Click Track Virgin

GuitarLegend said:
I often find my students are unable to tap their foot while playing guitar. A metronome is a nightmare to them. I substitute a drum machine that sounds much better than a metronome but it is still the same principle – playing in time to the beat.

The real problem is not that you CAN’T play to a click track, but more because you DON’T play to one. There was a time when you couldn’t play guitar. If you want to improve your timing, then you have to start playing in time, its as simple as that. Lets face it, if you cant tap your foot or play to a metronome, then you have a timing problem, not a click track problem. Whether you use a metronome, drum machine or just tapping your foot, you will get better with practice.

The two most important things in playing music are 1. Play in tune and 2. Play in time. If both of these are good, you will sound good no matter what your experience. If either of these are bad, you will sound bad, no matter what your experience…
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I have no problem tapping my foot to keep time and play an instrument. I have been doing that since I was 7 years old. I have played baritone/euphonium, and still do, in wind ensembles since I was 10 years old and have tapped my foot for 50 years while playing the guitar. Since I was in high school I have done some conducting and in college I minored in music and studied conducting so I can also keep time with a baton.

So my problem is not an inability to keep time, it is how to deal with that annoying tick, tick, tick in my ears without getting distracted. I have always relied on my internal metronome even when being conducted. You really only look at the conductor to start, during time signature changes and to end plus at fermata and other dynamic symbols in the music, the rest of the time you have to read the music and keep the time set by conductor yourself. I suppose that if I never add any drum tracks to my recordings then a click track wouldn't be necessary. But according to all I have read here using a click track is a good skill to develop and to use if one wants to add a drum track later.
 
In all those instances you describe, the tempo is still somewhat under your control. With a click track, it doesn't ebb and flow with your feel, the orchestra's interpretation of the conductors movements, etc...

You obviously know where the notes belong against the beat, so you are correct that it is probably the sound you are using for the click that is making it difficult for you. I use a cowbell when I play drums because it has a longer duration that I can pick out of a dense mix without it being really loud.

Sometimes it helps to bury it in the mix, so that it is only really apparent during rests.
Besides the sound, getting the mix right in the headphones is essential.
 
I personally can't stand the sound of a cowbell. That is why I use a sidestick sample with a reverb decay on it. It gets it's point across without sound un-musical.
 
I've been using a wooden blocks/sticks sound for years.
I like to use it without any accents, just straight click.
 
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