Talk to me about metronomes (please)

[yamagal]

Are they essential?   What kind do you recommend - the old fashioned wind-up ticktock kind, or the newfangled kind that takes batteries and looks like a paperweight?

The only time I played with a metronome keeping time was during lessons at my teachers'.  My mother cannot abide ticking sounds so we never had one at home.  Now it is 20+yr later, I finally have my own piano and am practicing without a metronome, just like when I was a kid.  Should I get one or not. 

[pianoky]

yes i think getting a metronome is necessary, tho i hate it so much when i was young 
but i started using it recently in my playing and it does help a lot.  I have both the traditional wooden one and i just bought a electronic one.  i like the electronic one more cos it has more function, eg, it can click in triplet for you. but the volume is not loud enough sometimes.   

[ryan2189]

I think that metronoes are very useful tools but I don't think that they should be relied on constantly. You won't always have one with you when it comes time to perform. Besides, you want to be creative with your music. Someone on this forum had also said that music is more harmonious to the ear when you do not follow all tempo marks (within a certain limit of course). Also what do you do when you want or have to use some rubato in your pieces. I for one would hate being confined with all that timing and needing to get it perfect every time. I would only suggest using them when you are really stuck or confused.

[happyface94]

Only useful when practicing at a slower pace than your usual pace I think.

[sleepingcats]

If you end up getting a metronome, I recommend one with a volume control. I have the Korg KDM-1 Digital Metronome - very simple and easy to use. It has volume control and a light if you prefer it to the clicks.

[Waldszenen]

Metronomes are especially essential for pianists like me who, for some reason, seem to gradually speed up when playing Baroque and Classical pieces which are supposed to be played tempo giusto.


And I prefer the old fashioned one over the new digital ones - a few winds and you don't have to worry about dead batteries.

[yamagal]

I appreciate everyone's input.  That's a good point about the old-fashioned ones not ever needing batteries.  But I like the idea of volume control, too.   Hmmm...

I see your point about Baroque material - that's mainly where I notice a problem in the evenness of my playing speed (at least while learning a piece).

[ted]

Metronomes have never played any part in my piano playing but if you feel they help you then use them.

[asyncopated]

I seldom, if ever, play with the metronome on.  I just use it to before starting a piece, or after finishing the piece to check that I am around the correct tempo and have not deviated too much. 

I think that the metronome destroys the musical line --  everything becomes too proper, phrasing and breathing is thrown out the window.

Also I use it when practicing technique (not repetoire).  It's useful for things like 2 against 3 or 3 against 4.  You can play hands seperately before puting it together and because your speed is guided, you make less mistakes.

I suppose that you sould use the metronome if you have huge problems keeping a basic pulse.  However, I find that there are other ways to try and get a basic pulse (and at the same time keeping the musical line).  For example, clapping the notes to get the rhythm is very useful, expecially with complicated rhythm switches.  The other is to count out loud 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.  I prefer clapping -- if you get the rhythm in your head, you will find much less problems with tempo, and you also begin the understand what the composer intended at a deeper level.

With regards to what type of metronome.  An electronic metronome is more versatile, but a mechnical one makes a much nicer sound.  I get very frastrated when something beeps at me whilst I'm playing, less so if it goes tic-toc.

I have one last thing to add.  If you are trying to acquire speed perhaps one of the worst things to do is to start slow and yank the metronome speed up notch by notch.  Many have clamied that they hit a speed wall, and I do remember having similar problems a while back.  Instead,  learn a piece by breaking it into small phrases and playing it at or near speed as soon as you have figured out the notes and movement.  Concentrate on both technique and musicality for each phares and eventually join the phrases together.  In this way you never hit a speed barrier. 


al.



 

[_tyro]

I like my nice unobtrusive battery-driven one.  Its main virtue is that I can turn the sound off, and just use the light.  This means I can start it with my original tempo, and ignore it until I want to see whether my tempo has disintegrated somewhere later in the piece.

[dorfmouse]

I use my metronome mainly as a check on whether I really know a section of my piece. The ticking metronome acts as a sort of presence, generating a slight feeling of nervousness and mercilessly shows up any weak or hesitant patches!

[timothy42b]

Metronomes are essential for the beginner.

Try playing along with one sometime.  See how hard it is?  That's because you aren't keeping a steady tempo.  You learn to keep a steady beat by playing along with one and internalizing it.  Or by playing in a group - but pianists don't have the advantage saxophonists have. 

I recommend the little electronic ones.  You can get one for about $10, not much bigger than a credit card.  My batteries have lasted years.  (you don't use it all the time.  you use it for a purpose.)  The windup ones are nice, but they run $80 and up, they have only very gross adjustments, like 4 to 8 bpm gaps, and the ticks do not quite match the tocks to my ears, resulting in a slightly assymetrical feel. 

When a beginner plays a piece and moves from section A to section B, he will always stop and reset fingers, etc.  This hesitation is impossible to detect on your own, but the metronome points it out very clearly. 

[Siberian Husky]

i'v found this..


Mozart+Metrenome=sexy

Bach+metrenome=sexy

Chopin+Metrenome=non sexy

thus concluding

Chopin-Metrenome=sexy

also..the ever so famous

Chopin-metrenome+turkey sandwhich(2)=sexy and filling


thank you

[Floristan]

If you end up getting a metronome, I recommend one with a volume control. I have the Korg KDM-1 Digital Metronome - very simple and easy to use. It has volume control and a light if you prefer it to the clicks.

Thanks for the recommendation.  I just got a KDM-1 on eBay for $30 + $8 shipping -- about $10 less than the next cheapest retailer online.