(13) Metronome

The metronome is one of your most reliable teachers -- once you start using it, you will be glad you did. Develop a habit of using the metronome and your playing will undoubtedly improve; all serious students must have a metronome. A student's idea of tempo is never constant; it can depend on what he is playing and how he feels at the moment. A metronome can show him exactly what these errors are. An advantage of HS practice is that you can count more accurately than HT. Use a metronome to check the speed and beat accuracy. I have been repeatedly surprised by the errors I discover, even after I "finish" a piece. For example, I tend to slow down at difficult sections and speed up at easy ones, although I think it is actually the opposite when playing without the metronome. Most teachers will check their students' tempi with it. As soon as the student gets the timing, turn the metronome off.

Metronomes must not be over used. Long practice sessions with the metronome accompanying you are the most common, and serious, abuses. Excessive use of the metronome leads to non-musical playing. When the metronome is used for more than about 10 minutes continually, the mind will rebel against the enforced repetition and start to play mental tricks so that you lose the timing accuracy. For example, if the metronome emits clicks, after some time, your brain will create anti-clicks in your head that can cancel the metronome click so that you will either not hear the metronome, or hear it at the wrong time. This is why most modern electronic metronomes have a light pulse mode. The visual cue is less prone to mental tricks and also interferes less with playing musically. Another abuse of the metronome is to use it to ramp up speed; this abuses the metronome, the student, the music, and the technique, as explained in the section on (26) Speed, Rhythm, Dynamics. The metronome is for setting the tempo and for checking your accuracy; it can't teach you musicality. Once the tempo is set and checked, turn it off, so that you can practice playing at the correct tempo.

Electronic metronomes are better than mechanical ones although some people prefer the decorative value of the old models. Electronics are more accurate, can make different sounds or flash lights, have variable volume, are less expensive, are less bulky, have memory functions, etc. The mechanicals always seem to need rewinding at the worst possible times.