How to Use a Metronome to Improve

Your Practice
By Troy Stetina
If you have a desire to play well -- any instrument, any style -- the use of a
metronome is critical. Here we will cover how to make the best use of it to help you
improve the quickest.
Why is the Metronome so Important?
ack!round - "evelopin! #our $hythmic %bility
&art I - 'he (ive )teps of &ractice
&art II - &rinciples of Mastery
&art III - )peed 'rainin! and %dvanced Metronome 'ricks
&art I* - Metronome $ecommendations

Why is a Metronome so Important?
% metronome is the tool by which you learn to control the time element of your
performance. How can you know whether your tempos are even if you don+t know
what ,even, truly is? %nd in the case of more elastic tempo, how can you create
steady accelerando or ritard unless you have first developed a solid sense of playin!
evenly? Musicianship is about developin! control over all aspects of music. %nd
timin! is a bi!!ie.
-ust how important is timin!? e!innin! musicians invariably pay more attention to
notes than to timin!. &erhaps this is because we commonly stretch time from the
start -- slowin! thin!s down to learn them accurately. .r perhaps it is because the
fin!erin! of the notes is visual while timin! is a bit more abstract. ut did you ever
stop and think about the fact that it is /ust as ,wron!, to play the ri!ht note at the
wron! time as it is to play the wron! note at the ri!ht time?
'he recordin! environment e0poses all faults, and nothin! is worse in the studio than
a musician with poor time. 1verythin! sounds bad2 'he ine0perienced musician
pushes the pulse, !ivin! a stilted, /erky quality to the performance. 3ayin! back ,in
the pocket, makes ma!ic happen. 'his comes with e0perience, of course. ut you
can do a lot to hone your rhythm and timin! ability by correctly usin! the metronome
in practice. #ou can !uide yourself subtly forward and back on the click. .n the other
hand, without metronome practice you may find it difficult to hit the pulse reliably, let
alone worry about subtleties like pushin! or pullin! it2

Background - Developing Your Rhythmic !ility
1very note of music occurs at a precise time in relation to the underlyin! pulse. If we
cannot feel it, we cannot e0press it. %nd that means we have no !roove. Ideally we
want to develop the feel of rhythm deep in the core of our bein!. 'hen it will come
out naturally and effortlessly wherever we like-in a head bob, body sway, tappin!
foot, etc.
In order to develop that rhythmic flow, it helps to articulate it in different parts of
your body. %t the very least, feel that pulse by tappin! our foot and4or hands.
Mentally countin! is the least reliable method of time keepin!. %fter all, the mind is a
poor time keeper as evidenced by the simple fact that time seems to move faster
when we are busy or occupied versus when we are bored. Movement-based time
keepin! is a far better !uide.
'herefore, it is a !ood idea when practicin! with the metronome to keep some of
your body movin! in time with it. "on+t sit motionless while you play with the
metronome. )upply your own !roove to it, always listenin! and self correctin! as
needed to stay on the pulse. efore we even play a note, try this rhythmic e0ercise5
1. 'urn on the metronome at a moderately slow tempo 6say 78 beats per
minute9 and tap your foot or hand, or clap alon! with it. 'ry to make each
foot or hand tap perfectly in time. It+s harder than you mi!ht think2
:. ;ow try movin! you hand in a circle throu!hout the len!th of time between
the clicks. %rticulate the click with the same tap or clap as before. ;ow timin!
becomes sli!htly easier, because you have a lon! physical motion !oin!.
<eepin! the speed of that motion constant is far easier than simply
anticipatin! the moment on each upcomin! click.
=. 3astly, try feelin! and markin! the midpoint 6ei!hth note9 subdivision halfway
between each beat as your hand moves throu!h the beat ,circle,. 'hen try
slowin! the click down sli!htly and mark si0teenth note subdivisions as well.
)lower tempos are actually more difficult in that you must supply more of the !roove
yourself, rather than havin! it handed to you. ;ovice players invariably rush the
slower clicks. ;ow that we+ve !ot some back!round, let+s take a look at some ways
to use the metronome to improve your technique as well as your sense of timin!.

"art I - The #ive Steps o$ "ractice

Step 1: Turn it Off
;ow that I have convinced you to !et a metronome, the first step is to turn it off.
What2? #es it+s true. When you first be!in to learn a portion of music, you want to
familiari>e yourself with the notes without re!ard to ri!id time. 3et yourself feel the
patterns, chords, etc. takin! as lon! as necessary to !et each chan!e and to
memori>e the feel of it. %fter you have the notes down, it+s time to break out your
metronome.

Step 2: Moderately Slow, then Build
;ow turn it on and play slowly. ;ot e0cessively slow, but moderately slow. How fast
that is e0actly depends on the part of course -- an ei!hth note phrase may be
moderately slow in the ballpark of ?8bpm, while quarter notes mi!ht be moderately
slow played at @:8bpm or more. .f course what is slow for a be!inner is not the
same as an advanced player. 'he point is to find a ran!e that feels comfortable to
you, then raise it !radually.

