View Poll Results: How often do you use a metronome?

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  • Always

    3 7.69%
  • Most of the time

    6 15.38%
  • Half of the time

    5 12.82%
  • Sometimes

    15 38.46%
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Thread: The proliferation of the metronome

  1. #1

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    Post The proliferation of the metronome

    I have never really used a metronome before, I've listened to them to figure out how to count a complex or plain old stubborn time signature but I have never listened to one while playing. I know many drummers prefer them to gain speed and a sense of control in their playing, but there are some (like me) who view them as a possible handicap, I by no means consider myself an expert, I've only been playing for 7 years, and I know I walk among veterans of music on this forum. Let me know your thoughts on how often you should use a metronome, or what you should use it for.
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  2. #2

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    In my own personal practice, pretty much all the time. It's pretty much enforced (in a diplomatic way) throughout lessons, though I ease up on it when I say to students "hey, let's jam!" But I'm always hardest on myself....plus with the various melodic things I have to practice nowadays, if I want to be serious about, I have to practice all those scale exercises with a metronome. Even with other sorts of percussion, whether playing live, recording or teaching, good time has to be learned.

    However, over time I've also been in situations where it isn't an absolute, absolute requirement. Take Latin or reggae drumming for instance. If you play some songs (some songs mind you) dead on the beat in reggae, it just wouldn't feel right. Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" comes to mind. Latin drumming as well....some sambas will be on top or ahead of the beat and in some songs this would be encouraged, whilst in others you'd have to lag it a tad. Same with blues drumming, some shuffles need to lay back a touch (get out your old Eric Clapton albums to hear guys like Steve Ferrone, Jamie Oldaker and Jim Gordon who were and still are masters of laying back).

    Conversely, you cannot rush nor drag if you're playing straight-up, four-to-the floor pop or dance music....rushing or dragging on an electronic kit? You'd sound like a broken drum machine! And if you're in marching bands, everyone has to work like a clock. Your metronome will be that drum major at the head of your group.....they're not waving that baton up and down for nothing. And again, the precision of fast double bass playing in various genres of heavy metal simply cannot happen if there is no practice with a metronome or click. That, is an art unto itself.

    However an experienced player should be as comfortable with as well as without a metronome, and should know when to be smack on the beat or know when it's okay to manipulate it slightly. That, I'm afraid, comes with time and no shortcuts. Gig with different bands and different players and you'll soon see how timing, and the habits to develop it well, are perceived in different ways. A metronome just gives an impartial opinion on whether this is a major or minor timing problem, but if you master the metronome, play dead on it, ahead it, behind it and so on, at least no one will look at you and point any fingers to blame.
    Last edited by Drumbledore; 04-29-2014 at 03:40 AM.
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  3. #3

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    They make good paperweights.

  4. #4

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    I've found using one years just confused me more than anything else. I do better without one and like Rick says they make a nice paperweight lol

  5. #5

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    I play with musicians that do not practice with a metronome and their timing is often poor.

  6. #6

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    If you cant play with a metronome thats a problem with you not the machine. Like Drumble said a good player should be comfy with one or without.

  7. #7

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    I use a metronome to check fill timing primarily.
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  8. #8

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    I don't like them. We just got done recording 10 new songs and didn't use one at all. What someone hears will be real feel. Practicing with one is okay sometimes.
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  9. #9

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    almost never

    only in the first few years of playing did i ever use a metronome

  10. #10

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    I never use one. I USUALLY keep a pretty steady beat, however, listening to the recordings from our last gig, I struggled with tempo for the first 2 or 3 songs. I can almost always tell when my tempo is off or changes, but sometimes I just can't get it to settle in fir a few songs. Perhaps it's because I don't warm up properly. I'm seriously considering practicing with a metronome now.
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  11. #11

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    I had a music professor in college that told us metronomes are for beginners and he didn't want to see any of us use one............they do have their place.

    I have sometimes had to use them in the studio, although I usually don't like it; the best studio metronome I've used is a strobe light that makes no sound..........at least it worked for me.

    Example :
    Can you imagine Nick Mason nailing down US AND THEM without a metronome knowing that Alan Parsons would need to follow up with an exact timing on an echoplex ?
    I don't think it would be easy. This is a case where a metronome would be required.
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  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    ....I can almost always tell when my tempo is off or changes, but sometimes I just can't get it to settle in fir a few songs. Perhaps it's because I don't warm up properly. I'm seriously considering practicing with a metronome now.
    Happens to us all. Even the best will have 'off' days or nights, live, studio, whatever. Hey, we're all human. Just pick yourself up and get on the bike again. Warming up certainly helps, but learning to relax is really one of the keys to it. Think of it as like the cowbell played by a timbalero or timbale player in a Latin band, where in a few select rhythms they have to lay out and play the simple quarter note whilst the conguero (conga player) might solo, or the piano player or whoever. That's the way I approach it.
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  13. #13

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    I only use them when recording.

