Why Do I Need To Use A Metronome?
I'm a pretty laid-back guy. But one of the things that I totally insist on, is that all my students need to get and use a metronome. It doesn't really matter what type you use. (I personally use a Korg KDM-1 digital metronome, that is now about 8 years old). But you can also get ones for your computer such as Ultimate Metronome. A metronome will be one of the best investments you'll make for your guitar playing.
Why Use A Metronome?
If you've never used a metronome before, then you might be wondering why you should use one. Here are four good reasons…
Reason #1: Timing
Let's face it. If you have bad timing, your guitar playing will always sound lame. And that pretty much guarantees that you'll get picked on by guitar bullies. Not a pleasant thought!
By using a metronome in the specific ways that I'll teach you, you'll discover how to develop an awesome sense of rhythm and time. And that will make your guitar playing sound much more polished and professional.
Reason #2: Goal Setting
It’s been proven time-and-time again that goals need to be specific and measurable to work. If you don’t know exactly WHAT you are trying to achieve, how will you know WHEN you have achieved it?
You can use your metronome to help you set SPECIFIC goals for your technique development. For example, let's say that you would like to increase the speed at which you can play a particular guitar lick. If you use a metronome you can set an EXACT speed for your goal. For example, you might say that when you can play the lick using sixteenth notes at 160 bpm (beats-per-minute), then you have reached your goal. Can you see how powerful this is? The metronome setting gives you a clear target to aim for!
Reason #3: Progressive Realisation Of Goals
Metronomes allow you to progressively achieve your goals. What do I mean by this? Put simply, it means to start slow and GRADUALLY increase the speed of your metronome. For example, let’s say you want to get a particular lick up to 200 bpm. You could first master the lick at 40 bpm. Once mastered at this speed you could then increase the metronome speed to 42 bpm, then 44 bpm, them 46 bpm. You get the idea! You would work up to the target speed incrementally over a period of days, weeks or even months.
Reason #4: Developing Listening Skills
One absolutely vital skill to develop is the ability to play your guitar while still being able to listen to the musicians that you are playing with. This is especially true in jazz, where a large proportion of the song may be improvised!
Metronomes really help you develop this listening skill. As you practice you will also have to be listening to the click of your metronome. If you don’t, you will soon be playing out of time with it!
Obviously, you’ll develop this listening ability more fully by playing with other musicians, but playing with a metronome will definitely help as well. It’s a great place to start and can often can help build your confidence to play with other people.