Step 3: Find the trouble Spot
Music is never of equal difficulty throu!hout. 'here will be easier areas and harder
areas. %s you raise the tempo, you will notice certain problem spots and ,stress
points, be!in to appear. 'he metronome+s unfor!ivin! nature helps you identify these
spots. Without it, you are likely to unconsciously slow down at these points, as you
attention falls away from the pulse and becomes absorbed in the difficulty at hand.
y keepin! that relentless clicker clickin! away in perfect time, the difficult spots
become more obvious. "on+t avoid them2 It is by correctin! difficulties that you
become a better player.
y contrast, many people push throu!h the difficult spots hopin! to !et by without a
mistake. If they do mess it up, they !o back to the be!innin! of the son!, over and
over a!ain like this, hopin! to !et throu!h it. 'his is a terribly inefficient approach
that is unlikely to ever yield mastery. Instead, isolate the motions at that point and
fi!ure out what is so hard about it. "oes one fin!er move in an unfamiliar way? "oes
it require several motions simultaneously? "oes one fin!er cause stress in another
fin!er and prevent a necessary motion?
'o say a bit of music is ,difficult, really /ust means that you have yet to put in the
requisite level of mastery over that set of motions. %ny sin!le note by itself is not
difficult. 'herefore, reduce the music to this level-one note to the ne0t-and you will
see e0actly where the problem lies. 6I am reminded of the !reat composer -.). ach,
who when asked about his remarkable keyboard ability, simply said, ,I /ust put each
fin!er in the ri!ht place at the ri!ht time, and the keyboard plays itself.,9

Step 4: Practice Outward fro the Middle
With the metronome off, try playin! /ust two notes4chords that lie on either side of
the difficulty. In other words, play /ust the difficult motion by itself, in isolation, over
and over until it be!ins to feel more comfortable. <eep in mind you may need to take
this e0tremely slow at first. It doesn+t matter. 'his practice is far more beneficial.
'hen add a note ahead of that motion. 'hen add a note behind the motion. %dd
another in front of that and continue buildin! slowly in both directions. Aradually
increase the tempo as you do this. 3iterally, I have seen students achieve more in a
few minutes of this kind of focused practice than in weeks of the common ,roll
throu!h the motions and hope for the best.,

Step !: "in#e and "epeat
;ow turn on the metronome and you will find that you remain more rela0ed throu!h
what used to be the trouble spot and now you can push up the tempos to a hi!her
level without stress. 'hen, if faster tempos are required, repeat the whole procedure.
Identify the new stress spots and refine your technique as appropriate usin! the
same system we /ust went throu!h.

"art II - "rinciples o$ Mastery

Mu#ic i# $a#y
Many of us have the mistaken notion that difficult sections are innately ,hard., 'he
fact is that when the proper level of mastery is attained, there are no ,hard,
sections. Mastery by definition is effortless. 'here is of course a some level of effort
required to physically move, but I what I mean here is that there is no additional
stress associated with the music. 'here is no uncertainty. 1very note comes out
perfectly, every time. <nowin! this puts thin!s into the proper perspective-now you
can strive for the same stress-free e0perience, albeit at somewhat slower tempos to
be!in. 1ventually, with enou!h repetition, tempos evolve to hi!her levels. ut
throu!hout the process, let it be easy2

Perfect %n Ma&e# Perfect Out
While on the point of ,perfect, playin!, it should be mentioned that overplayin! in
terms of tempo is !enerally not !ood. 'here is an e0ception I+ll cover ne0t. ut
!enerally speakin! you want to repeat the correct motions over and over. &layin! too
fast with lots of mistakes is counterproductive. &lay it perfectly @88 times at
!radually increasin! speed and the @8@st time is likely to also be perfect. ut play
sloppy and with errors @88 times and the @8@st time is likewise !oin! to be sloppy
and full of errors. How !ood do you want to be?
)ure, we are all !uilty of pushin! more than we should from time to time. We are
impatient and desire to be better than we are. 'hat+s okay. In fact sometimes a little
push is a !ood thin!B

Full'Tepo Trainin(
While the ma/ority of the time must be spent playin! at controlled tempos, playin! at
,full speed, even when you cannot perform it well can have a le!itimate role, too. It
can provide you a peek ahead, to see what it will feel like when you !et it at tempo.
'hat has one bi! advanta!e in particular5 (aster tempos may mean smaller motions
are required. In other words, the technique that works !reat for you at moderate
tempos may not work at hi!her tempos. In that case, tryin! to work it up !radually
usin! the wron! technique will produce a feelin! of hittin! a ,brick wall, that you /ust
can+t !et past.
y !ettin! a !limpse of the future, so to speak 6what it feels like to play at faster
tempo9, we can see if si!nificant technique alterations are !oin! to be necessary.
'hen we can implement these thin!s at the slower tempos and build up the ri!ht
technique to !et where we want to !o. "on+t overplay tempo more than CD of your
practice time or it will erode your accuracy.