  14. #14

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    I use one to practice rudiments and to learn new songs at band practice. The two cover bands I'm working with now were introduced to my metronome when I first joined the bands. After a few weeks of charting the tempo of the entire set list, I'll dial up the agreed upon meter of each song and I'll play along with the metronome until the band settles in on the groove.

    As weeks progress, I'll stop using the metronome and soley rely on "feel". If there are any disputes concerning timing, I'll break out the metronome and refer back to the set list to settle any arguements. For me, to play along to a metronome is fun. I can tell right away if I'm ahead or behind on the meter as well as hearing how well the rest of the band is following my tempo. It takes tons of pressure off of me since I get to compare click in my ear to the tempo in my head.
    Last edited by late8; 04-29-2014 at 08:57 AM.

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Epsicle View Post
    I have never really used a metronome before, I've listened to them to figure out how to count a complex or plain old stubborn time signature but I have never listened to one while playing. I know many drummers prefer them to gain speed and a sense of control in their playing, but there are some (like me) who view them as a possible handicap, I by no means consider myself an expert, I've only been playing for 7 years, and I know I walk among veterans of music on this forum. Let me know your thoughts on how often you should use a metronome, or what you should use it for.
    Wow, I'm definitely in the minority here!

    I really don't consider it a handicap, like "Oh my gosh! I can't play anything without my metronome!" It's a great tool, and I really don't see why some drummers are so against them.

    When we practice and play at my church live, we use one all of the time. It's fed into the IEMs of all of our guitar players, bass player, and keyboard players. Singers are told to basically keep up, and if they are not singing with the band, they are basically wrong. When there's not a lot going on musically, I'm keeping time on the hats. It has tightened up our band A LOT!

    We always had issues with playing the verses slow and speeding up each chorus. When you are playing with a large group of singers, they tend to slow everything down - all of the time. I would try to "push" everyone on drums to not slow down, but it never worked. I'd always get stares and glares. When we first got the metronome, our leader basically said, "Listen to the drummer. If you aren't with the drummer, you are wrong. He is NO LONGER playing to you all and conforming to your tempo. Everyone will now be following him." It was only then did the singers realize how BADLY they were dragging the song(s) down, and it really tightened everything up nicely.

    It's so much better now, and I'm glad we did it. I used to be so afraid that it would sort of kill the "feel" of everything, ruin any sort of "pocket," and that it would sound mechanical. It really doesn't, and I'm glad we use it.

    This is probably my favorite example of someone using a metronome. Fast forward to 1:13:

    Last edited by porkpieguy; 04-29-2014 at 09:25 AM.

  16. #16

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    I've practiced with a metronome considerably. As far as playing, I use it to start songs and sometimes play with sequenced tracks. Of course in the studio it's also the norm. So overall, about half of the time.

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by porkpieguy View Post
    Wow, I'm definitely in the minority here!

    I really don't consider it a handicap, like "Oh my gosh! I can't play anything without my metronome!" It's a great tool, and I really don't see why some drummers are so against them.

    When we practice and play at my church live, we use one all of the time. It's fed into the IEMs of all of our guitar players, bass player, and keyboard players. Singers are told to basically keep up, and if they are not singing with the band, they are basically wrong. When there's not a lot going on musically, I'm keeping time on the hats. It has tightened up our band A LOT!

    We always had issues with playing the verses slow and speeding up each chorus. When you are playing with a large group of singers, they tend to slow everything down - all of the time. I would try to "push" everyone on drums to not slow down, but it never worked. I'd always get stares and glares. When we first got the metronome, our leader basically said, "Listen to the drummer. If you aren't with the drummer, you are wrong. He is NO LONGER playing to you all and conforming to your tempo. Everyone will now be following him." It was only then did the singers realize how BADLY they were dragging the song(s) down, and it really tightened everything up nicely.

    It's so much better now, and I'm glad we did it. I used to be so afraid that it would sort of kill the "feel" of everything, ruin any sort of "pocket," and that it would sound mechanical. It really doesn't, and I'm glad we use it.

    This is probably my favorite example of someone using a metronome. Fast forward to 1:13:

    I know Jason is a great drummer, but this video is like every song he's every played with Shadows Fall. Lots of notes, no feel.

  18. #18

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    IMO, a metronome is like any other measuring tool. I wouldn't trust a contractor to build a house if he just eyeballed the distances. However, that same contractor, after years of measuring his projects with proper tools, could probably get pretty darn close eyeballing a project. The metronome provides the same function. You learn to play consistently based on lining up with the tempo. You learn muscle memory and spacial relationship between note groupings on how they sound and feel aligned with the grid. Contrary to popular opinion, playing to a click does not have to mean you must be ultra rigid and robotic. There can still be some push and pull, but you feel that push and pull in relation to the meter.

