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5 tips for playing along with a backing track

When practicing an instrument, we are all faced with playing in a band sooner or later. Playing alone, you'll probably make and keep making rhythm mistakes you wouldn't even notice.

Indeed, playing the right notes is not enough, music also requires playing the right section at the right time, and does not forgive any mistakes (we all have an artist in mind, or even ourselves, being nervous at one point in a song, and we can still feel the shaky hands and cheeks getting red, right?).

Unfortunately, not everyone has an opportunity to play in a band. In this situation, backing tracks are a first-class solution. These sound recordings include all the tracks of the song, except your instrument. You can play the regular sections, or start an improvisation with a band always in your back pocket.

As you may have already guessed, it's more or less a "karaoke for instruments"!

Once you've selected your song, don't rush into anything. We have a couple of tips to help you make the most of your Backing Track.

First of all, you need to set the right volume for the Backing Track, loud enough to hear it while playing, but not too loud to avoid covering your mistakes. If you turn the volume of the Backing Tracks up, it might sound nice and give you the impression that your instrument "melts" into the band, but it will also slow down your progression. It's best if you hear your mistakes first, practice, and then turn the volume up when you've got the song right.

One of the best things about Backing Tracks is they teach you how to play in rhythm. For starters, you might turn the "click track" on, or use a metronome to keep up with the tempo (displayed for each track on our website).

Try to become familiar with the different sections of the song, the number of beats per measure, the strong beats, etc. Being in a familiar location will help you avoid getting lost!

You can also listen to the other instruments one after the other. For instance, if you are a piano, guitar, or drum player, focus on the bass, which usually helps you feeling the chord variations on the first beat of each measure. You can also pay attention to the drum breaks between sections. Notice which beat the singer starts on etc. Playing in a band is totally different from playing alone with a music sheet, and you need to help yourself with your partners to succeed.

Get on it step by step. Instead of playing your part from scratch (riff, solo, or rhythm), start with the first chord or note for each measure. This way, you'll be focusing less on your part and more on the structure of the track, the rhythm, and the other instruments.

Once you've got those white gems in mind, play the strong beats, and only after completing those steps, play your part in whole.