"art III - Speed Training and dvanced Metronome Tricks

Speed Trainin(
'o develop the hi!hest level skills, you must master the fundamentals to the point of
perfection. 'his enables faster and faster tempos without undue stress or inaccuracy.
.ne !reat way to !o about this is to e0tract the difficult motions you isolated
previously and build e0ercises that utili>e these motions repeatedly. .r you can use
,pre-selected, sets of e0ercises from books like my )peed Mechanics for 3ead Auitar,
or Hanon for piano, etc. 1very instrument has its advanced studies. Here is the
blueprint for speed trainin!5
1. %fter familiari>in! yourself with the e0ample, be!in at a moderate tempo with
the metronome. (ocus on smoothness of transitional motions. 1ven if the
notes are moderately slow, the transitions can be snappy. %lso focus on
evenness of dynamics. )ometimes I like to improvise various dynamic accents
to keep thin!s more interestin!. .r tryin! playin! e0ceptionally quiet, then full
volume.
:. $aise the tempo a few notches and acclimati>e yourself to the new tempo.
Eontinue such tempo increases at you repeat the e0ample until you be!in to
feel some stress, as you are approachin! your controlled top speed.
=. "rop the tempo sli!htly. 'hen push it above the comfort level. (ocus on
rela0in! the e0cess tension that develops here.
4. "rop the tempo a!ain but less so. 'hen push it up sli!htly hi!her than the
previous peak. %!ain, focus on rela0in! the e0cess tension. <eep in mind that
your technique may need to be modified sli!htly 6reduced motions9 at faster
tempos. .f course the increasin! tension may cause an increase in the si>e of
your motions as the tempo rises. %void this.
C. Eontinue this escalatin! tempo attack until you+ve had enou!h. 'hen try a
different e0ample be!innin! a!ain at slower tempos.

)d*anced Metronoe Practice Tric&#
% helpful trick to stren!then your timin! ability is to play around with addin! and
removin! subdivisions of the click. (or e0ample, instead of playin! si0teenths over a
quarter-note click, try doublin! up the click so it is doin! ei!hths. #et as you play
over this, retain the feel of the main pulse only on downbeats 6every other click9. In
this case the ,middle, ei!hth click is there /ust to help you mark the upbeat more
precisely so you can focus on hittin! that note 6the =rd si0teenth9 precisely on time.
%fter playin! like this a while, then halve the click tempo back to quarter notes and
focus on supplyin! the same articulated feel of the upbeat -- but without that middle
click to support you.
%lon! the same lines, try removin! beats entirely. 'ransform @Fth notes into =:nd
notes by halvin! the speed of the click. .r you can think of this as still playin! @Fths,
e0cept the click only cues you to every other beat. 'hen let the click hit /ust every
third beat. 'hat+s tou!h2 'he slower the click !oes, the more space you must fill to
stay in time.
When playin! e0ercises or pieces containin! a constant flow of notes-strai!ht ei!hths
for e0ample-my favorite trick is to move the click to hit different notes of the pattern.
'he =5: ratio 6a hemiola9 is the best place to start. )o instead of playin! ei!hth
notes, for e0ample, chan!e the beat to fall on every =rd note and play the same
sequence in triplets. Wow2 'hat breathes new life into old, stale e0ercises. 'he =5G
6triplets on si0teenths9 pattern !ives a similar effect. #ou can also try G5= and C5G for
a little more adventure. %fter a little practice with this kind of rhythmic interplay, it
comes easy yet always feels more interestin!. It literally feels brand new, yet your
fin!ers seem to already know the way.
;e0t try movin! the click to a rhythm off of the beaten path. 'hat is, instead of
makin! the click define the pulse, you make it play quarter note triplets for e0ample.
;ow #.H !enerate the feel of the pulse and it clicks away somewhat ,a!ainst, you.
.n top of that, play your e0ercise in ei!hth or si0teenths or whatever. 'hat puts an
entirely new spin on thin!s2

"art I% - Metronome Recommendations

+hat are the Be#t Option#,
% drum machine is the most versatile metronome, as you can pro!ram virtually any
pattern and use any sound. ut there is somethin! to be said for simplicity and ease
of use. We don+t really need a full set of drum patterns for this kind of practice. .n
the other end of the spectrum are small handheld metronomes -- nice for the
portability factor, but lack volume and selectability of sounds. If you happen to
practice in the vicinity of your &E, your best bet is probably a software metronome.
'hey are fuller-featured than any hand-held, yet offer dead simple operation and cost
less.

Top -hoice
'he ,(ine Metronome, software download below is my first
choice. It offers a wider tempo ran!e than you will ever need5 @
- 777 bpm 6most hardware metronomes top out at :8? and
drum machines at :G8 or so9, plus has a ran!e of sounds, a
lar!e visual beat flash, tap tempo, variety of subdivisions,
control of accent volume levels and separate sounds, etc. #et it
is simple to use. 1verthin! works fine in the default mode. #ou
/ust install the pro!ram and hit play. #ou can also enter tempos either by keyboard or
by pullin! the slider5