Online Metronome

Why You Need to Stop Dreading the Metronome

A lot of us have seen the metronome, heard about it, and absolutely dreaded and despised it. Fair enough. But it's a genuinely useful tool, and it's sitting right above this post, ready to go.

Here's exactly how I use one, straight from this week's lesson.

Start with scales, but don't stop there

Most folks bust out the metronome for scale work. That's the classic use. But you can use it for anything, chords, songs, whatever you're working on while you build up speed.

Setting it up

I like to start at 80 beats per minute in 4/4 time. 4/4 is one of the most common time signatures out there. Four beats per measure: 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, and so on.

Most metronomes give beat one its own distinct click so you don't lose track of where you are. Start your scale right on that one, and if you're practicing properly, come back down the scale too.

Getting faster

Say you want to get faster at that scale. Bump the tempo up 5 BPM, or 10 if you're feeling confident. Keep pushing it up until you start topping out. That's the speed you want to begin practicing at, because that's where you've hit your ceiling.

It's also a great way to keep yourself in check and make sure you're actually in time. Until you've got a real internalized rhythm, a metronome is a great place to go.

Even the pros need this

Bands playing live are usually running a click track in their ear. Every time I've done studio work, every track I've ever recorded, there's been a click track underneath it.

A lot of people don't have that internal rhythm fully dialed in. Myself included. I get caught up in the moment sometimes and go a little too fast. But if you ever want to do studio work or record an album, get used to using a metronome and get good with it, because your producer will thank you for it.

The trick for tempos your metronome won't do

One more thing worth touching on. Sometimes a metronome doesn't go super fast, or you just want to feel a different pulse.

Say I bring it back down to 80 BPM. Instead of cranking it up to 160, I'll play a note on the click and then another note in between the clicks. That artificially gives me 160 BPM, and it gives you a real taste of that space between beats.

In music, this is called a subdivision, dividing the beat into pieces. In this case, we're dividing the beat in half.

You can take it further. Drop down to 40 BPM, about as low as a lot of metronomes go, and keep playing at that same 160 BPM feel. Now instead of one note per click, you're playing four notes for every click. This is a great thing to do once you start getting into these bigger subdivisions.

Try it out

That's how you use a metronome. Try it for anything you're practicing, scales or a tricky song you're trying to nail down. Start slow and build your way up. Eventually you'll realize you're playing a lot faster than you ever could without one.