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  • Need guideline for creating click track for live performance

    I'm writing a piece for live orchestra to perform in sync with a projected short movie. I plan on doing ritardandos, accelerando and sudden tempo changes. Not sure how to handle the click in those cases. I'd appreciate any tips on that, even online info would be useful.

    cheers,

    m   


  • What sequencer do you use?

    DG


  • The latest Digital Performer. 


  • OK, well I believe that it has some excellent features to help you.

    1) I would play the score in with click for the passages that need to be regular.

    2) I would play the rubato passages without click, but making sure that they fit the picture

    3) Move the barlines around until the click fits to the rubato passages

    4) Conduct the whole piece through so that you can check that the click is musical.

    Of theses, #4 is the most important. I have many colleagues who are good writers, but often have trouble with rits when they record with live players. The reason for this is that the rubato they put in is done by maths and drawing. My clicks often look very complicated, but are actually very musical, and therefore easy to learn for the players. If you make sure that the click is musical you will have little or no problems, no matter how complicated it is.

    Feel free to ask any specific questions, as I have done many sessions with live players and click, both for film, TV and for library music.

    DG


  • I wouldn't have a click at all to be honest. If you are using DP then I would do punches and streamers. You can add them to the video and then conduct to that, like auricle. I would use streamers to give you start and end of cue, to help hit sync points, to tell you when to end a fermata etc. You can then use punches as refernce points between streamers to mark certain bars to keep you in time. You can also add flutter punches which will give you the tempo.

  • Streamers and punches are not an option since it's a live performance to an audience (not a recording). I won't be conducting either. Only the conductor will listen to the click. I'm still not clear how to do tempo changes. Once I'm done with the piece I introduce a new tempo one bar ahead? 


  • last edited
    last edited

    @marc_5798 said:

    Streamers and punches are not an option since it's a live performance to an audience (not a recording). I won't be conducting either. Only the conductor will listen to the click. I'm still not clear how to do tempo changes. Once I'm done with the piece I introduce a new tempo one bar ahead? 

    Ah, you didn't say that only the conductor would have click. Recipe for disaster. Don't do it. Punches and Streamers using a monitor (so that they don't upset the audience).

    DG


  •  Unfortunately it's not my call  and I'm told I can only use a click track for sync. So any tips on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated.