.......... and it shows

When will my internal metronome kick in? Why do I need to count still? Why do my fingers disobey me? They must be "teenagers." I can't wait till they grow up and thank me for the discipline through their youth. (that actually happened with my kids!! - it was a Hallmark moment!!))

i don't use it all the time, but occasionally use it to check if everything goes evenly. it's mostly useful at polishing stage, when you need to make sure if you don't slow down or speed up at different sections.

I only use it for making sure I am playing the notes at the right time which is at the beginning stages of learning the piece and to verify that I am at the right tempo or have reached the tempo at some particular difficult passage. But I will not use it throughout a piece because it makes playing too mechanical.

Peter

I took lessons for 10 years and have played on my own for several years since - And my internal metronome still hasn't kicked in .

When it comes to counting, I'm fairly hopeless. I can count out a short passage that I'm having trouble with, but that's it. I can't divide my attention like that for longer periods of time. I either stop counting or it drifts to match my playing.

I never really resolved that problem when studying piano, but my violin teacher recently sorted it out for me. She suggested that I try viscerally feel the beat of the music - Like feeling a strong, internal pulse in your gut rather than thinking about it. She would have me play short passages with the metronome so I could get an accurate sense of where the pulse was in the music. Then, she would turn it off and have me try again, just "feeling" the metronome instead of hearing it. Worked much better for me.

She also told me that playing with the metronome all the time would give me a distorted sense of the music - That I might end up "chasing the beat" and losing my focus if something went awry. She also said noted that it's very unforgiving of minor deviations from the beat and this may distract from more important issues.

Pianola's violin teacher had some good advice. Your internal metronome needs to be trained. I practice both with and without mine. I seem to internalize the sound of mine since I do find it helpful to have it clicking in the background but I'm often I'm not consciously paying attention to it. Chopin used one all his life. It's not just for the rhythmically challenged. (Though with his use of rubato some have alledged that Chopin was.)

I use the dreaded metronome to "train" me to play well with others....I find it weird that everyone does not crash and burn at the same time and place as me...

So, I practice "keep going on beat" no matter what.. at least 10 minutes a day (any more than 10-20 minutes is unbearable.....)and if I get lost or make a mistake, I focus on coming back in on the beat......I use scales and boogie woogie patterns and I think I am getting better at recovering on the fly.......

But, boy, do I dread it.....

I found a great booklet that talks about this issue. It's called "To Hear Ourselves as Others Hear Us: Tape recording as a tool in music practicing and teaching" . The price is a bit steep, ($35 with shipping), but if you have the money, I think it's worth it.

Bob

I probably only use the metronome every 2 or 3 days, and only then for brief periods to spot-check my rhythm as I'm learning a piece. That seems to work for me, because I get too frustrated trying to maintain a perfect pace throughout an entire piece.

I don't seem to be able to count out loud (or internally) to the music, either. I find myself saying the fingering that I'm playing rather than the beat.

When I played accordion, I learned early on to tap my foot to the beat. It's a little frustrating not to be able to do that with piano. So I guess I mainly just rely on my internal metronome, with probable disastrous consequences.

As a struggling beginner my metronome practice seems to be different from the posts above, so I hope I'm not teaching myself bad habits.

I don't use the metronome while I'm still at the early stages of learning a piece, but once I've got it going I use the metronome almost all the time to get it up to speed.

I accept that it may make my playing mechanical, but I'll worry about that when I can play the damn thing at all.

Alex, sounds like your use of the metronome is just fine. But remember to turn it off and play without it a few times at the end of each practice.

Sandy, feeling the beat is very important. I think you can start learning how to do that by feeling the beat even when there's a rest or a whole note. Another good way is to feel the down beat when you're playing music that starts on the upbeat, or that's got a lot of syncopation. And of course, playing with the metronome for just a short section to get that tempo, then turning off the metronome and keeping that tempo in your head as you play without it.

What kind of metronome do you have? I have the old kind which actually has an arm that moves back and forth. I like this kind because I can see it moving and can see where the "and" is (i.e 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &)

Even when you use the metronome, if you can *feel* the upbeats, that should help. Or, set the metronome up to only click twice in a measure for 4/4 time, then you have to feel beats 2 and 4 for yourself.

I'm guessing your internal sense of time/meter is more developed than you think it is, you just haven't let yourself feel those beats.

My teacher was expaining this just this week. He kind of sucked the fun out of playing Le Soir but I know he's right. So I've been struggling to "feel" the rests and up beats. It may be coming...I'll keep working on it, I think, or I may need to drop this piece and "relearn" it later because I've spent 2 months playing it "my" way...
:rolleyes: Another reason to show him my Etude sooner rather than later. I have no intentions of putting this one aside.

Monica, you're nearly as bad as me . When I'm trying to count something in say 3/4 time, I'll find myself mentally saying, "...11 and 12 and 13 and... Oh ****." I never seem to remember to go back to "One and..". That's why I just go with the feeling of a pulse.

I swear that metronome sometimes goes to my head. After practicing with it for a while, I feel like I can hear a "click" during rests, even after I've turned it off.