Do you use a Metronome when rehearsing?

Metronome when rehearsing – Are you a Time Lord?

No, I don’t mean Doctor Who (although he is super cool), but how good you are at keeping time. I notice so many students are less than happy about using a metronome and sometimes it can be a battle to get them to practise with one.

Metronome practice is so vital to developing your sense of pulse and ‘inner metronome’. The more you practise with your metronome whilst you play, the more you will get used to having to keep a steady pulse through the adjustments you have to make when playing along with the steady tick-tock of one. It can seem daunting at first and even off-putting if you struggle with timing. It feels like a battle — like the metronome is pushing back against you and confusing you.

But that’s when you need it most. By persevering with metronome practice you’ll get much better at internalising a pulse to play along to and gradually you’ll find yourself not pushing back against the metronome but working with it. So often it’s tempting to speed up as you play louder and slow down when you play quieter — these are natural consequences that go hand in hand in the early stages of playing — so think of the metronome as a training tool. A friendly reminder to keep strong and steady.

And you can make metronome practise fun and it’s a great marker for progress. Over days and weeks, you can track your progress to the goal tempo of a piece by watching the tempo tick upwards. You can also try pushing yourself past the set tempo of a piece and then slowing down again so that you can trick your brain into making quick pieces feel slower and therefore easier!

 Do you practise with a metronome regularly?