Metronomes For Dummies

HosMan · #1 12-02-2009, 12:43 PM

I know I should be using one but really have no idea of how.I tried using studybass.com`s online metronome while playing some songs but all it did was confuse me.As a rule of thumb how many beats per minute(tempo?) should I set it to?(I generally play contemporary rock and classic rock). Even though I am getting better at keeping time on my own,practicing with a `nome would be optimum.Can anyone give me some pointers?How to start off and how to use the metronome to learn the basics of keeping time and maintaining rhythm?

Thanks in advance!

fishsticks · #2 12-02-2009, 12:48 PM

the online metronomes i have seen aren't exactly accurate. i would invest in digital one from your local guitar store. the nicer ones can be programed for different song structures.

sevenyearsdown · #3 12-02-2009, 12:50 PM

There are many ways to use the metronome in practicing. I like to use it to build chops. That is, if there is something that I'm trying to play that is a bit fast for me, I will practice the particular line to a metronome on a slower beat. I will increase the BPM gradually as I build up to speed. You can do the same for practicing scales and such.

Also learn to play on the beat, and between the beat.

HosMan · #4 12-02-2009, 12:52 PM

Thanks guys. That helps me understand. Ballpark figure on a decent digital metronome?

sevenyearsdown · #5 12-02-2009, 12:54 PM

$20-40 is all you need to get something functional.

JonathanD · #6 12-02-2009, 04:36 PM

tap your hand to the beat of the song on 1, 2, 3 and 4(if it's 44. Then match the metronome to the speed you are taping your hand. That's the tempo of the song. Anything from 50-160.

If you have trouble playing a song perfectly. slow the metronome down 20-30BPM and then play the song again. When you can play it slowly, speed it up by 4-6 BPM and do it again. And repeat until you can plat it at speed.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #7 12-02-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishsticks

the online metronomes i have seen aren't exactly accurate (...) the nicer ones can be programed for different song structures.

This one is great (and free).

JimmyM · #8 12-02-2009, 10:19 PM

Don't let Jeff Berlin catch you using one.

CapnSev · #9 12-02-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Don't let Jeff Berlin catch you using one.

He is opposed to metronomes?

JimmyM · #10 12-02-2009, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapnSev

He is opposed to metronomes?

I'm assuming this is a joke, but just in case it's not, yes he is.

CapnSev · #11 12-03-2009, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I'm assuming this is a joke, but just in case it's not, yes he is.

I would hope so! I can't imagine learning effectively without using one.

HosMan · #12 12-03-2009, 12:35 PM

HEY!!! Very cool of you,Alvaro! This works well with my State of CA mandated furloughs--i.e. broke.

Thank you for sharin the metronome with me,bro.

I`ll dedicate my first properly timed song to you.

JimmyM · #13 12-03-2009, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapnSev

I would hope so! I can't imagine learning effectively without using one.

I meant your question, not Jeff's stance. Jeff's anti-metronome stance is real and in full swing in his thread today. I hear what he's saying about people relying too much on them and how time with a drummer is not metronomic, but I think he makes too much out of it.

CapnSev · #14 12-03-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I meant your question, not Jeff's stance. Jeff's anti-metronome stance is real and in full swing in his thread today. I hear what he's saying about people relying too much on them and how time with a drummer is not metronomic, but I think he makes too much out of it.

Wow. I seriously didn't know he opposed them. My thought was always: If I can stay constant to a robotic metronome, I can stay constant with a drummer that will work with me and feel the music.

dmusic148 · #15 12-03-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CapnSev

Wow. I seriously didn't know he opposed them. My thought was always: If I can stay constant to a robotic metronome, I can stay constant with a drummer that will work with me and feel the music.

Yeah, well, Jeff says it's a waste of time. Pun intended.

CapnSev · #16 12-03-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Yeah, well, Jeff says it's a waste of time. Pun intended.

That's too bad. I have had a lot of "rhythmically challenged" students who would say otherwise.

copreus · #17 12-03-2009, 02:16 PM

Like athletes warming up, build up to speed for each session. Save your fingers.

I think I read Mr Berlin take a backward step and point out that metronomes had their place but that way too much reliance was placed on them, as music should breathe and shift, not march like a machine. Not always easy to get a drummer into your living room when you want to practice though, so we have metronomes and drum machines.
--c.

dmusic148 · #18 12-03-2009, 02:17 PM

Jeff's stance is essentially that: IF you can operate your instrument really well AND you have learned the material really well, out of time if need be, 'time' will take care of itself. In addition to this, people who force themselves to learn things IN time will often learn them incorrectly. Poor fingerings, etc. He doesn't want to talk about it anymore, so don't bother bringing it up in his thread.

Zombbg4 · #19 12-03-2009, 02:18 PM

Depending on your goals, a metronome could be great or just bore you. When I'm working on grooves and staying in the pocket I use a drum machine. I can adapt it to what I'm doing and its a lot of fun, too. I use a metronome when working on sheet music, like melodies ect. When I practice trombone I always use a metronome, never the drum machine. IMO/IME a metronome is to point out flaws in your playing, like if you rush or drag quite a bit, but like Jeff B says not for making music. Having robotic time from working with a metronome is good, but in a group the time is always moving around. Some Coltrane songs I notice they end much faster than they begin.

That's the way I look at it, I think...

JOE_MARSH · #20 12-03-2009, 02:21 PM

i think metronomes are great for practicing all together...but I also agree that people do rely too' much on nomes..

I think its good to practice new techniques at a slower pace with a nome..and then gradually increase speed...trying to gain speed and skill over a technique with a metronome acting as a drummer...then you when you do play with a drummer, it becomes easier to hear the beat in your head

I think playing with out a metronome teaches you to think outside the box and FEEL the music..not just think of -Am I with the beat-??? A lot of Newbies get caught up in music when they rush the beat or dont feel it...Common problem I had when I first strated playing...I was so worried about missing beats...I was actually missing beats cause I was focusing more on my thought process(and within the process, i was thinking about messing up((and then messing up))) where as I got better at HEARing what was going on, I got better at being relaxed within the music