Worship Musician November 2018 | Page 154

CERTIFIABLY ABLETON PLAYING TO A CLICK | Matt McCoy Sometimes the simplest thing can make all get off the click when you first try it. Don’t be which makes it easier to stay in time together. the difference. Like when your band members discouraged. It’s important that you give you actually listen to the new song before rehearsal, and your band grace as you begin to learn to The click is the foundation of Ableton Live. or when the charts are printed off in the exact play to a click. Don’t feel pressure to use it this Almost everything you do in Ableton Live key and arrangement of the song. These Sunday morning. Instead, just try using it during requires a consistent tempo - whether you small things can make huge differences. I’m a rehearsal. If you get off the click, stop it and are recording, using multitracks, or syncing up convinced that the number one thing you can try again next time. It’s like learning to ride a lyrics. The click is the railroad track that gets do to enhance the sound and professionalism bike - the more you practice, the more natural your band across the finish line together. Even if of your band is to play with a metronome (also it will feel. you don’t use tracks, you can still use Ableton known as a “click track”). Some of you probably Live as a metronome. The latest version of haven’t heard a metronome since your last Ableton Live 10 offers improvements to the piano lesson when you were nine-years old. Maybe you remember feeling that you weren’t able to fully enjoy the music because you were so focused on the metronome. Playing with a click doesn’t need to be that way. Once you are comfortable playing along, the click sound will fade into the background and you’ll wonder why you didn’t use it before. The click track is the glue that keeps your band together. Without a click, everyone in the band begins to play at their own tempo - which will make your band sound muddy and disconnected. We’ve all experienced the dragging feeling when a fast song unexpectedly transforms into a slow ballad by the end. It’s time to give your foot-stomping, time-keeper a The click is the railroad track that gets your the finish line together. Even is by using Impulse or Drum Rack to trigger click samples. Loop Community offers a pack click pack from loopcommunity.com/shop If you can’t afford Ableton Live right now, there are many metronome apps that are perfect for building a setlist. I recommend for worship leaders. It’s an easy way to get started if you’re brand new to this. Using a click track in Ableton Live is the best thing you can do to enhance the sound of your Ableton Live as band. Once you do it, you’ll never turn back. You’ll be amazed at how much tighter your band sounds. If you’re wanting to learn how to flowing dynamically is much better than flowing consistent time together, and give them more using MIDI clips. The easiest way to do this completely free and was designed specifically can still use in tempo. I’d rather have my band playing in You may also want to generate your own click “PRIME MultiTrack App” for iOS & MacOS. It’s if you don’t Convincing your band to start using a click may and want the music to “flow” more. However, to choose the sub-division rhythm of the click. Rimshot, and others. You can download the use tracks, you back because they don’t want to be “trapped” options in click sounds, as well as the ability of various click sounds like Marimba, Beep, band across break and let a click track do the work. be a challenge. Some musicians may push built-in metronome. You now have a few more a metronome. use Ableton Live to build a click track, I teach a free 1-hour beginners course for worship leaders. To sign up, visit AbletoninWorship.com freedom to focus on the dynamics (volume, feel, sensitivity) of their individual parts. If everyone is worried about staying in time together, the last It’s important that your drummer can hear the thing they will be thinking about is dynamics. click, but it’s even better if everyone in your band can hear it. Otherwise, the drummer will Another reason band members may resist have to work harder at keeping everyone else the click is because they are afraid of what in time. If everyone can hear the click, each will happen if they get off it. It’s very normal to member is held accountable on their own, 154 November 2018 Matt McCoy Matt is a worship leader and songwriter from Chicago. He is the founder of LoopCommunity.com and an Ableton Certified Trainer. LoopCommunity.com WorshipMusician.com