Metronome evil annoyance or helful tool?

Penny · Post by **Penny** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 7:43 pm

Is that metronome of yours
tucked in a drawer because it is an evil gnome that drives you up the wall when
you are trying to play music? Or has it really given you the ability to have a
steady sense of timing ticking away like mommies heart giving you comfort?

fluteluversmom · Post by **fluteluversmom** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 7:55 pm

My daughter uses hers
religiously..I on the other hand can't play a thing with that thing clicking
away LOL Kim

tarzaflute · Post by **tarzaflute** » Mon Sep 08, 2003 7:14 am

I use it, and I find it very
helpful, my flute teacher is always making me use it. On the other hand, it's
definately come in hard contact with the ground a number of times, lol! My
teacher has this horrible one and I had to ask her to turn it off cause I
couldn't stand it, lol. So yeah, all in all, they are really helpful!

sarah_and_flute · Post by **sarah_and_flute** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 2:49 pm

I personally can't stand the
little things [:knockout:] I think they're pretty useful when you're working
on a particular bar or passage you find difficult, as they enable you to start
really slowly and methodically build up the speed, but I really dislike
practising whole pieces with them on. I end up really flustered when any
creative rubato etc throws me totally out of kilter [:)]

fluteluversmom · Post by **fluteluversmom** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 3:25 pm

As I said in a previous post I
am not real crazy about metronomes but recently one of the band directors here
gave my daughter a new one to try out and that thing is really neat. I even
caught myself tapping my foot while washing the dishes when my daughter was
using it to practice. I might even actually be able to make myself use it while
practicing LOL Kim

krzymunkey · Post by **krzymunkey** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 9:18 pm

definitly evil annoyance... i
hate it! it only helps when i do double tougue.. i can't ever stay with it! i
always go too fast (i hate doing things slow) ughhhhh [:(] [:((] [:blackeye:]
[:knockout:] my teacher makes me use it, or i would never have gotten one. i
threw it down in annoyance once [:p]

falling4ever_3 · Post by **falling4ever_3** » Tue Dec 30, 2003 5:58 am

I don't find them helpful at
all, i don't think i even know how to use one! lol...

dancingflutist3000 · Post by **dancingflutist3000** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 5:50 pm

After hearing that evil thing
clicking away so much during band that it's stuck in my head all do you really
think I want to go back home and use it? But I must admit at school, it has done
a lot to help us keep a steady beat (also it helped me when I was struggling
with 6/8 and 3/8 time)

nicki_flute · Post by **nicki_flute** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 11:38 am

Yeh, I have one that is about 30 years old and it really annoys me. But so do the modern ones which beep!! Even worse.

Sneeble · Post by **Sneeble** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:41 pm

I find them distracting. Also, the wind-up ones have a tendency to gradually slow down. My teacher used to use a digital one, but the beeping still annoyed me.

MonikaFL · Post by **MonikaFL** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 10:28 pm

They are annoying, but I think once you find one whose beep you don't hate, and once you get the hang of practicing with one, metronomes end up being a practice tool you can't live without. I find them enormously helpful in keeping me at a slower tempo when I want to go faster than I should... which helps my fingers and muscles better learn passages. And the metronome will quickly show me where I have wobbles and technical issues.

I prefer a basic metronome - no subdivisions or anything. Just the same beep for everything. Anything fancier is just distracting to me.

veggieburger · Post by **veggieburger** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 8:41 pm

MonikaFL wrote:I prefer a basic metronome - no subdivisions or anything. Just the same beep for everything. Anything fancier is just distracting to me.

I completely agree. Even ones with different beeps for different time signatures mess me up!

I have a pretty expensive metranome, and I love the way it sounds. It's not an annoying BEEP! but it's not so dull that it doesn't stick in your head. If I use mine when I have a concert/competition, I go out on stage hearing 'click click click' and it's sooo helpful.

Nadya · Post by **Nadya** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 4:36 pm

i find them to be extremely helpful

halo · Post by **halo** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 12:39 pm

There is a basic rule, which I find to be true, about the use of a metronome.

The more you dislike a metronome, the more you probably need one. This is evidenced by the young lady who dislikes them so much that she would never use one, but her band director is making her practice with one.

The more you like a metronome, the less you probably need one. Notice the comments from people who use one and find themselves involuntarily tapping their foot to the rhythm... they already have a natural sense of rhythm.

My advice: if you find yourself disliking a metronome, then start practicing with one immediately. You will receive instant negative feedback when you are not keeping a steady beat, and you will learn to have a sense of good rhythm. Playing in a band or with a group does not give you this instant negative feedback unless you already have this ability. In other words, if you don't play with the rest of the band, you might not ever realize it, but the metronome will teach you.

Fluteoholic · Post by **Fluteoholic** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 8:21 pm

I actually do like to use a metronome when I'm first learning a piece, but as i gradually learn the piece better and better i can turn the metronome off and just play with the tempo more and be more musically.