Recording music in your own home studio is quite the experience. With practice and good material to work with, it can even be rewarding. But it can also be overwhelming. There are so many decisions to be made. For example, should you lay down the rhythm track first?
There are those who would insist that the first track to record is always the rhythm track. They make a good point in that the rhythm track often provides the foundation for the rest of the song. But there may be times when starting with rhythm is not the way to go.
Defining the Rhythm Track
Before you even get to choosing which track to lay down first, it is helpful to define exactly what the rhythm track is. For one song, it might be just the drums by themselves. On another song, it might be a combination of drums and bass. On yet another song, you might be combining a standard rock drum kit with a set of congas. Together, they make up your rhythm track.
Should the drums be part of your rhythm track, you have to decide between a live drummer or software-generated drums. There are pros and cons to both. Should you decide on a live drummer, maybe it’s better to lay down a metronome track and then let the drummer do their thing later on.
Keeping Time Throughout the Song
One of the more common reasons for laying down the rhythm track first is to guarantee that the rest of the instruments keep time as you record subsequent tracks. The rhythm track not only provides the foundation for the song but also acts as a metronome.
In a post explaining the differences between live and simulated drums, Supreme Tracks explains that one of the benefits of software-generated drums is the ability to change timing in the middle of a song. A live drummer can do the same thing, but generally not with as much millisecond accuracy.
If you prefer simulated drums but do not have the software to produce them, another option is to buy beats online. You choose any number of drum loops and then combine them to create a rhythm track. This option involves a lot more sequencing work than using a live drummer, but that might be your thing.
The Precision Question
Some musicians look at the rhythm track question through the lens of another question: do they want pinpoint precision? Conventional wisdom says yes. Still, absolute precision can make a song sound too clean and pure. Sometimes there’s room for a less-than-precise rhythm track.
Imagine recording a song with the intent of engineering it to make it sound like it is a live show. You can produce a precise recording and then use software techniques to muddy it a bit. But you probably won’t produce the genuine live sound your ear hears when you take in stage shows. If you want that kind of sound, you might be better off using a live drummer and laying down the rhythm track later on in the process.
There is more that could be said on this topic that space will not allow for. Here is the point: it is a generally accepted rule that you lay down your rhythm track first. But a general rule isn’t set in stone. There are legitimate reasons for starting with some other track. Ultimately, you have to decide what kind of sound you are after along with the best way to get there. If that means leaving the rhythm track until later, so be it.