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Metronome for a beginning bassist..

#22
saladman said:
Hi i'm new to this forum and this is my first post. I'm starting to learn bass guitar and really love to learn more about it.

I know that a metronome is an essential tool to practice with. And i'm planning to buy a cheapo one first at my local music store.

So which is better for practicing analog or digital? and if someone can recommend a specific metronome that they've been using when they were starting.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Some are free on the internet.
 
#25
longfinger said:
A quality digital metronome can last you decades with proper care. Long, long after that expensive iPhone has been junked. Basically, don't waste time with something that will quickly break on you, or is so small you'll lose it in your room. It has to be Functional.
Click to expand...

Ignore the jab at the iPhone. It's irrelevant. If it's convenient and handy and keeps a steady beat, then you're good to go, whether it's an iPhone or some other unit.

The real question is: whatever the unit is, are you going to use it?

Good luck and enjoy your new metronome. Whatever it is.
 
#26
Although I suspect these dudes are correct in saying a metronome is better than a drum machine starting out, I find a drum machine a lot more fun to play to. There's an Alesis SR-16 on the classifieds for 60 bucks....
 
#28
dmusic148 said:
You don't need one. It's absolutely useless to you, seriously. Simply learn your instrument, and develop good technique. A metronome will simply force you to rush past things, where you should slow down and learn to play those things properly. Anyone that tells you it's an 'essential tool to practice with' is simply wrong. Seriously.
Click to expand...

You are aware that metronomes can be slow, right? :scowl:

And a metronome is not about learning playing technique, it is about a technique being played at a consistent tempo, something fairly important in a band setting. Just look at all the drummer jokes on this forum.
 
#30
dmusic148 said:
You don't need one. It's absolutely useless to you, seriously. Simply learn your instrument, and develop good technique. A metronome will simply force you to rush past things, where you should slow down and learn to play those things properly. Anyone that tells you it's an 'essential tool to practice with' is simply wrong. Seriously.
Click to expand...

I find this reply to a newbie careless, metronome's are very useful tool's, then you go on to say what a metronome is used for and i quote:

"where you should slow down and learn to play those things properly"

this is exactly what a metronome is used for, at least this is how I use a metronome to learn a hard, fast passage in a song
 
#31
I will give what I believe is a very clear example of the value of a metronome for a bassist: The bluegrass 1-5. As the bass player in a bluegrass band, your primary role is the tempo. YOU are the beat. Hearing a very clear tempo is oh so important when the mandolins begin jangling away, and the fiddles saw.
 
#32
It has been proven that two musicians playing together are more accurate to each other than one musician to a metronome. I do use one on two and four, for fun, and have done some of the other exercizes. I still wonder if its really needed at all though. If you are comfortable with your instrument and tap your foot in time, you should have no problem. Tapping or clapping uses the most base part of the brain, crickets and lizards keep time and we've been doing it a long time before metronomes were invented.

Now when one gets good at playing to a metronome and click and drum machine, the next thread will be "How do I get George Porter Greasey?"
 
#33
i use my PC with reason as my metronome, that way i can have only a click if it is what i need, but i can also have a drum loop, or a conga loop, etc.

and about that guy saying a metronome is useless, it's the worst advise given to a beginner that I've ever heard, a metronome is the most useful tool you can have when learning, not only as a beginner, but also in more advanced steps of the process.
 
#34
At a very minimum, a metronome can help you work out note durations and rhythmic patterns as a newbie. You may know how to play quarter note triplets or a dotted eighth notes, but to a newbie these durations may be hard to figure out. To me, knowing interesting rhythmic alternatives to standard quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes is what makes bass playing cool.

A metronome is also a very good barometer to how good your technique and accuracy are. It also helps with timing as a newbie (or advanced) by providing no additional rhythm cues as mentioned before.
 
#36
Try my Bounce Metronome Pro.


exciting-close-up4.png


bouncemetronome.com

The bouncing balls, drum stick or conductor's baton visuals help you to keep time better. It's quite tricky keeping on the beat with a conventional metronome and you'll find the visuals give you that extra support you need to get the idea of how to do it.

It also continues to be useful for Pro musicians too, somehow the bounce helps to the rhythm an extra feeling of lightness and naturalness. It is natural to move and play in time with a bounce effect, and we are all used to the way things bounce in our life.

Also has gradually changing tempo, e.g. gradually get faster over a number of minutes or seconds, and a vast range of rhythms, almost any rhythm you can think of, it can play it for you to help you learn it. Odd time signatures, Polyrhythms, mixed meters, Flamenco clock, polyrhythms with mixed note types such as 4/4 over 4/3 and mixed meters such as 4/4 + 7/8 - you name it, it can probably play it.

There's a completely free taster, and you can try out all the pro features for free for 30 days.
 
#38
dmusic148 said:
You don't need one. It's absolutely useless to you, seriously. Simply learn your instrument, and develop good technique. A metronome will simply force you to rush past things, where you should slow down and learn to play those things properly. Anyone that tells you it's an 'essential tool to practice with' is simply wrong. Seriously.
Click to expand...

Reviving an old thread. What took me here? I'm in a new MUCH BETTER band. They record every practice. I listen to the recording. I'm rushing the beat. OK, It is new material. It's not quite committed to muscle memory. But Holy Crap! I'm rushing the beat! I have been playing bass semi-professionally for a LONG time. I never ever used a metronome. I'm buying one today.
 
#40
saladman said:
Hi i'm new to this forum and this is my first post. I'm starting to learn bass guitar and really love to learn more about it.

I know that a metronome is an essential tool to practice with. And i'm planning to buy a cheapo one first at my local music store.

So which is better for practicing analog or digital? and if someone can recommend a specific metronome that they've been using when they were starting.

Thanks
Click to expand...

For a little more money a drum machine is TOTALY the way to go. You can set it to be a metronome, or you can program it to be a drummer. I like the Alesis SR18 but there are a lot out there.
 

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