Uses of a Metronome App
For any musician and performer the metronome can be the most important training program available. Other than keeping your tempo and rhythm true, when used appropriately a metronome is able to bring an element of discipline and structure to your practice time. There are many techniques that you can use a metronome to accomplish this end.
Setting goals
By far the most typical solution to structure your practice session with a metronome is using it to create tempo goals on very hard passages. The metronome is designed with a means to evaluate and chart your effort every day. The perfect variation on this is to get started in the complex passage at about half tempo(or as slowly as needed to play effortlessly) and boost tempo by a single click or BPM upon each effective repetition. It may take quite a few practice sessions to reach your goal tempo. It’s important to have the self-control to stop boosting the tempo should the passage becomes to hard for you to play. Return to it again later on and work it up once again from the slow tempo and you should find it is easy to exceed your original best. Repeat this procedure till your main goal has become achieved.
Another variation for this technique is to play a passage a set amount of time in a short period appropriately just before changing the tempo up. For instance if you were to attempt to perform a passage Half a dozen times one after the other appropriately, you begin over from zero if you stumble on the 4th or 5th repetition of the passage. This is a effective tactic to build consistency.
Creative practice methods
Metronomes can be used in non traditional approaches to enable you to improve. One of many ways would be to practice looking at the click on the upbeat(with silence to the down beat). This is effective because it internalized the whole process of subdivision. It’s often difficult in the beginning to invert the beat but will improve with practice. It’s far better start out at a slower tempo and slowly but surely boost it. Another variation of this that could be a little less difficult would be to put the metronome to the weak beats of the measure solely. By way of example if the tempo is usually 120 beats each minute, set your metronome to 60 beats per minute that’s half tempo. Play the piece at 120 but set the clicks on beats 2 and 4 for each measure.
Another way is to place the metronome at a fraction to your ideal tempo and perform your piece at one beat per measure, one beat per two measures or simply slower. This will test out your ability to hold a constant tempo over longer periods of time. This requires a metronome that can possibly be programmed or play a really slow beat per measure.
These are just a couple of ways to use a metronome app to shape your training. There are of course others which you can use and they can and should be edited to suit your individual training style and goals.
A little confused about finding the right kind of Metronome App? Look no further, Metronome Plus was built with the music artist needs in mind.
July 11, 2011 | Posted by Dorothy Melton
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