How to Make a Click Track: A Simple Guide for Live Bands

A click track is a metronome recording exported as an audio file. You play it through in-ear monitors during a live performance to keep the band locked to a consistent tempo — or use it as a reference during recording sessions, rehearsals, or when running alongside backing tracks.

Making a click track used to require a DAW: set up a metronome track, configure the BPM, set the time signature, set the length, bounce to audio. For bands who aren't regular DAW users, the setup time was often longer than the export itself. A browser-based click track maker reduces this to under a minute — no software required.

What You Need to Make a Click Track

To make a click track you need three things: the tempo in BPM, the time signature, and the length of the track (usually the length of the song plus a few count-in bars at the start).

BPM is either known (you've already clocked the song) or found by tapping — use a tap tempo tool to find the right number if you're not sure. Time signature is usually 4/4 for most popular music, but waltz-time songs need 3/4, and some songs use compound signatures like 6/8.

Count-in bars are worth adding even if they feel unnecessary. Starting a song at a precise tempo without any lead-in is harder than it sounds, especially when there's adrenaline involved. Two or four count-in bars give the band time to lock in before the first beat of the song proper.

Step-by-Step: Making a Click Track in a Browser

Using Dashplan's Click Track Maker: open the Click Track tool in your Dashplan dashboard. Set the BPM for the song. Choose the time signature. Set the number of count-in bars and the total number of bars you need. Click export — the WAV file downloads immediately.

The whole process takes about thirty seconds once your BPM is known. Name the file with the song name and BPM (e.g. `opening-song-120bpm.wav`) so you can identify it in a folder of click tracks for your full setlist.

No account is needed to try it — Dashplan is free to start. For bands building click tracks for a full setlist, having them all in one tool alongside the setlist itself makes the pre-show prep significantly faster.

How to Use a Click Track in a Live Performance

The most common setup for live click is the drummer wearing in-ear monitors on one side (or both, depending on preference) with the click feed. The drummer locks to the click, and the rest of the band locks to the drummer. The click never goes through the PA — it's only in the monitors.

For bands running backing tracks or stems, the click is typically bussed from the same playback system that runs the tracks — so the drummer's click and the backing track are in perfect sync. The click track file you export from Dashplan lines up at bar one and runs through the song at the exported BPM.

If the band has no in-ear monitor system, a click can still be routed to a pair of earbuds on one side — even a phone's headphone output through a monitor wedge channel if needed. It doesn't require an expensive IEM rig to use.

Click Tracks Per Song vs One Long Click Track

There are two approaches to structuring click tracks for a setlist. The first is one click track file per song — each song has its own WAV file at its own BPM, triggered at the start of the song. This is cleaner because each song's tempo is correct and the files are independent.

The second approach is one long click track for the whole set, with tempo changes built in at the right bar. This requires a DAW to build properly and is harder to maintain as the setlist changes. For most live bands, per-song click tracks are the practical choice.

Building per-song click tracks is where a dedicated click track maker saves the most time. Read more: click tracks for cover bands step-by-step, or try Dashplan's click track maker free.