Did the Beatles use metronomes while recording?

[contramark]

just wondering whether using metronomes was common in the 60's as it is today. did the beach boys/ motown acts use metronomes or did it rely on the groove of the band and live tempo of the drummer?

[Professor T]

I'd like to throw this in as a related question, if you don't mind- What exactly does playing to a click track get you? If a band can play songs at a steady tempo, is there any reason to use a click track?

hope this isn't a hijack, not meaning to.

[ckeene]

I'd like to throw this in as a related question, if you don't mind- What exactly does playing to a click track get you? If a band can play songs at a steady tempo, is there any reason to use a click track?

hope this isn't a hijack, not meaning to.

clicks are used when a band isn't sounding sterile and lifeless enough, of if the drummer is sounding too much like a drummer.

[JGriffin]

clicks are used when a band isn't sounding sterile and lifeless enough, of if the drummer is sounding too much like a drummer.

That didn't take long.

[cgarges]

clicks are used when a band isn't sounding sterile and lifeless enough, of if the drummer is sounding too much like a drummer.

Yeah, I always thought of the Police as a "lifeless" band.

There could be a multitude of practical reasons to use a click track. Lack of a click didn't stop, say, The Bay City Rollers from selling a bunch of records, but it also didn't hurt artists like The Beatles or The Beach Boys, either.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[chris harris]

obviously, click tracks aren't right for every drummer, or even every song that a given drummer will play.

but, it certainly helps make edits easier. and, it eliminates that whole sitting around listening to the lead in to the bridge a thousand times while the band argues whether or not the drummer "sped up just a tiny bit"..

I think that being staunchly pro or staunchly anti click track is just ridiculous. again, it's a tool. and, used poorly, you end up with poor results. but, if used properly, nobody (even the coolest, old school, thou shalt not click curmudgeons) will ever notice.

[wedge]

I've always wondered about this, too... Certainly, the Beatles didn't *need* a click, as they were a tight, well-honed band, but they also liked to try stuff for the sake of trying it, and I can see them using a click here and there (but not everywhere)... Anyone know fer shure?

[Mark Alan Miller]

While I've read or been told or something that "Blackbird" has audible foot-tapping, I always thought it sounded like a metronome... and cool, at that.

[JGriffin]

While I've read or been told or something that "Blackbird" has audible foot-tapping, I always thought it sounded like a metronome... and cool, at that.

According to various sources (including the Lewisohn book) it's a metronome.

[Randy]

and why did Keith Moon play with headphones live? I doubt he had trouble hearing the guitars.

I wouldn't consider his playing sterile.

[contramark]

I've always wondered about this, too... Certainly, the Beatles didn't *need* a click, as they were a tight, well-honed band, but they also liked to try stuff for the sake of trying it, and I can see them using a click here and there (but not everywhere)... Anyone know fer shure?

yeh thats what im thinking. they tried and pioneered almost every aspect of the recording process and im sure ringo used a little metronome here and there.

and while they may or may not have used a metronome on every track, it seems the post rubber soul stuff has that locked-tempo sound and is very steady throughout the songs. they usually dont speed up or slow down sections (for the most part) like the earlier material.

[Jon Nolan]

yeah, i'm pretty sure that the beatles DID use a metronome. i read somewhere that the bell ringing at in "A Day in the Life" right before the "woke up, got out of bed...." transition was the signal for the end of the end of that first string section "build," but they liked it so they left it in. and i might be wrong, but i think this is an example of a song where they had a metronome.

i agree too, as someone else mentioned before, that being staunchly for/against a click is a bad idea. it's just a tool after all. i can't imagine how tough it would be to try and add something like an entire string section to a track with a band that's pushing and pulling on a lot. not that it can't be done, but i would think it'd be tough. that said, i've seen one of my old drummers punch into a song on a number where we didn't have a click. he did fine!

my old band never used a click, but when i recorded myself, and played the drums in addition to lots of other stuff, it sure made it easier to play along to. i'm a hack drummer!

but I've found fear of other people's opinions about this or anything else is a great way to get boxed in artistically. the less i give a shit about when somebody says "you can't do that!" the more fulfilling my recording/writing/playing experiences are.

cheers,
Jon

[A.David.MacKinnon]

If you get the Anthology record you can hear a click at the start of some of the alternate takes of well known Beatles songs. The SGT. Pepper reprise has it.
I don't know if Ringo had it in his headphones through-out the song or if it's just a tempo reference before the band starts.

[JGriffin]

and why did Keith Moon play with headphones live? I doubt he had trouble hearing the guitars.

I wouldn't consider his playing sterile.

I think that was so he could hear the keyboard tracks, like on "Baba O'Reilly," which I believe were played back from tape during live shows.

[cgarges]

I think that was so he could hear the keyboard tracks, like on "Baba O'Reilly," which I believe were played back from tape during live shows.

Which is pretty much playing with a click track.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC