Click Track - On Click Tracks

On Click Tracks

The invention of the click track is sometimes credited to Carl Stalling, although other sources have given it to Max Steiner and Scott Bradley. The click track was sufficiently useful as a synchronization tool that it became part of standard recording technology, whether for films, radio or other sound recording and the click track was applied to one of the tracks on a multi-track tape recorder. By the late 20th century, particularly in the realm of sound synthesizers and digital recording, the click track became computerized and synchronizing different instruments became more complex, whereupon the click track was largely supplanted by SMPTE timecode.

The click track may also be used as a form of metronome directly by musicians in the studio or on stage, particularly by drummers, who listen via headphones to maintain a consistent beat. As said before, one can think of a click track as essentially being a kind of metronome (except that in musical recordings it is fed through headphones to one or more of the musicians during a recording or performance, but as previously mentioned, quite often to just the drummer). This is because drums (often along with the bass, guitar and/or piano when present, together making up what is often called the rhythm section) tend to provide the rhythmic fulcrum in small ensembles, not just because drums are loud, but also because drummers very often go through the most advanced rhythmic training compared to many other instrumentalists.

The practice of recording using an aiding click track is contrary (and bothersome to some) to the practice of using a metronome during practice and then turning it off come time for a performance or recording, which has traditionally been more common in the past. More information regarding criticisms of click tracks will be found in the relevant section of this article. The use of a click track allows for easier editing in a digital audio workstation (DAW) or music sequencer, since various parts can be easily quantized and moved around or spliced together without worrying about minute differences in timing. This approach to recording is sometimes criticized for making the music sound "dead" and artificial, but in the right circumstances it can be useful. For instance, there exist modern "one-man bands" who may record all or many of the different parts of a recording separately themselves, and put them together in a multi-track audio editor. In this case, click tracks are usually essential.

This can be especially true (regarding one-man acts) with regard to longer pieces of music. This is likely because the longer a human being tries to keep a metronomic rhythm without a reference, the more time there is to get significantly off-synchrony with the project's beats per minute (BPM). However, if they are able to maintain a very consistent tempo throughout, but fall slightly shy of having performed at the song's overall actual tempo, the resulting recording can often be time-stretched or condensed to fit the proper duration evenly so that it can be added to the mix of tracks, without the need for quantization).

Click tracks can also be essential for certain types of metal, especially if the music is played at an extremely high tempo. In circumstances like these, where the margin of error is so minute, the performance may need to be aided by a click track, or it will completely fall apart, and it can become a blur in which the downbeats can't be clearly recognized, with the overall rhythm possibly in ruins. Furthermore, there is also the case of electronic music artists, whose music is generally entirely (or mostly) based on multiple, individually created tracks, all set to rigid timing by the very nature of the medium used to produce the genre.

It is not uncommon for musicians or engineers to subdivide click tracks at slow tempos (for instance, below 70 BPM) into smaller parts, with, e.g., a click on the start of a bar and a beep on every individual 1/4 (or 1/8, or 1/16, etc.) note. Some musicians also use pre-recorded backing tracks with additional parts such as synthesizers, strings or layered background vocals to recreate parts that would be impractical to play live, in which case a click track synchronized with the backing track is played through headphones or in-ear monitors to keep the musicians in synchrony with the backing track.