For every serious piano student, the metronome is part and parcel of practising and developing technical skills.
It brings great value and discipline into your practise and playing.
As a young student, my piano teacher used the metronome only for tempo indications which are normally given at the top of your piece.
Tempo indications
If there were no metronome indications, she followed the basic metronome times for playing a piece at various tempos as indicated by the italian names written on the score.
Names like adagio, allegro or vivace etc.
Adagio means “at a walking pace” or lento means slow or Allegro means lively and vivace means fast.
Where no metronome indications are given, it is left to the performer to decide the tempo at which they will be interpreting the music.
The metronome indications given, are exactly as it is said: INDICATIONS.
This means that the tempo given is not set in stone. It's always better to play at the speed that you can manage well than to play at breakneck speed with a performance feeling rushed, faltering, with mishaps and breakdowns which makes it unenjoyable.
It's better to do your piece a bit slower and be in control of the performance, else it becomes like a runaway train!
If you are quite a perfectionist, please do take the metronome indications with a pinch of salt, so to speak! It's only an indication!!
Use of the metronome
Coming back to the use of the metronome.
As I said, as a young student, my teacher never used the metronome as a practising tool.
Later when I started studying music, my professor was very adamant about metronome practise, using the metronome for technical practise.
We used the metronome mainly for development of fast passages within a music piece or to practise scales.
I did not often or ever use the metronome to practise right through my pieces, as It can lead to very ridgid playing.
If it's done maybe once or twice, just to enable you to play through your piece, that should be OK, but personally I will not use it to practise right through a whole Bach or Beethoven or a Chopin continuously.
It should be fine and helpful to use your metronome on purpose a few times, but not as a standard every time.
You do not want to sound like a metronome in the long run!
You do not want to sound like a metronome!
Music at the end is a flowing line of sounds which ebbs and flows.
Think of playing a Chopin with the metronome! That will be disastrous!
Rubato is part of Chopin's music which makes playing with a metronome not possible.
However, if you have a fast running passage in your piece, as found in many Chopin studies or the Ballads, these lines will become flowing, and flued when you do the groundwork of consistent and repetitive practise of these lines.
The purpose is to play perfectly even and exactly with your metronome beat so that your passages becomes smooth and exactly.
So how do I practise these lines to perfection? This is where the metronome acts like a schoolmaster or a trainer!
The metronome acts as a schoolmaster or a trainer!
Use the metronome for a certain passage starting at a very slow speed where every note is played with a metronome beat.
This way you will be able to clearly hear when your playing is uneven and which finger needs to get more attention to move on time.
It's a bit like training horses! Training your 10 horses on your hand - 10 fingers where each one has a different angle and position.
Playing exactly with each beat is absolutely necessary.
If you play sloppily with the metronome, you might as well not.
Practising with this master means you have to listen to each tick and make sure that each note is exactly executed with each click.
It should sound as one, with no difference between the note you are playing, nor the beat.
This will ensure crisp and even running passage which is music to the ear!
There is nothing that so quickly exposes your ability on the keys as uneven playing. It is truly worth it to put in the effort and bring great pleasure to your own ears when your lines are crisp and flowing!
Use your metronome master to practise difficult technical passages
When using your metronome master, use it for practising difficult technical passages. When you struggle with a difficult technical passage,
- identify the phrase that needs to be practised and then work only on that one specific line.
- The line should preferably not be too long, but make musical sense too.
- A shorter phrase is sometimes better than one long phrase.
- Conquer each phrase bit by bit.
- Starting at a very slow tempo, make sure there are never any mistakes.
- If you do make a mistake, be the disciplinarian that will not allow yourself, or rather, your horses to get away. Do it over and make sure it is secure and faultless.
You have to be faultless concerning fingering,your notes and with the exact execution with the click of the metronome beat.
- If you are doing it well, increase the speed each time you play the passage, but only if you or your master metronome is pleased that it was perfect! Then you may move on to the next metronome speed.
You will be surprised with the ease that you will be able to play your passage at the end. It's greatly encouraging and motivational when you suddenly feel or know you have command over a passage which you could not manage before!
This means there is development of muscles and ability which will only enhance your music!
- Slowly build up the speed of this passage you are working on and be patient.
You will be rewarded and have that great feeling of achievement and joy, being able to play a certain passage, fluently and with ease!
It only comes by practise, and with the help of the metronome, so much faster and in a more disciplined way!
So students, it's worth it to try this out.
Use your metronome on a passage that you know you always falter on.
Practise it slowly, preferably with only one hand.
The hand that struggles with the run. You will be surprised how it can be ironed out.
You, however, do have to concentrate and listen to what and how you are playing. Listening is key.
One more very important aspect of practising with the metronome and technical exercises is fingering!
ALWAYS use the same fingers and never be sloppy with fingering.
Your horses need to know who has to react when.
Without perfect fingering each time, you will never play that passage at speed.
It all boils down to being disciplined and concentrating by listening, to have your playing simultaneous with the beat.
Fortunately Maestro Mr Metronome makes it really enjoyable and great fun, making you unaware of the above mentioned discipline and concentration!!
I love “metronome drill!”, as my teacher always called it.
It is worth it and helps a lot to bring structure to your practise. Enjoy!
