metronome? point??

NoQuarter

ive read a couple of lessons etc and a lot of them say always practice with a metronome, mostly for faster guitar playin..

whats the point though? now i know its for timing but does anyone find it essential and why?!?

Beecher

It helps you learn how to count time correctly which should be a priority for any guitar player.

It can work wonders in helping you to develop a more consistent rhythmic feel.

It can help you to master a more complicated piece of guitar music. It's usually easier to begin learning complicated by setting the tempo at a slower speed than may be indicated on the piece of music you're playing. Setting a slower tempo will give you time to map out the fingering on the guitar and get used to recognizing the down beat. Then as you increase the tempo towards the original tempo of the song you will find it more managable to play.

Music4life

Read this article http://www.shredacademy.com/lessons/Hess_std/t_hess01.htm

Einstein

plus when it comes to recording with a band or whatever...makes things flow so much better if you can actually play in time...
and set the metronome slower than you'd normally play. Do this for 20 mins a day and notice the difference 10 fold.

Voodu Child

Metronomes are invaluable, when it comes to your playing, would be about the best 20quid you'd ever spend.

NoQuarter

hmm, i just never really understood what they can do! voodo, what does the metronome do for your playing??

Voodu Child

It does everything mentioned above.

If you're looking to build chops, at some stage you're going to want to practice excercises. Scales, scale sequences, licks, patterns, whatever youre into..

If you do this with a metronome, you can start the excercise very slowly, making sure to play every note clearly, muting properly etc. Then once you have the excercise completely automatic, you can increase the metronome by just a couple of bpm. You're playing faster, but it's such a small increase, you're going to still bring with you the cleanness, good timing and good muting. You can gradually up the metronome every practice session by a few bpm, and by the end of it, you'll be playing the excercise fast, but with good form.

Whereas if you just learn a lick without a beat, it's much harder to do small increases in speed, or to guage your progress. You'll just jump straight into playing it fast as quick as possible, timing won't be as good, cleanness won't be as good etc.

NoQuarter

yeah thanks, makes sense i suppose!

FunkZ

Music4life wrote: »

Read this article http://www.shredacademy.com/lessons/Hess_std/t_hess01.htm

Cheers for that!

Jack Vegas

Every serious guitarist should have a metronome. Even if you're not into fast playing, it helps you to keep your playing in time and be nice and tight.

-=al=-

if u know a drummer get em one as a present

irishthump

king-stew wrote: »

ive read a couple of lessons etc and a lot of them say always practice with a metronome, mostly for faster guitar playin..

whats the point though? now i know its for timing but does anyone find it essential and why?!?

Using a metronome does'nt just teach you to count, it also allows you to get used to PLAYING IN TIME, which is an art in itself.

As a drummer I can say that practicing with a metronome (or drum machine) is essential. Especially as in my experience, as very few guitar players have good time and groove.

irishthump

-=al=- wrote: »

if u know a drummer get em one as a present

That's another one that amazes me, the amount of guitarists who blame the drummer when THEY THEMSELVES can't play in time!

NoQuarter

well a little update anyways,

been trying to learn sweep picking and was practicing a little arpeggio and i didnt know it but the little hammer on/pull off on the high e i was doing a lot faster than the rest of the sweep so start using a metronome (http://www.metronomeonline.com/) and low and behold it identified that problem straight away! so im gonna stick with practicing with it and see how she goes!

ta for all the advice lads!