That Annoying, Clicking Box…

Again, metronomes…are they important?

I’m constantly trying to emphasise how vital these devices are when working on your timing, yet I still find people who refuse to use them! Are you one?

Common complaints about metronomes include:

“The constant clicking “throws me off” when I try to play in time!”

“I have great timing when playing on my own, but I can’t play with others!”

“The clicking is so annoying, I would rather not have listen to it!”

“I don’t understand how to use the thing!”

If you feel there is anything I’ve missed off this list, there is a comment section below…

Well, I’ve already answered the last point in my previous post “How to Use a Metronome”, so if you haven’t read that yet I suggest you do that first. Now, lets tackle each complaint individually.

The Constant Clicking “throws me off”

While I would agree that the clicking on it’s own can get pretty annoying -but that’s on it’s own! What you should realise is: the metronome isn’t just some random, inane click; the metronome is keeping a constant beat- which means you’re playing WITH it, not just at the same time with the click in the background!

Try this as an exercise: put the metronome on and count the clicks. You should be counting like this “1…2…3…4…1…2…3…4…etc…”, each number is a click. Can you keep in time? When you say each number it should be at the same time as each click- just as if you were counting beats. Is the metronome click just something happening “in the background”?

Your answer should be: “No, the click is the thing I’m counting”. It’s actually a part of what you’re doing. In fact, to take this further, when playing your guitar to a metronome and you’re perfectly in time, you won’t actually hear the click at all!

I cannot play with others

Have you ever thought this? You feel fine and “in time” when you play just by yourself, but when you try to play with others you can’t seem to fit in with them? Well, I’ll give you a clue…it’s never the case that “everyone else in the whole world must be wrong!”.

If you find that you have trouble staying in time with others then it’s more likely that you’re timing isn’t so great. Of course, it could also be their fault…but- guess what? It’s never going to be the metronome going out of time. A metronome can’t have a bad sense of time (by design). So, when you play with that metronome and “one of you” is out…it’s you…sorry

I can only play in a musical situation

Ha! Now, this one is interesting. Many people believe they can’t play in time to a metronome because it’s “unmusical” or “unnatural”. Well, did you ever think that when you play with others, they are actually also playing to you?

That’s right! When you play with someone else, they are also adjusting to your timing- therefore it’s much easier to keep in time with each other. One of you speeds up slightly, the other speeds up also; one of you slows down, so does the other. The metronome, however, cannot and will not adjust to you- it can only stay perfectly in time.

Listening to the Sound of a Kit…

Usually, this is a great sound to hear, because it means something (you or anyone) is about to rock! For practice purposes, however, it’s not so useful.

For one, the sound of a kit ads in a natural resonance (which can cover up any slight mistakes). When you’re playing to a click you only have the one “click”- no reverb, no tone, nothing else, just a “click” exactly on the beat. This is why, when you play exactly on each click you don’t actually hear the noise from the metronome at all. This is known as “burying the click” (kind of a funny expression that…)

Learning to Count

So, as I’ve explained: metronomes are a great tool to help your timing, and (if you get the ones with just a simple “click”) you have to actually count in your head (rather than just relying on the snare/high hat/bass drum that’s being played on the beat you’re listening for…). I’m sure you’re able to count, right?

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Rob.

April 5, 2010 at 11:00 pm | Guitar Technique and Exercises, Music News and Opinions, Practicing and Practice Routine | 3 comments

3 Responses to “That Annoying, Clicking Box…”

Michael Pedzotti says:

04/05/2010 at 11:52 am

The most annoying thing I found with a metronome is when I get just a little out of sync with it, it throws my timing and concentration way off. I know it is meant to help with timing, but I focus too much on it I think and try to beat it to the click.

Rob says:

04/05/2010 at 3:33 pm

Don’t try and beat the metronome, because that means you’re rushing or playing too fast!

The best thing to do when you get too far out of sync with it (or, really: not in time) is to just stop and start again. You should be playing AT THE SAME TIME as the metronome, so it can’t really throw your timing off.

Good luck with practicing

Hidden Valley obsession says:

24/11/2010 at 4:22 pm

a metronome is especially needed when fretting with the left hand because the right side of the brain doesnt understand time. When fretting with the right hand(playing left handed) timing becomes much much easier, but the picking may be more difficult. Playing drumming drills with pencils and the metronome is a help as well as finger picking to slow things down and work on the fretting hands articulation. What also helps is to practice both left and right handed from time to time, choosing which guitar to play depending on mood. This week I have been practicing right handed which because the picking is way too easy, the timing is so much harder. Its nice when playing the left handed strat that the picking with the left hand is so much harder, because the timing is that much easier(more tension in the left hand). When I play right handed there is no tension in the right hand and as a consequence of this total lack of resistance, playing fast is like sleep walking, with no attention to rhythm, and the timing is way off. Talk about MASSIVE frustration.