Lets face it... Times have changed. With the current state of music software today, making music with your computer has never been more accessible. Loop-based sequencers are everywhere, from Acid, to EJay, to Garage Band. Cheap hard disk space and quality tools such as Audacity, are making Hard disk recording in the home a viable option. And with major studios using the same hardware to run Cubase, Reason and other such programs, as the hardware you use in your own home or office, the question is often raised: "Why do you still Track?"
First off, there's Loop-based sequencers. Many of these are touted as being easy to use. I disagree. These pieces of software, are easy for beginners, but very difficult for a person to use, if they want to do more than piece together pre-rendered recordings. For instance, many of these loop-based sequencers tie themselves too tightly to the beat loop. If I want to change the tempo of a song, I am stuck resampling the beat to fit. With a Tracker, if I build my own beats, I don't have to resample anything... Just change the tempo, and the song speeds up without resampling anything, or changing pitch.
Next there's Hard disk recording. A wonderful option for those with a host of instruments lying around the house... I am not one of these people. I personally have 2 guitars, and a cheap Casio keyboard I got when I was 10. I may even have a recorder hanging around somewhere, but the only useful instruments I have available to me are the guitars... I don't get the benefit of sampled drums, or Bass, or a decent sounding piano, if all I do is record to disk. Likewise, even if the Casio keyboard sounded half decent, I'd still need to learn how to play it well enough to get some recording done. Digital music, for many, is giving yourself the ability to make music outside your physical means.
Then there's FLStudio, and all these Piano-roll based software. Personally, I think the piano roll is a neat idea. It reminds me of Guitar Tablature... The only problem with a piano roll is, it's too damn big... if I want to play on opposite ends of the piano (Have a Bass and treble part going at the same time), I am constantly scrolling back and forth over 92 different notes in order to place 6. In a tracker, I just place the 6 notes I want, in 6 adjacent tracks... Much quicker, and if I organize myself right, just as easy to read.
Finally there's people who swear by Reason and Cubase. Reason and Cubase are EXCELLENT programs. They'll help you make studio quality productions in a matter of hours, and you'll still have time left to get up off of your corinthian leather office chair, and walk your prize poodle which costs you $30,000 a year in life insurance, in a park with a $30 per visit admission fee, with your butler, so they can clean up the mess. Reason and Cubase are EXPENSIVE. At $800 US for Cubase SX 2.0, and $500 US for Reason, these peices of software are obviously priced for the studio, and not for the home. And as we all know, piracy sucks. Most of the time you end up with broken software, or viruses, while the programmers are getting fired because nobody's buying the product, thus causing the remaining programmers to work harder, to make a marginally better, and now, more expensive program...
Of course all I've done so far is explain why I don't sequence, Hard Disk Record, or use major-label studio software... But the truth is, all of these products have a place. If you're happy using them, then use them. they can all make music, and if you're comfortable with them then that's fine. As for me, here's why I track:
- Trackers are more controlled sequencers. That's right. Trackers are the ORIGINAL sequencers for loop-based music. Not only can I do all my loop-based stuff with them, but I can also create melodies from a few single-note samples. Something that can be very difficult in EJay, or Acid...
- Trackers usually have an export to WAV function. This means that if I ever want to plug my guitar in and hard-disk record with Audacity, then I can easily export a drum track and bassline from my tracker, and record my guitar. Likewise, if I want to create a drum loop for a loop-based sequencer, I can do so easily...
- Trackers are cheap. Modplug Tracker is Open source. Impulse tracker is $30, in order to get the stereo disk writer. Madtracker Registration is between $20 and $40. The most expensive tracker I've found is Aero. It's a modular tracker, and it costs $79 US. Still within the range of affordability, for most consumers.
- Tracker Modules are usually self-contained. This one is more specific to Traditional tracking, but once a track is done, it usually doesn't need any extra files in order to be played back. Audacity creates lots of little files for its projects. You have to export to WAV, MP3, or OGG otherwise. Most studio programs or Loop-based sequencers keep the samples seperate, or require plugins in order to play back. This makes Trackers ideal for distributing music. as the samples are alreadystored in the file, it's easy to package, or import into another program, without putting yourself in some sort of DLL or dependancy hell.
- Tracked Modules can be really small. If you want music in a program, such as a demo, and size is of concern, provided your samples are small in size, it is very easy to keep a tracked file under 1 MB. Azo's "One Scotch Long" is only 2.5 MB, which is pretty impressive for a song that is over 30 minutes long, nd is always changing... Render that to MP3, and you've easily got a 30-40 MB file...
- Finally, trackers are just neat pieces of software. Sure it's my personal opinion, and my personal prefrence.... But I'm entitled to it. and I'm not going to change my mind. Please don't try and change it for me...
As you can see, tracking is, and can only be, a conscious choice. Furthermore, Trackers are still useful for many tasks, that even users of other types of programs must at least be interested in. Sure, that endearing grid interface shows it's age... But to some, the interface is like wine, or cheese... Age makes it better. So please, before you ask "Why do people still track?" remember, that the only important answer, is that they track because they WANT to track.
