I think perhaps quite a few of us have rather old fashioned ideas about how audio track backing is so rigid. Yes, in the past, you were stuck with a ‘start at the beginning, finish at the end, no deviation from the structure’ paradigm, but modern audio track players on computer laptop and tablets allow you to fly in Marker’s that allow you, in time and in sync, to jump freely around, repeat sections, skip sections, play alternate sections, etc..

And, with a Bluetooth foot pedal, do it hands free, on the fly..!

Bit by bit, slowly some of the things that made arrangers a necessity are being chipped away at. However, sometimes the awareness of the newer capabilities eludes some of our older or less technically aware players, especially guitarists! They might know the ins and outs of a pedalboard, but many still seem to think that backing tracks are still one shot karaoke tracks, rather than multitrack free expression backing, capable of changing tempo, key, feel and overall structure.

Ain’t progress grand! 🎹😎