Guitar Backing Trac

[fjferendo]

For the life of me I can’t figure out when to come on on the guitar backing tracks. Is there a simple technique?

[Casey Willis]

Hi there. So that’s a good question. It’s something that is difficult to do sometimes. I can tell you that there should be a 2 measure click intro for each tune.

I would recommend the following:

1. Listen to the beginning of the fiddle performance of the tune.

2. Think about the meter (3/4 for waltzes, 4/4 for reels & breakdowns, etc.).

3. Now think about the beginning of the melody you are about to play…are there any pickup notes which fall before the first downbeat? If so, you’ll have to fit them into the last part of the second click measure.

4. Hit play and count down the two measures worth of clicks (considering any pickup notes), and start playing so you are in line with the guitar, which will come into play in the third measure.

One thing I would highly recommend is practice humming the intro to the tune before trying to play it on the fiddle. If you can’t hum it and have the guitar come in in the right spot, go back and listen to the performance video again till you can count the song in in your head.

Hopefully that’s helpful.

C

[fjferendo]

thanks!

[John W.]

i always struggle with roxanne waltz and lovers waltz, but somehow ookpik seems easier. the 4/4 tunes are definitely way easier.

[Casey Willis]

I hear that, John. Yeah…the pickups on those can throw you for a loop, sir!

[2005tundra]

Is the anyway I can speed up or slow down the backing tracks?

[Casey Willis]

Hi, Tundra. We looked at that a while back when the site first launched. At that time, the tech wasn’t available to serve up audio files via web with the ability to slow them down….that may have changed. I’ve never really been thrilled with the SoundCloud embedded players, so maybe it’s time I revisited this to see if there is a good web-based solution that would allow tracks to be slowed down in a browser…stay tuned.

Cheers!

C

[Patti Sprouse]

I’m revisiting the question posed in 2017, asking if there is now a way to change speeds on the SoundCloud Guitar backing tracks. It would really be helpful as I learn a tune, without having to use the “performance” track. Thanks

[Casey Willis]

Hi, Patti.

Yeah – unfortunately, I’m still not seeing a slow-downer enabled playback module to embed in the site. Email the info@fiddlevideo.com, and I’m sure we can send you a few guitar tracks to use an off-line tool as George suggests.

All the best!

C

[George Bretz]

Patti,
I’ve been investigating your question for the last couple of days. One would think that if you sign up for a Sound Cloud account you could gain the use of their playback tools. So I signed up for a free account but was unable to access enhanced controls. If you pay for the Sound Cloud subscription you may get speed control.
It appears Casey records with Sound C and then gives us access to the recordings with no additional cost.

Next I tried using Loop to Learn (slow down app). Loop to Learn will let you loop the guitar file but not slow it down.

Here is kind of a low tech work around. You could play the backing track on a computer and record it with a phone/tablet. Save that recording and use a slow down app (Amazing Slowdowner, Loop to Learn, etc) to slow down your guitar tracks.
It’s kind of a clunky solution and you are limited by your playback and recording devices but it would work and only take a few minutes.
Best wishes,
George

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