Using Christian Accompaniment Split Tracks

A useful tool for the Gospel Singer:


Christian and Gospel Music Split Tracks are a special music studio remix of a popular Gospel song where the musical instruments are completely moved (panned) to one stereo speaker while the vocal singing parts are moved (panned) to the opposite stereo speaker. The split track can then be heard in a conventional way as a regular album recording or for use in accompaniment singing for the soloist or vocal group.

Having the instruments play on one side of a stereo speaker while the vocals are isolated on the other stereo speaker allows the same song track to be used in several ways for the singer. For pure accompaniment purposes, normal listening, learning the song and to make a rehearsal go easily.

Split track CDs can also contain complete albums by popular artists or multiple song collections on a single CD disc. Split Tracks are economical and provide a lot of music for the money spent.

The left and right speakers' volume can be raised or lowered easily to allow the pre-recorded vocal singing to enhance the live solo or group singing. With children, this can be very helpful indeed. When singing as a group it is common for people to follow the pitch of the group as a whole. Split Tracks also enhances learning and remembering the lyrics of a song.

For a standard stereo player, find the balance control which is normally set in the center so the left and right stereo speakers play the audio output equally. Upon playing a split track from a CD player you will notice one speaker has all the musical instruments while the other speaker has all the song vocals. The great advantage of split tracks is when you move the balance control knob either right or left and you can achieve a custom mix where either the instruments or the vocals can be made louder or softer in reference to each other.

In a church music rehearsal situation, the balance control can remain in the center or moved toward the vocal side so that learning the song will become much easier. For the live singing performance, the balance control can be turned toward the instruments side to eliminate the recorded vocals altogether.

For a children's church situation and youth music ministry, a small amount of the original recorded vocals can be allowed which will enhance the live performance. The children's and youth music director can slowly diminish the amount of prerecorded vocal as the kids learned the song. This works just as well for adults too!

Using split tracks, the speaker with the vocals only can also be positioned toward the solo singer or vocal group while the stereo speaker with the instruments can be positioned toward the audience or congregation. This creates a vocal monitor for the live singers to reference to. This technique works extremely well for children and youth programs.

Christian accompaniment split tracks for kids or adults work very well in these situations. These gospel backing tracks known as Christian split tracks make learning new songs and enhancing a successful church music ministry much easier for the music director. Split tracks make singing more fun for everyone.

The other use of Christian accompaniment split tracks is if your church sound system uses a mixing board. A mixing board, mixer or audio console has individual input channels to connect microphones, instruments and other audio sources. Each channel can be individually raised and lowered to properly mix the sound. Then these individual channels are controlled by a master left and right to volume.

Also, many mixing consoles have stereo channels with standard connectors (such as "RCA" inputs found on common stereo equipment). A "balance control" knob that works as a "pan control" knob allows controlling the level of the left or right output of the stereo channels.

Insert a CD player's left and right output into individual mixer board channels. For simplicity, let's say channel 1 is left while channel to is for the right. On each mixing board channel you should find a knob that is labeled "pan". This pan control is usually set in the center and moves left to right. This moves the sound in that channel to be more to the left speaker or more in the right speaker.

Move the pan control for channel 1 and rotate it completely to the left. Take the pan control for channel 2 and move it completely to the right. Set both Channel one and Channel 2 slider volume controls (known as the "faders") to equal levels. You will now hear a standard stereo playback.

In order to have the music instruments play equally on the left and right speakers without the recorded vocals for accompaniment track singing, move that channel's pan control back to the center. Move the pre-recorded vocal player (the slider volume control) down to zero. You now have only the instruments playing back through both speakers of your church sound system.

If your mixing board at church has a vocal monitor output connected to the sound system you can send some of the pre-recorded vocal track into the monitor speakers for the vocalist and singers to use as a reference.

Christian accompaniment split tracks offer many advantages for your church music ministry, children's church and youth ministry work. Christian accompaniment tracks in the Christian split track format can be of great assistance and enhancement to a church worship service. For the adult congregation, church choir, children's church, youth ministry, children's ministry and any church music program, split tracks will enhance the worship and fun for all.


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