Do you practice with a metronome?

[innocent75]

I hadn't used one much until recently.

I signed up with Bryan Sutton on artist works and he really encourages practicing with one to help consistency. I figured since I'm paying for the course and he is one of the best I should at least try to use one. I have noticed things seem to "flow" better when I get in the groove with the metronome. I start painfully slow and bump it up to performance tempo as I can.

Just my thoughts.

[s0cks]

I've spent the last few months trying to improve my rhythm. I didn't find a metronome that helpful. I found that I would try and listen for the click and then play the note, which obviously results with you being behind the click.

To really lock in groove I had to first start counting "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" while playing. This allowed me to understand how playing in time should feel (not easy to count and play I can tell you, so it took some effort). Then I added a foot tap on top of that, which then became my anchor for rhythm.

After that it was much easier to groove with a metronome. I still have a way to go as I've slacked off recently due to the birth of my son but it feels a lot better to be able to play more rhythmically. Still waiting for it to come "naturally" mind you.

[MC5C]

I didn't read the whole thread, so apologies if this has been mentioned. Every pro level musician I've ever talked to emphasizes the benefit of using a metronome. Many studio musicians play with click tracks so they get in perfect time with the recording they are adding a track to. In jazz the tempo's are often high, and the beat emphasizes the 2 and the 4, so you set the metronome at half tempo and play with it on 2 and 4. Harder than it sounds at first, but it locks you in to the beat without removing your ability to float the time a bit and "swing".