Practicing with a metronome
I have a new instructor. Our first session was last night. He suggested I spend some time practicing my playing with a metronome. His explanation on “how to” was limited- “just get the feel of the tempo of the song.” I’ve been doing as told and can sense more consistency already- of course I have the tempo set slower than cold molasses. Hopefully over time I’ll be able to speed her up.
If you have any practical suggestions on how I might make this practice more focused I’m all ears. Best, Tom |
It is a good thing to practice. It's hard a first but once you get the hang of it you may actually find it easier - you end up handing over some of the mental workload (playing in time) to the metronome. Also it'll prep you well for playing with a drummer in the future.
Best advice I can give it to make sure you hit each '1' with a harder downstroke perfectly in time with the metronome. The other 3 beats will then fall into line on their own. |
Just keep up that metronome work!
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Some people like metronomes with accented beats like the Soundbrenner app or use a drum machine. Without the accent it is easy for some learners to get lost.
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"Relax into the beat" is the best advice I've gotten. Start slow and relax, giving your brain time to get ready for what is coming next. Until recently I always fought the metronome, I'm getting much better at letting it do the work of keeping the beat and me doing the work of what I'm playing. So much easier than it used to be.
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The best suggestion I've read anywhere was on the Piano World forum where someone said, "The metronome reminds me how slowly I'm supposed to be practicing." Following this advice, I use the metronome to force me to practice at a slow enough tempo that I don't make mistakes, then increase the tempo as I improve. When I have the patience to stick to practicing that way, I actually improve faster then when I "practice my mistakes."
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Thank you. I think that’s what I needed to hear. I will trust the process. Thanks all for the reply’s. I’ll stick with it. -Tom |
Start slow and relax. Increase slowly until mistakes start to happen then note where you get to. Repeat until your flying and it feels as easy as it did slow. Then go back to the first speed you recorded and give yourself a laugh!
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Good experience!
Can really help keep you honest in how smoothly you can play a particular passage that may be difficult or take longer to learn. Can build your skill and confidence in keeping time or playing with a percussionist or drummer. Can just be fun overall, and suggestive of other musical ideas. Try the metronome on all four beats. Then try it on the 2 and 4. Mix it up. |
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Don't jump the gun, just hear him out...and discuss. |
Sonics, thanks for your second video above.
While I do believe a metronome has it's use in improving accuracy in such as scale practice I also believe it could be an impediment to letting music breathe. I linked to the below in a prior thread. For example listen to this played by Bill Evans http://dcoombsguitar.com/Guitar%20Mu...yBillEvans.mp3 |
I can record sections of a tune at a time and after I put all the recording parts together and smooth out the transitions even I can't tell where I stopped and started. I'm not saying this to brag, but I've never practiced with a metronome. If you listen to the music often and play along with a recording of the piece you're learning, a metronome, to me, isn't necessary.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sWOa0v...ature=emb_logo It’s very insightful and I think also agrees with the advice above to let the music breath. Eric advocates using a metronome every time you practice. |
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