Stage guide · 6–8 minutes

Playing to a click with a band

When only one player hears the click, the rest of the band follow each other. If they speed up, the click stays at the original tempo. The player hearing it has to try to bring the band back.

By Matt · GigClick developer and drummer

When the band drifts off the click

A click stays at a fixed tempo, while a band can speed up or slow down. When only one player hears the click, that player has to follow both.

Intros are often where the problem shows first. Before you start playing, you have little influence over the tempo. The band may already be speeding up while the click in your ears continues at the starting tempo. By the time you come in, the two no longer match.

The click does not change with the band. It is not a shared reference; only you can hear it. That leaves you trying to close the gap while listening to two different beats.

The click can then make the band harder to hear. Turning it up only makes the two conflicting beats more obvious.

Keep in mind

A band can change tempo during a song and still play well
A click is not the wrong tool for the job
One player is trying to follow both the click and the band

If your count no longer matches the band, more volume in your ears will not fix it.

Example: the band speeds up

Reading about this is not the same as hearing it. In the video below, the band moves from 120 up to 128 BPM and back while the click remains at 120. You then hear the same passage with the click muted and the count shown on screen.

Headphones are worth it here so you can hear the fixed click against the changing band tempo. The video shows the problem from the drummer's side, but the same thing happens to anyone wearing the only click on stage. Watch it on YouTube if the player above does not load.

Following the count on screen

Muting the click does not mean giving up the tempo reference. You can keep the count on screen without another sound competing with the band.

With the click muted, you can hear where the band is while still checking the original tempo on screen. That makes it easier to guide the band back without playing against a second beat in your ears.

GigClick's visual-only mode uses the same timing as its audible modes. The count keeps running at the same tempo, with the sound turned off. Muting does not reduce the accuracy of the count.

Bluetooth audio also adds a delay between the phone and your headphones. GigClick has to measure and correct that delay to keep the audible click and visual count in sync. Visual-only mode has no audio delay to correct, so the display becomes the reference.

Try it in rehearsal first

Give yourself a few songs to get used to following the count on screen
Check the phone sits where your eyes already go
Play something you know well before something you do not

Get used to it in rehearsal before relying on it at a gig.

Setting up your phone for a gig

On stage, you need to see the phone clearly, read the count and keep the screen awake during the set.

Before you play

Put the phone where you can easily see it. You should be able to glance at it without turning your head or searching for it.

Check you can read it under the stage lights. A display that is clear in a lit rehearsal room may be hard to see on stage with bright lights nearby.

Load your songs in setlist order. Save each song’s tempo, meter and click pattern so you can load it without changing settings between songs. GigClick keeps the screen awake while a visual mode is running, so it will not sleep mid-set.

Plan what to do if your in-ear monitors stop working. You can still follow the count on screen if your in-ear pack loses power or a cable comes out.

Other sounds on your phone

GigClick keeps playing when other apps play sound
Notifications will not turn down or pause the click
You can play it alongside audio from other apps

GigClick is designed to keep playing on stage. Put your phone in Do Not Disturb before the set.

When to keep the click audible

Muting works when you are the only person on a click and the band is free to move. In other situations, keeping the click audible may be the better choice.

When the whole band hears the click. If everyone has the click, it is a shared reference rather than a private one, and the conflict disappears. Nobody is closing a gap alone.

When you use backing tracks or timed lighting and video. Backing tracks, click-driven lighting or video require the band to stay with a fixed tempo. In that situation, everyone needs to follow the same timing.

When you cannot see the phone. If you cannot keep the display in sight, use the audible click and mix it as low as you can while still hearing it clearly.

When you practise alone. When you practise alone, there is no second tempo competing with the click. Keep it audible — and if you want to check whether you can keep a steady tempo on your own, gap training removes the click for whole bars at a time and shows you where you land when it returns.

The short version

Only you on a click, band free to move — mute it
Everyone on the click — keep the sound
Locked to tracks or timecode — keep the sound

What matters is whether the rest of the band can hear the same click.

Back to contents

Using GigClick with a band

GigClick runs the same timing whether the click is audible, visual or both, keeps setlists ready to load in order, and saves the tempo, meter and grouping for every song. If the set has odd meters in it, the odd-meter guide covers counting those, and the timing practice guide covers keeping time when the click stops.