// 5 tips for mastering basic use of the metronome during your music practice. Use your metronome wisely! As you probably know, using is a metronome is an awesome way of practicing timing and lets us know at which points you unintentionally speed up or slow down when playing.
1. Turn it up Loud
Make sure your metronome is Loud and i mean LOUD! The beat should be incredibly obvious to you! Once you get used to focusing on the metronome as you play, you can turn it down to a lower level.
2. Feel the beat in your body
Make sure you can move with the beat, try clapping along, counting along and singing your piece along to beat. Make sure you can do this before moving on to step 3.
3. Try something simple at first
Try one note over and over, challenge yourself to playing a certain number exactly in time before moving on to the next step ( I recommend 10+).
4. Play your piece with the Metronome
Try out the piece or section of the piece you are working on with the Metronome and see what happens. If you get off the beat don’t give up, try to get back on it. Remember when you work with the metronome the first priority is to get it in time, don’t worry if a bum notes slip into the mix just get it in time. Repeat this 3 times then move on to the next step.
5. Is it working?
You have played your piece 3 times now, ask yourself how its going - Is it getting better? No Progress? Or getting worse?
- Yay, It's getting better! Great, now work on putting in the finer details and if needed start to increase the speed.
- Hmmm.. no progress. Don’t fret, you probably need to make the part you are working on smaller and keep going back through steps 2 and 3.
- Aghhh! It’s getting worse!- Take a breath, simplify it as much as you can, make sure the speed is manageable, not too fast or too slow. Try working on a piece or scale you know really well and don’t be afraid to go through steps 2 and 3 as much as you like. Remember, if a goal is too hard to reach, it needs breaking down into more manageable steps!
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Check out 'Transform Your Music Practice Today' for further study tips!
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Happy practicing and remember….The Metronome is your best friend, it always tells the truth no matter how frustrating it is to hear!