Back to basics: metronome

[elbowmusic]

Like others have mentioned, I too don't use a metronome very often, but as a touchstone to see how things stand.

But my question to metronome detractors is this: I assume for Irish music that you need to play the notes that fall on the beat on the beat. So if you set a metronome to only go on the beat, how is it not a helpful tool?

[donpiper]

Yes metronomes are mongrel things!
They all slow down in the easy bits and speed up in the tricky parts of a tune.

Seriously though,
I find that if I am playing a new tune or one that I have not played for a long time,
and it is just not sounding right, that it is often a timing issue.

The simplest way I know around this is to use a metronome set to a tempo that I can easily play
the most difficult part of a tune.
The easy bits feel dead slow but after a few times around it starts to sound like it should.

When it is sounding solid then I can increase the tempo by small increments.

I don't know many musicians or dancers that have the patience to play or dance
at a tempo that is just right for me and my new tune.

Mr Gumby has a valid point though: many dancers and experienced traditional musicians
have very good sense of rythm or internal metronome if you wish to think of it that way.

[oleorezinator]

You can use a metronome to set the tempo.
The rhythm in a tune is up to the player.
There can be a lot of fluctuation even within
a set tempo.

[donpiper]

You can use a metronome to set the tempo.
The rhythm in a tune is up to the player.
There can be a lot of fluctuation even within
a set tempo.

This is true.
An example is 'the Dusty Miller' set from Tommy Keane's 'Piper's Apron' album;
where he switches from 9/8 to 12/8 and back again, finally finishing in 12/8.
All at the same tempo, I think beautifully.

The point I was trying to make earlier was that
rythmic integrity will not be maintained if the tempo varies
with the technical difficulty of a patrticular phrase or part thereof.

I am not too proud to use a metronome when I need to
iron out some tempo issues that are causing a loss of rythmic integrity in my music.