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?
Back to basics: metronome
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Re: Back to basics: metronome
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Re: Back to basics: metronome
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.
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.
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Re: Back to basics: metronome
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.
The rhythm in a tune is up to the player.
There can be a lot of fluctuation even within
a set tempo.
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love.
Love is not music. Music is the best.
- Frank Zappa
Re: Back to basics: metronome
This is true.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.
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.