davidkerwood5181]

I would love to see/hear examples.

[@rhythmkats]

Great video. Would love to see a deeper dive also!

[@shirleycallaghanmusic]

Thanks so much for that. Its something I've been thinking about doing so will check your website. Im working with piano and vocals but would like to use the backing track of the songs produced on stage. Not sure how to do it yet 😊

[@TSTBand]

Thank you very much for making this content vídeos! I have a few questions if you don't mind. 01 - I heard on more than one occasion that you recommend that for redundant systems one should have 2 exactly same computers, so my question would be... what kind of problem can occur if I have, for example, a macbook pro as the main computer and a mac mini as slave having both of them slightly different specs? 02 - Usually, what I saw during your redundant equipment interviews is that the people in charge of them usually use Macbook Pro and not Mac Mini, is there a particular reason for that? Thank you very much and i hope you keep growing!

[@Saint_2487]

Great content, thank you! Is the link for “Getting Started with Ableton Live Template” no longer available?

[@markogier4099]

Great video. Follow up would be awesome.

[@KerwoodBand]

Please, dive deep. Definitely interested.

[@gabrielsingh3588]

my question is how do you know its all seamlessly mixed properly, especially when adding and taking out instruments? In terms of letting a set run through, how do you know each track is leveled with the components it has in it to seamlessly run great vid tho

[@Bestbuddy719]

Please show us how to do this! 🙏

[@chipcaronte]

Heeey... Soooo... Did we get the Ableton tutorial?

[@miquelmarti6537]

I was at a BMTH concert and it felt like listening to a CD. I bet everybody noticed that.

[@fromstudiotostage]

That’s awesome! I bet it sounded amazing

[@miquelmarti6537]

@@fromstudiotostage yes, especially the voice. But TBH the instruments felt quite disconnected from the stage. Samples on the drums, digital guitars, and a thousand backing tracks.... that was my impression.

[@venomifeanyichukwu7381]

Hi Will, this is good please dive deeper

[@JonValtandtheEvilRobots]

Performing music with a full backing track in front of 5 people makes you more authentic of a musician than watching 500 videos about how to “not be fake” and fantasizing about how pure you are for not using backing tracks during your imaginary concerts. 😛

[@wdc97]

Please post a tutorial on this on yt 😊

[@U2360TO]

Keyboard arpeggios are technically ''pre-played' parts. So is most string VSTs. Plus there's a 40 year old technology called MIDI that allows you to play a violin tone on a guitar! Audience may not find the violinist on stage, but the guitarist is still playing it live using his MIDI pickup! Grow up folks!

[@fromstudiotostage]

that's awesome! MIDI and tracks are amazing technologies that allow you to craft the perfect show!

[@phantazein]

Nice! Mono next time 😅

[@adrianmoore2440]

Hey, your free template page isn’t working

[@fromstudiotostage]

page is up and working now! fromstudiotostage.com/template

[@RetireEatsDelivers]

Short and sweet? It took you 4 minutes and 22 seconds to start to make a point.

[@davidschoolman1]

Michael Smith

[@Menyhard]

So sad

[@gvibes69]

This guy show that is the producer \ enginer Ego that sometimes wants to enhance the parts ???? Loll thats cheating !!!! A good band dont need Enhancing !!!! This video is all bullcrap !!!!

[@fromstudiotostage]

thanks for watching my bullcrap!

[@metalpuppet5798]

Its still a full live performance. In some songs or genres extra instrumentation is absolutely vital to make the songs work. Every band needs to write the stuff they want to write. Otherwise they are just going to burn out. If that means having full orchestra parts etc that sometimes take the main melody or stuff like that then so be it. That does NOT mean its not still a live performance. The band is still playing everything fully live that they can physically play.

[@vamband]

great vid! our band (top 40 in south Florida) utilizes tracks to enhance! we've also automated a lyric teleprompter, 100% accurate to timing of tracks, which would have to be manually scrolled without tracks/click. I made this video, which showcases my bass players 'in-ear monitor' mix, while also displaying the lyrics how my lead singers see them. in this particular song 'Signed Sealed Delivered' by Stevie Wonder, it's just BGVs (backing vocals), horn parts, and percussion (tambourine in this case). some other songs, there are also string parts, etc. check it out kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJqxaKKInZJ0l9k

[@fromstudiotostage]

Nice! I love it!