Post by ninworks on Oct 6, 2020 7:17:44 GMT -5
I started this thread by replying to the Tempo Matching post in the Recording Room forum. Since it's a little off that topic I decided to make a new thread in here.
I have been practicing my guitar with a metronome for the last 15 years. Didn't do it before that and my timing stunk. Playing with the click made me rock solid and able to keep the feel going even when playing alone without one.
I do lots of timing exercises with the metronome. I'll play whatever exercise I'm working on as legato as I can while picking every note. Then I play the same one as staccato as possible. Then I'll do it all legato without picking anything just using hammer-ons. Then I'll do it with a swing. Then I will accent different notes in the pattern to change it up. Play it very soft then very loud and then add crescendos and decrescendos to it. Something I have discovered is that when attacking a new exercise or pattern that I don't have under my fingers yet, playing it very staccato can help me to nail it down.
I have a tendency to zone out and lose my concentration while playing very repetitive things so anything I can do to mix it up forces me to pay attention and not think about other stuff. At some point the muscle memory takes over and I don't have to think about it anymore. Until then I want to execute it correctly and when my mind drifts off I make mistakes. If I'm playing something I'm currently working on, that I know I can play, and keep making mistakes, it's always because I've lost my concentration. Sometimes it's better to just stop and come back to it later because I can't focus well enough to play without mistakes. Sometimes all it takes is to play something else for a while then I can come back to it.
I use a metronome on my computer so I have control of the volume on it. I like to set it to where it is just loud enough so when I'm locked in with it I can't really hear it. The only time it's audible is when I'm not precise. If I can consistently hear the click sticking out in the same spot in the exercise then I need to shift either the fingering, picking, fretting position, or any combination of those things. I turn the click up when figuring out all the mechanics on a new technical exercise. After I get to where I can play it precisely at a slow tempo then I'll turn it back down.
I have been practicing my guitar with a metronome for the last 15 years. Didn't do it before that and my timing stunk. Playing with the click made me rock solid and able to keep the feel going even when playing alone without one.
I do lots of timing exercises with the metronome. I'll play whatever exercise I'm working on as legato as I can while picking every note. Then I play the same one as staccato as possible. Then I'll do it all legato without picking anything just using hammer-ons. Then I'll do it with a swing. Then I will accent different notes in the pattern to change it up. Play it very soft then very loud and then add crescendos and decrescendos to it. Something I have discovered is that when attacking a new exercise or pattern that I don't have under my fingers yet, playing it very staccato can help me to nail it down.
I have a tendency to zone out and lose my concentration while playing very repetitive things so anything I can do to mix it up forces me to pay attention and not think about other stuff. At some point the muscle memory takes over and I don't have to think about it anymore. Until then I want to execute it correctly and when my mind drifts off I make mistakes. If I'm playing something I'm currently working on, that I know I can play, and keep making mistakes, it's always because I've lost my concentration. Sometimes it's better to just stop and come back to it later because I can't focus well enough to play without mistakes. Sometimes all it takes is to play something else for a while then I can come back to it.
I use a metronome on my computer so I have control of the volume on it. I like to set it to where it is just loud enough so when I'm locked in with it I can't really hear it. The only time it's audible is when I'm not precise. If I can consistently hear the click sticking out in the same spot in the exercise then I need to shift either the fingering, picking, fretting position, or any combination of those things. I turn the click up when figuring out all the mechanics on a new technical exercise. After I get to where I can play it precisely at a slow tempo then I'll turn it back down.