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41 comments
  • 4 years ago
      I noticed some comments about wanting to separate the click from the other instruments. Karaoke version has a pan control for each instrument in the mix software. You can pan the click to one side and all the instruments to the other, then use the right and left outputs as separate mono feeds to your mixer etc.
    • 7 years ago
        I love your tracks! I agree with dcz. Sheet music for your tracks would help a lot and save lots of time. That way, a serious musician can have a much larger repertoire and do a bigger variety of shows! Of course, learning the music language(reading, writing, hearing skills)is so important to performance in my opinion.
      • 7 years ago
          I have put whole shows together with the tracks, used them in the studio and live on stage. Great stuff. Pro-Tools or Cakewalk files would be valuable. DrM
        • 9 years ago
            I also download each individual instrument as a mp3 then import into audacity or cubase! That way you can have a more precise mix...eq the instrument and enhance with effects...just a thought
          • 9 years ago
              That's crazy... I played in Vegas for over 20 years and click tracks were standard! These days, you have to be able to sync with video production, lighting, computer enhanced tracks and more! It helps you to develop and become rock steady.. every pro drummer worth anything can groove with a click!
            • 9 years ago
                click track tracks are a waist of time the drummer needs to immerse themselves in to the music ie sound rythm feel etc. Click tracks kill your vibe.
              • 9 years ago
                  Those of you who can do without charts don't have to waste money on them, but for mortal souls like me it would be terrific and the best solution. As it is now, I am not interested in buying a track that I can't play and sound alike - and perform in front of an audience.
                • 9 years ago
                    About charts: It may be easy to find the chords in a song but to figure out the whole arrangement for the piano can be much too much of a task. Suppose I want to play songs of Jerry Lee Lewis or Duke Ellington and duplicate their piano style!!! Well, I'll never figure out what is going on in both hands and it will never sound quite the same. But with a chart I can get close to the "right" sound as on the track and save myself from many hours of frustration.
                  • 9 years ago
                      I learn the track by playing the guitar without the chord in. this way you can hear the guitar but also hear the track better. Also if I have trouble with the bars at the start and the beaks during the song I also download the track with the lead singer and learn it that way. Also my Rowland BK-7m machine gives me a wider range of keys to suit my voice. I have been playing guitar for 50 years and because of Karaoke Version am still enjoying it as much as ever kip country
                    • 9 years ago
                        if you already have not heard of it,may i recommend the app GUITAR TAPP. it has the lyrics and chords to almost every song imaginable and you can set the pace as you chase the words on the screen. come to think of it,it would be nice if there was a place on this site to auto link back and forth from the karaoke to the sheet music or guitar tapp.
                      • 9 years ago
                          Thank you for these excellent tips :)
                        • 9 years ago
                            for the best bt's the kv. [s the best my show is better than ever [ tbob ]
                          • 9 years ago
                              This is simply great!
                            • 9 years ago
                                Playing live with backing tracks requires the same work as playing in a live band. There is no substitute for practice with the tracks you want to perform but practicing with backing tracks requires one thing that a band does not. You must know the backing track inside and out. The tempo, the breaks, the dynamics, etc. because backing tracks can't change to meet your needs the way band members will. I also use a Bose T1 mixer and L1 system to ensure I can hear everything equally.
                              • 9 years ago
                                  Here's some advice for the folks asking for the charts; Learn to identify the diatonic chords. Then listen exclusively to the bass. Bass usually plays the root on the first beat of the bar. With the use of your ear and the knowledge of the diatonic chords as related to the major key will make it easier to write your own charts. Eventually you'll just hear the changes as they come.
                                • 9 years ago
                                    Your service and and help are great when asking for some technical help. When we ask for new tracks at a future date, eventually you come through with them. Great place to get tracks. Regards. Louis
                                  • 9 years ago
                                      These tips are very good for the beginners. I think it is not my case. However, I thank you very much for keeping me informed.
                                    • 9 years ago
                                        Will you guys ive us the ability to pan the click left or right in the near future?
                                      • 9 years ago
                                          Has anyone tried using a stereo looper between the backing track player and the P A. I am thinking of trying it to extend my guitar solos. I also want to try using a stereo volume pedal to control the levels of songs, since some othem are louder than others. Also to create more dynamics throughout a song. I love Karaoke Version. I have played in bands for 30 years. Right now this fits my life perfect. I have 45 backing tracks on my list.
                                        • 9 years ago
                                            It would B cool to download all the tracks at once without going through the mute process every time then put it in our own track software
                                          • 9 years ago
                                              Ok here is what I have found as a guitar player. That one or more of the tracks with lead guitar on it also has rhythm on the same track. It needs to be a complete lead track with no rhythm on it at all and no lead guitar fills either. Put the fills on a different track or with the lead track. That's my two bits Lol
                                            • 9 years ago
                                                I like to download each part separately and remix it in my DAW software. Karaoke Version is the ONLY source I've found for karaoke songs that makes each part available on its own track. My only complaint is that downloading each file separately takes forever. KV.. how about making a zip file containing all the tracks available in one download?
                                              • 9 years ago
                                                  OMG I was doing all my own backtrack until I found this website, it saves me so much time now there's some songs that I can find on here that I don't have to manually do, I liked it a lot some of the songs you can tell they've spent a lot of time getting the patches as close as possible, which is something that I take a lot of pride in, i've been backtracking for at least 30+ years, there's not much that I don't know about backtracking there's so many different ways I think I've tried them all
                                                • 9 years ago
                                                    the click keeps you in tempo for the song if you are practicing with any instrument or if you have a live drummer so that he can keep up to the tempo of the song
                                                  • 9 years ago
                                                      Please, can anybody tell me what a 'click' track is?? Thanks :-)
                                                    • 9 years ago
                                                        I find it hard to believe that all you musicians wanting a chart do not know the several very good free sites that will give you the CHART FREE. just remember backing tracks are not always in the key they say they are. there are also several site that you can upload the track and they will tell you what key it is in and even give you a chart for the tune,several are free and several have fees high or modest you decide if the tune is worth doing
                                                      • 9 years ago
                                                          I would like to be able to transpose to any key. KV only allows you to convert + or - 2.
                                                        • 9 years ago
                                                            Would love to have songs equalized so all volumes are close to the same. Would make live mixing much easier.
                                                          • 9 years ago
                                                              Yep. That's the way to do it. I use WaveLab and splice tracks together all the time. I don't want the click to play through the whole song but some sections there may be only silence so I'll merge in the click track from a separate download for just that section - you just have to match up the time meters exactly. I also use MP3Gain to normalise the track level to the same DB as every other track before syncing to my iPad. Lastly I paste in the song lyrics thru iTunes and type notes/reminders.
                                                            • 9 years ago
                                                                After 25 plus years of playing in a cover band I grew tired and left the scene. I probably would have let my thousands of dollars of equipment collect dust and fade away if I did not find this site. Instead my playing has expanded dramatically, I can play any song I choose, my band never shows up drunk or stoned, I am never missing an instrument because they worked late or the girlfriend said don't go tonight, and my band in a box never gives me attitute. Thank you Karaoke Version GREAT WORK!