    I think practicing to a metronome at least some of the time, is a crucial element in the development of your drumming skills.

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by marko138 View Post
    I know Jason is a great drummer, but this video is like every song he's every played with Shadows Fall. Lots of notes, no feel.
    Isn't that sort of the nature of this genre of music though? Back when I listened to much heavier music, it seemed like a lot of it was about speed, screaming, etc. Seems like there's not a lot "feel" to a lot of fast music in general. I think that this is one of the reasons why I grew tired and weary of some of the faster metal. I never really felt like the genre was progressing or changing, and like you said, no feel.

    A couple of things from the video:

    1. Good on him with being able to play that fast with a metronome. And,

    2. I wish I had half the chops of that guy.


    Quick question for Mark and others (sorry if I'm robbing the thread): Do you feel that a metronome sort of kills things like "feel," "groove," and "pocket?" I'll offer my opinion after I've heard from others.

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by porkpieguy View Post
    Isn't that sort of the nature of this genre of music though? Back when I listened to much heavier music, it seemed like a lot of it was about speed, screaming, etc. Seems like there's not a lot "feel" to a lot of fast music in general. I think that this is one of the reasons why I grew tired and weary of some of the faster metal. I never really felt like the genre was progressing or changing, and like you said, no feel.

    A couple of things from the video:

    1. Good on him with being able to play that fast with a metronome. And,

    2. I wish I had half the chops of that guy.


    Quick question for Mark and others (sorry if I'm robbing the thread): Do you feel that a metronome sort of kills things like "feel," "groove," and "pocket?" I'll offer my opinion after I've heard from others.
    No, I don't think a metronome kills the feel at all. I prefer a click when I'm in the studio.

    And ya, I wish I had Bittner's chops too. But I don't know. Just something about his drumming seems so robotic and stale to me. There's just nothing there for me. So uninspiring. But I'll listen to a guy like Blake Richardson from Between The Buried And Me, who has monster chops and plays a ton of notes and there's something there. A feel.

    I don't know. I love Shadows Fall but I just don't care for Jason's drumming.

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by porkpieguy View Post
    Do you feel that a metronome sort of kills things like "feel," "groove," and "pocket?" I'll offer my opinion after I've heard from others.
    On the contrary. For me, a metronome helps define where my boundaries are within the tempo and this allows me to make "real time" adjustments while I play. I feel that the ebb and flow of tempo fluctuation is a natural phenomenon that occurs among musicians and the metronome allows me to hear these variances against "perfect time" and I let my groove or pocket follow those subtle changes while the metronome clicks away in the background.
    Last edited by late8; 04-29-2014 at 12:29 PM.

  22. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by porkpieguy View Post
    ...Quick question for Mark and others (sorry if I'm robbing the thread): Do you feel that a metronome sort of kills things like "feel," "groove," and "pocket?" I'll offer my opinion after I've heard from others.
    I think it does, for people who don't play to one often. Playing to a metronome/click is a skill just like any other technique on the kit, and a marketable skill at that with today's music. While playing, if you have to adjust your focus to stay with the click, the rest of the performance suffers. When I was playing bass, I saw it many times in the studio. Then you get the guys in that play to a metronome most/all of the time, and they nail the tracks in one or two takes, with conviction. It's just another skill that can/will improve with practice.

    For folks to do it often, I don't see any loss in feel or groove. For folks who can do it, but don't practice it, I believe those elements will be lost to an extent.
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  23. #23

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    I find a metronome very useful for practice. In particular if I'm learning a new song I will break it down and try to learn each segment separately. Normally its the fills that I find problematic - I can play them separately - however my grasp of timing becomes hazy and when I try to put everything together I always seem to be late (or early) when returning to the groove after a fill.
    I often practice fills (in particular) with a metronome until I am comfortable playing it at the right speed helps me a lot. I will probably become less dependant on it with experience but at present I am a long way off.

  24. #24

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    Awesome stuff guys, I've always been afraid if I started using a metronome it would mess with my ability to keep time without one, that's what I meant by a "handicap". However after reading these responses I might change my practice routine to include a metronome part of the time, seriously loving your responses.
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  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Epsicle View Post
    Let me know your thoughts on how often you should use a metronome, or what you should use it for.
    The more you use it, the better your timing will be. The brain just works that way.....right?

    Most amateur drummer's weak area seems to be losing tempo during fills. I think they generally rush them but I haven't really paid that much attention. All I know is that they often noticeably screw up.

    Most musicians tempo errors occur when the sing or change from verse to chorus of when they change from rhythm to lead parts.

    Playing without one is of course easier. Your band or whoever is leading the song becomes your metronome and you play along with them instead of a perfectly timed click. I've tracked popular music that had up to a 10 BPM waver and no one but a really trained ear would ever hear it.

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