Tempo & rhythm
Click track
A click track is a steady metronome pulse a performer plays along to so the recording stays at a fixed tempo. Music recorded to one has a constant BPM; music recorded without one drifts.
In practice
Programmed music is on a click and grids perfectly. Played music is not, and no fixed grid will ever fit it.
Use dynamic or flexible grid analysis on anything recorded live, and fixed on anything programmed — that one choice fixes most gridding frustration. For older records where even a flexible grid struggles, set a manual loop or ride the pitch rather than fighting the analysis. And treat a drifting record as an opportunity rather than a defect: the human tempo is a large part of why those records feel the way they do.
Fixed
Grid mode for programmed music
Dynamic
Grid mode for played music
Pitch
What holds an unruly record
Where these come from: Analysis-mode practice, not a catalog figure. For what we can measure, see choosing the mode in bulk.
Why it matters
It is the single fact that explains why some records grid perfectly and others never will. Anything programmed in software is effectively on a click, so its tempo is exact and a fixed grid fits it forever. Anything played by a band in a room is not, so its tempo breathes and a fixed grid slides out by the second chorus.
That is a practical instruction rather than a piece of history. When you meet a record whose grid keeps failing, ask whether it was recorded to a click before you assume the analysis is broken — because on disco, funk, soul and most live material the analysis is telling you the truth.
Frequently asked
Why does my disco record never grid properly?+
It was almost certainly not recorded to a click, so its tempo genuinely moves. A fixed grid cannot fit it — use dynamic analysis, or ride the pitch by hand.
Do modern productions use click tracks?+
Effectively always, because they are sequenced in software at a set tempo. That is why they grid perfectly and stay gridded.
Is a click track the same as a metronome?+
The same pulse doing a different job — a metronome is for practising, a click track is recorded alongside the performance so everything stays locked to it.
Related terms
Batch analysis
Batch analysis runs the tempo, key, grid and waveform detection across many tracks at once rather than as each one loads. It is processor-heavy, takes hours on a large library, and only has to happen once per track.
Beatgrid
A beatgrid is the map your DJ software lays over a track marking where every beat falls. Once it is right, sync, looping and quantise all work; once it is wrong, everything built on top of it is wrong too.
Beatgrid drift
Beatgrid drift is a grid that lines up at the start of a track and slides out of alignment later — the tempo the software stored is close to the real one but not equal to it.
Pitch riding
Pitch riding makes continuous small corrections to the pitch fader to hold two records in time by hand, rather than nudging the platter. It compensates for drift over a long blend.
Explore: DJ metronome · Beatgrid · Beatgrid drift · All DJ terms