Like many musicians, over the decades I have worked very hard on my “time” and accuracy, seeking to play “perfect” time. There are legends of virtuoso studio drummers listening to a metronome, leaving, walking around the block, and returning without losing a beat. What is perfect time? Is it better?
What’s the Secret of Comedy?
One issue with time is the confusion about what “feel” is and what “accuracy” means. Let’s break it down:
- Note accuracy: This is how close your attack is to the subdivision. This is most important for percussive sounds like drums and piano. In voice and winds, there is less of a transient, so players have to play early to make the peak of the note arrive on the beat. Studio drummers strive to get this perfect, and this is what gets moved when we quantize a track in a sequencer.
- Tempo control: Your ability to hold a steady tempo without rushing (or dragging.) This is highly valued in drummers, exemplified by the “walking around the block” trick mentioned above. Classical players put little emphasis on this, since this kind of music is expected to “breathe.” “Perfect tempo” is when a person can pull any numerical tempo out of thin air, or who can accurately identify a tempo in beats/minute.
- Metrical control: Playing in any kind of meter, or being able to superimpose complex syncopations without losing your place in the measure and phrase. Complex latin, jazz and rock demand us to keep track of “one” no matter what happens. You could have great tempo and accuracy and still get thrown-off by a crazy rhythmic figure. Some drummers pride themselves on playing confusing figures, especially during solos. These complex rhythms make some music very interesting and challenging.
- Placement: This is the deliberate shifting of notes slightly behind or ahead of the “perfect” location. A true swing feel is one of these “gray areas.” Vocalists and soloists practice this “back-phrasing” to make a melody sound relaxed and smooth. Frank Sinatra and other vocalists are examples. Drummers work on “laying back” the feel to create a relaxed groove. This one is hard to create artificially, since it is based on human expression. It is also hard to teach, except by example. Attempts to “humanize” rhythms in a sequencer usually fail and end up sounding sloppy, rather than relaxed. Many falsely think this is the main “feel” element in rhythm.
- Articulation: Even when all of the above features are under control, the durations of the notes, slurs, and accents still need to be handled. Unlike tempo control, classical players put great emphasis on this. Imagine a jazz solo or walking bass line played with a staccato feel, or snare ghost strokes played at full volume and you get the idea of how important this is. Even a slight change in note duration or dynamics can make a line sound mechanical and stiff. This arguably is the most individual part of a musician’s “feel.”
Why We Click
In many forms of music, we use a click track when recording. Let’s look at why we do this, and how it can be a good thing:
- First and foremost, it allows us to edit the music on beats and subdivisions easily. This is much easier than using “clock” time like minutes and seconds. It also allows us to quantize music to “perfect” locations with a few mouse clicks.
- It keeps the tempo completely steady. This works well in some styles, such as dance music, and less well in classical and other styles.
- It allows the instruments to be recorded in any order. Without a click, the drummer and other tempo-keeping instruments would have to go first, otherwise the music would fall apart when other instruments established a shaky foundation.
- We can throw all kinds of loops and tempo-synced delays into our mixes very easily.
- Musicians have developed good tempo control.
Once this click-track methodology came into use, musicians began to work on being accurate about tempo in ways that weren’t thought of before. It arguably raised the level of tempo control in the world of recording musicians.
Is It Better?
The downside of all this is that some factors in music have become highly accurate while others have been arguably mowed-down.
- In order to facilitate editing, music that might “breathe” is now steady as a rock. When I say “breathe,” I don’t mean drifting or sloppiness. This is for the convenience of editors, not musicians or listeners.
- Because the music can be easily quantized, we can squeeze all the life out of a mix. I have seen performances where every note has been moved.
- Copy-and-paste edits that wouldn’t work without a steady tempo are now possible, subjecting us to absolute waveform repeats rather than human repeats. We now hear the same background vocals on every verse.
- The ability to play all the way through the song is now less important since parts can be pasted.
- Because songs can be recorded one instrument at a time, musical interaction is minimized.
Take a listen to the tempo rise in this track. Does it make it feel”bad?”
Questions:
- How has click-based recording changed music?
- Which type of time-feel is your weakest?
- Which types of music are improved or harmed by “perfect” time?
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