For guitarists looking to enhance their playing and develop new skills, guitar backing tracks are a valuable tool in their practice arsenal. Whether you’re a complete beginner or someone looking to refine your technique, backing tracks offer an immersive and enjoyable way to practice. They allow you to simulate playing with a full band, giving you a sense of timing, rhythm, and musicality. In this beginner’s guide, we will explore what guitar backing tracks are, why they are important, and how you can use them to improve your playing.
What Are Guitar Backing Tracks?
Guitar backing tracks are pre-recorded musical accompaniments that simulate the sound of a band or a group of musicians. These tracks are usually instrumental and provide a musical foundation for the guitarist to play over. The backing track typically includes drums, bass, and other instruments, depending on the genre, but it leaves the lead guitar part open for improvisation or soloing.
Backing tracks are designed to help guitarists practice different musical skills, such as soloing, improvisation, rhythm playing, and timing. They often feature different genres, tempos, and keys, offering guitarists a broad range of musical contexts to play within.
Why Should Beginners Use Guitar Backing Tracks?
As a beginner guitarist, you may find practicing alone can sometimes feel isolating. While learning chords, scales, and basic techniques is essential, playing along with backing tracks brings a much-needed dynamic aspect to your practice. There are several reasons why beginners should incorporate backing tracks into their practice routine:
1. Improve Timing and Rhythm
One of the most significant challenges for beginners is developing a strong sense of timing. Playing with a backing track helps you synchronize your playing with a steady rhythm section, improving your sense of timing. It encourages you to stay in time with the drumbeat and bassline, essential for becoming a solid player in any band setting.
2. Develop Musicality
Backing tracks provide a real musical context to practice. As a beginner, it’s easy to get caught up in practicing individual techniques without thinking about how they fit into a song. Playing along with a backing track helps you develop a musical sense of phrasing and allows you to experiment with how to use scales, chords, and other techniques in a musical context.
3. Learn to Play in Different Genres
As a beginner, you may be focused on a particular genre, but it’s important to diversify your playing style. Backing tracks come in various genres such as blues, rock, jazz, metal, and funk, giving you the chance to practice playing in a wide range of musical styles. Experimenting with different genres can help expand your musical vocabulary and versatility as a guitarist.
4. Enhance Soloing and Improvisation Skills
While it’s essential to learn scales and techniques, improvisation is a vital skill for guitarists. Playing along with backing tracks lets you practice improvising over real chord progressions. Whether you’re learning how to solo over a 12-bar blues progression or exploring melodic ideas in rock, backing tracks give you the freedom to experiment with creating solos and melodies that fit the music.
How to Use Guitar Backing Tracks Effectively
Using guitar backing tracks is an excellent way to practice, but to maximize their effectiveness, it’s important to approach them strategically. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of using backing tracks:
1. Start Slow and Focus on One Aspect
When you first begin using backing tracks, start by selecting slower tempos to give yourself more time to think about your playing. Focus on a single element of your practice, such as rhythm or lead guitar. For example, you can use a backing track to practice chord transitions or to work on your strumming patterns.
If you are focusing on soloing, start by improvising with a small selection of notes from a scale that matches the key of the backing track. As you become more comfortable, you can experiment with more complex techniques.
2. Play Along with Different Tracks
To challenge yourself, try playing along with different backing tracks in various keys and tempos. If you’re working on a specific scale, such as the pentatonic or blues scale, use backing tracks that allow you to experiment with those scales over a chord progression. This will help you see how the scales you are learning fit into real musical situations.
3. Record Yourself
One of the benefits of playing with backing tracks is that you can easily record your practice sessions. Recording yourself allows you to listen back and evaluate your playing. Are you staying in time with the backing track? How does your soloing sound? What can you improve? This self-assessment will help you identify areas for improvement and track your progress over time.
4. Play with Different Genres
It’s easy to get stuck in one style, but playing along with backing tracks in various genres can help you become a more well-rounded player. For example, you might start with basic rock or pop tracks but gradually move to more challenging genres like jazz, blues, or funk. This will push you to develop new techniques and adapt your playing style to suit different musical contexts.
Where to Find Guitar Backing Tracks
Thanks to the internet, finding guitar backing tracks is easier than ever. There are numerous websites and platforms where you can access free or paid backing tracks. Some popular options include:
1. YouTube
YouTube is a goldmine for guitarists seeking backing tracks. You can find backing tracks for almost every genre, key, and tempo imaginable. Many channels offer high-quality tracks designed specifically for guitar practice, along with chord charts or tabs.
2. JamTrackCentral
JamTrackCentral is a paid service that offers professionally recorded backing tracks in a variety of genres. The tracks are of high quality, and many come with accompanying guitar lessons or tutorials to help you get the most out of your practice.
3. GuitarBackingTrack.com
This website offers thousands of free backing tracks in various styles, including rock, blues, metal, jazz, and more. You can download tracks in MP3 format or use them directly through the site.
4. TrueFire
TrueFire offers a wide range of backing tracks that are accompanied by detailed lessons and tutorials. It’s a great resource for beginners looking to learn from professional guitarists and improve their improvisation skills.
Conclusion
Guitar backing tracks are an indispensable tool for beginners, offering a dynamic and engaging way to practice and improve. By playing along with these tracks, you can develop your timing, rhythm, improvisation, and overall musicality. Whether you’re learning to solo over a blues progression or working on your rhythm chops, backing tracks offer an accessible way to simulate playing in a band and push your musical boundaries. As you continue to practice and play along with different tracks, you’ll find yourself becoming a more confident and versatile guitarist.
