I have a difficult time with the metronome, I find when i use it my playing feels more "mechanical" because I find myself focusing so much on the metronome that I don't put as much "feeling" into my playing. I know it is good for learning timing, but I just can't seem to get past the mechanical part. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My metronome is a built in on my keys.

Buy a drum machine. Play along to the drum machine. Play along to CDs. Play along to anything. That's a metronome. I've never used a metronome - not saying I'm awesomer - just saying - playing along to a drum machine seemed to help me.

Then again - I always danced - since I was a kid - maybe that had something to do with it.

Links for the humors.
http://video.google.com/v...7863465983
http://www.youtube.com/wa...BX5AeKoQqQ
[Edited 10/9/06 16:39pm]

txladykat said:

Okay, so what happens when you play with a drummer who has a very straight feel? Or a drum machine? Would you sound mechanical too? Or could you find a way to swing whilst fitting in with their playing?
You can pratice exactly that with the metronome. play swung against it , play straight, play ahead of it, play behind it, play a counterrythm around the clicks, find a groove somewhere between straight and swung that feels like you. To me, it's been a wonderful and completely merciless learning tool.

Oh and I'm with beau on the dancing. If I hear a half-decent beat, I'm shaking my butt in a second.

anon said:

Metronome or death.

A metronome will not help you with timing, it can help you know how certain timings go, but it wont help you, unless you have some inner sense of groove..
usually when im doing rhythm funk guitar for a song im creating, and i dont have a metronome at hand
i mouth the beat, doing some beat boxes rhythms, and i follow through playing the guitar.
cause i already know inside what tempo i want the song in, when i get to recording, i just play with the metronome until i have that groove
but you have to have the groove already inside of you...

EuroCinema said:

playing to drums is easy, i think for me it is just the mechanical sound of the metronome..you dont get the "feel" of the music like you get with the drum beat.

METROGNOME

tic tic tic....
[Edited 10/10/06 21:46pm]

txladykat said:

what he's saying is
if you set a drum loop to 80 Bpm instead of using a metronome at 80 Bpm, is it still mechanical sounding like a metronome
Because timing is timing 80 bpms is 80 bpms no matter if their drums or a metronome..
maybe your timing just sucks lol
no offense

Time is a trick anyway... lol

groovyiau said:

My morning entertainment...

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[Edited 10/16/06 9:29am]