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I've broached this subject before but was hoping for some new feedback. I am playing "fair" at level three or so (easy piano books) but am having trouble advancing past that. The metronome absolutely drives me crazy so have not used it at all. Any tips at how I might advance more? I practice about an hour every day and sometimes more. Is it necessary to use the metronome to advance? I know my timing is off but some of the songs I play sound, at least, like the song so it is recognizable. Thanks.

Hi Frank, the metronome drives me crazy, too, but I have acquired a grudging respect for it. Try using it not for an entire piece but only for the parts of a piece you suspect your timing is off on. ("off on"?? that can't be grammatically correct. :rolleyes: ) And set it slower than you're used to playing, because it takes a while to get the hang of playing to the metronome and you don't want to be thrown off from the first measure.

I can't remember if you've mentioned this before, but I'm guessing you're self-teaching. If rapid advancement is important to you, you might want to try lessons for a few months and see whether you progress faster with a teacher. I'm betting you would.

Thanks Monica. I am self-teaching but did have a few lessons. I wasn't happy with the direction we were taking but probably should have given it a bit longer. We were taking easy piano songs and he was having me add extra notes to make it sound better. I guess everyone teaches differently?? Still, I shoulda stuck with it. $65 for "four" 30 min lessons. Quite a bargain I thought. Have a great day.
Frank

Hi Frank1,
if you have trouble with the timing I'd recommend counting your way through the pieces very slooowly (do you know how to?) while playing in order to get the feeling for the correct length of a note. The metronome won't help a lot as long as the notes in between the "clicks" don't have the proper length. As soon as you have the basics of rhythm straight, you can use the metronome on difficult passages (as Monica suggested) or to accelerate the whole thing or to check whether you tend to change the tempo or slow down etc.

I love my metronome. Can't live without it.

What is it that you find annoying? From my own experience, when the metronome bugs me it's because I don't really know the music well and it's pushing me onward before I'm ready. When that happens, I slow the metronome down until I can play it without feeling pushed and stressed out. Then gradually speed the tempo back up.

After I've pretty much got the piece where I want it I can put the metronome away and all is well. But I will occasionally play something I know well with the metronome again, and I always find little problems with tempo.

Lots of people don't like the metronome because they feel it makes them sound like a robot. I understand their point but if you don't have a solid tempo as foundation then rubato, ritards, etc., just end up sounding sloppy.

My 2c.

Counting beats a metronome in my opinion. It's like a metronome in your head, but without the annoying clicking! Seriously though, the metronome makes me play rushed rather than controlled, I always want to be in time for the 4th click and always feel I'm missing it somehow. Whereas when you count, you will have a direct link from your mind to the rhythm, which is far preferable in my opinion. It will also help you analyze how the left and right hand should be coordinated.

So when dealing with quarter notes, count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, etc.
Eight notes: 1 and two and three and four
Sixteenth notes: well, something with four syllabels I wouldn't know which one the english use...

Succes!

My teacher has always told me that counting in your head is not good enough until/unless you get a good, strong sense of internal counting. Otherwise, there is a tendency to count the way you are playing, and that is not always correct- you can tend to slow down and/or speed up depending on how familiar you are with the music. Other factors can influence your internal tempo, as well. So what she recommends is to use the metronome to learn to develop that internal click track. I use it for exercises (scales, etc) and then to help get a good sense of the timing for a new piece. Once I have it solidly, I turn it off, and then just use it once in a while to check.

i love my metronome too.

it's a blast.. helps you focus, too.

I've started to love my metronome too and I'm a little worried about depending on it too much. When does the "internal" metronome kick in?? or does it?? I find that when I'm counting rather than using the metronome, my counting speed changes... :rolleyes:

I do agree about not using rubato until you've got the correct timing first. I think you need to be able to play a piece as written before taking liberties with the music (with classical anyway).

i used to think like you and thought that my internal timing was good enough for playing anything. and then i met my teacher and he told me my timing was off or rythms were wrong when he heard my playing pieces for him. he asked me then to practice with metronome to get everything right. so, i listened to his advice and tried to do just that. it was hard at first because i had hard time to follow the metronome beat, but eventually something clicked...

i don't use it often, but if i want to check on my timing and rythm, i would do that without even my teacher telling me.

Speaking from musical experience on various instruments, including drums, a metronome is quite helpful. Without it, you'll never develop and accurate internal count. You'll end up being lazy here and rushed there, etc.

Eventually (and to the person who asked - it all depends on the person) - you won't even notice the metronome is there, and generally, at this point, you can start experimenting with using internal count instead of an external time-keeping device. Of course, this is my personal opinion - and I'm no instructor/professional!

I still (from time to time) use a metronome, just to make sure I'm not sloppy. So far, so good. Now, we'll see about on piano, that might be a totally different story!

I had trouble with keeping keeping my pace once. That was with Mozart's sonata facile 1st movement. My teacher picked this out and said I had to get a metronome. So I went and got a metronome, practised with it for a day or two, didn't like it and instead started counting intensely. This resolved the problem for me better than the metronome, and next week my teacher was satisfied with my pace.

Of course I realize this doesn't really prove anything. Counting just works good for me. Maybe I have a good internal beat already, I don't know. However, counting works for other things than keeping pace alone. It can also make you coordinate your notes better, you know ok so on 2 AND I hit this note in the left and sustain it while my right plays this note etc... when I have trouble with a passage/measure practising it slowly while counting along with the notes will usually resolve it for me.

Usually my routine in learning a piece is this: first week I play as written and try to keep a steady pace. Second week I listen to where slowing down would sound good, or speeding up a bit, among other things like implementing crescendo's, accents, slight intentional delays before hitting a note etcetera. So on the count of becoming a robot when you use the metronome, I don't think that will be the case at all. Just use it initially to get the pace right. The different sections of the music should all be played in the right proportions in time, while it can be tempting (subonsciously that is...) to speed up on for example sixteenth notes. But when you got that pace right, drop the metronome and make it your own!

Just for those of you who don't have a metronome but really, really wish you did

Free Metronome