My Love-Hate Relationship with Metronomes
It gives a little. It takes a little.
I Don't Use a Metronome
Every musician has a practice routine. Within each individual practice session there are familiar elements and hopefully the metronome has been part of some of those sessions. If you unfamiliar with the metronome then imagine a device that counts time. The standard setup for this device is to set the speed and then let it play a strong sound followed by three weaker sounds. These can be clicks, beaps, or any other mechanical sound. Just like a person counting off, "One, two, three, four...", the metronome uses the strongest sound as beat one and the weaker sounds for beats two through four.
Having access to a metronome is a great feature to have for any musician. But... I do not use Metronomes in practice. Yes, I have an app on my phone that includes a metronome, but I have not purchased such a device because I find them to be of little practical use outside of feeling a specific timing. Now before all the musical critics come in, I ask that you hear me out. These machines are great at keeping time, but they are terrible at feeling time.
The Pros: You Stay in Time
The metronome is a great time keeper when first learning how to stay musically "in time". It helps ground us in a specific set of rhythmic markers. I like to think of these markers in the same way a 4 count beat can be used.
Imagine a fenced in yard that we can walk around and at different points we are greeted with different feelings. On the "one beat" side of the yard we have some playful dogs sticking their noses through the fence as they hope to get some attention from us. The opposite side or "three beat" side of the yard has an umbrella to help us cool off. The "beat two" and "beat four" sides are just fence with maybe a flower or two. In this thinking we can imagine a four beat as a journey. One: We meet the dogs and make a strong connection. Two: There's space after that experience. Three: We have a moderately strong moment appreciating the umbrella's shade. Four: More space is provided before we return to one and the dogs. Getting used to feeling strong, moderate, and week beats within the confines of our "fence" is what we want from a metronome.
Another great feature of this device is to set it to a speed, or tempo, that you think you should use for a song you are writing. Then you change the tempo and play parts of your song at various speeds to find what works best for the sake of the song. You may find it difficult to be objective when doing this yourself, so try recording short clips with your phone at various tempos. Then ask someone else to play those clips randomly to you. As you listen, take note of what takes you like or don't like while your helper is writing down your opinion of each take. You may be surprised how listening to the same take from 115 BPM (beats per minute) to 120 BPM can vary wildly. You might even find it useful to record your takes and then listen to them blindly several hours later. This way you can do your best to be in service to the song rather than what you think you want in the song.
The Cons: Machines Don’t Swing
There are plenty of helpful uses that a metronome provides. However, aside from the two examples I gave... I avoid Metronomes. Now don't get my wrong. Metronomes and even click tracks have their utility. I just don't get the same response from a machine as I do from a human.
Playing with a person gives me the opportunity to listen for swing beats, rushing, following, syncopation, and so on. When talking with other about practicing alone, I suggest using a metronome as one options along with other tools like jam tracks. Look up a jam track on the Internet and play with it. The human element you hear will be so much more useful than a metronome because you get elements that a machine cannot provide like expression, feel, groove, and swing.
Unfortunately, we don't always have time to jam with people and have that organic overlap of time and emotion. To combat this problem, I would suggest that you record yourself and play along with the recording. You may choose to record some chord changes and then try out some scales when playing it back. Whatever your goal is, but sure to create the recording with the use of a metronome. I know this might sound counterintuitive, but bear with me
More Love than Hate
By recording with a metronome, we are able to create a sample of timed music that is both "in mechanical time" and "played with human feeling". Having this kind of practice tool is a complete game changer as it takes the best part of a metronome and combines it with what it is lacking, which is the human element. If you are unable to record yourself in an effective way, and jam tracks are not your thing, then there is one more practice option that I use frequently. Look up a playlist of anything.
Currently, I am trying out Lo-Fi Chill playlists because they meets certain criteria that I like. (1: Utility) I can play over it without feeling like I'm competing with the melody. (2: Rhythmic Excersises) The beat can be anything from standard 4/4 to some breakdown of 4/4 that uses the "and of three" as a strong beat. (3: Ear Training) The songs only last about 2 minutes which forces me to find the key, scale, progression, and melody efficiently every 2 minutes. (4: A New Experience) Playing with something new provides for an environment that I can experiment with. I can use what I know and then try out ideas. In this way, the playlist has become my musical proving grounds where I can work on ideas outside of my usual practice routine.
I encourage you to try working with a metronome, jam track, and play list because they are all great practice tools as each can provide their own amount of swing within the beat. Just keep in mind that they are tools. The real goal is to be able to play without their use and preferably with other musicians.
