Live performance question: Sequencing

[Cybersavior]

Our local (Dallas) competition cover bands tend to use recorded tracks (for horns, keys, bg vox etc.). Does anyone know, or have links to the technical detail behind doing this?

Secondly, it sounds good and all but using recordings equates to cheating in my opinion. I opt for *LIVE* music. Who else considers this practice a fundamental compromise?

[IrfaanSE801]

I don't know how bigger bands do this, but a few local bands that use a few synths in the background just have em on CD and they play to it live through the PA. I don't know if it's just the synths or everything mixed when they play it, but it comes out good. If you have a lot of tracks, pulling it off live might be hell, but it'll give room for improv which can be a great thing with a live band with good musicians

[Sanctuary]

Midi!!!!!!!!!!!

[texasfury]

It's a performance competition, not a recording playback competition. If it were my contest to run, bands that used recordings as part of the performance would have their points adjusted as a percentage of recorded parts to total members. In other words a 4 piece band that used a MIDI track as a fifth "member" would then have their points adjusted to 80% of the total.

Then again, I do recall that Barbara Streisand went on a tour where she was the only artist on stage. Her musical director recorded all the parts to MIDI, and then used a method where he would tap out beats on a sensor, and the MIDI would play in time to his inpot, which he used to follow BS's tempo. He wasn't bound by a strict linear MIDI arrangement, he also had the capability to reorder, insert new and delete sections during the performance, in case BS decided to change things up a bit.

[Sanctuary]

It takes skill to program MIDI. It doesn't take skill to pop a CD in. I can certainly see myself using MIDI in the future instead of hiring a dedicated keyboardist for example...

[Zerberus]

It's a performance competition, not a recording playback competition. If it were my contest to run, bands that used recordings as part of the performance would have their points adjusted as a percentage of recorded parts to total members. In other words a 4 piece band that used a MIDI track as a fifth "member" would then have their points adjusted to 80% of the total....

So a project like mine where 50% is the shitload of work that goes into live sequencing, morphing, triggering and general "framework" (and must be managed at all times by a competent keyboardist /programmer) is worth 50% of the points just because you can´t see him actually playing?

No offense taken, just wanted to show that MIDI and "playback"/"Lip synching" style approaches are wholly unrelated in this aspect... Occide has a lot more work than I do live

[roodyrocker]

I'm in an 80's cover band. We don't have a keyboard player because they're so hard to find. We use a mini-disc player which our bassist and drummer have put midi tracks on for songs like the intro to Mr. Crowley, or the keys to Van Halen's Dreams, and the middle break in Whitesnake's Still of The Night. If I had a keyboard player available I'd sure prefer that live but...
Also, just so you know, not all keyboard players are playing everything you hear live either. Some parts are pre-recorded and they play other parts along with it live. I don't know how to do any of that stuff myself but others in my band do. Anyway, our drummer plays to a click track with an ear bud for those songs that we have the mini-disc player on. Could songs like Mr. Crowley be played live with it? Sure, but Mr. Crowley's keyboard intro is just too awesome to cut out

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com

[thetruthguy]

I played in a band where we just converted all the keyboard parts to guitars. Sounded nice and heavy.

[Trypp Powell]

If you are going to go the pre-recorded parts option, then pan all of the parts to the left and pan your click track to the right (or vice versa). That way you can run the audio to a channel on your board that is going out to the speakers and run the click to a channel that will just be in the drummer's headphones.

[roodyrocker]

Thats exactly how we do it Trypp Powell

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com

[RacerX]

Man, Wicked Rocks got some wicked-lookin' groupies!



Ooofah!

[texasfury]

.

[roodyrocker]

Pretty funny Ron

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com

[eaeolian]

Is the drummer playing to a click? If so, here's what I think the best solution is:

Unless you *have* to have stereo for some reason, burn mp3s with a click on one side, and the sequenced stuff mixed the way you want it on the other. Split the output, send the clikc to the drummer, and the music to the FOH.

[roodyrocker]

Yes, our drummer plays to a click track. Its the only way we can think off to play songs that start with something like keyboards. Van Halen's Dreams is a good example of this. He listens to the click track which he added in before the keyboard intro then I know to come in WITH the keys after he clicks his sticks a preset count. I think his click track is on the left channel while the right goes FOH. He has used other methods before but using CD players didn't work out live because the pounding of the drums and bass caused the CD to skip. The rack mounted Tascam mini-disc player has been reliable.We only use it on a handful of songs but its opened up the possibility for us to do some stuff we otherwise couldn't do.

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com