Metronomes

Metronomes. love them or hate them they are a fact of life and we, as drummers, need to get used to them and treat them as our friend.


Us drummers have one job and that is to keep time. It doesn’t matter how fast or clever or cool we are. if we cannot keep accurate time for the band, orchestra, dancers or whoever else we are playing for, then we wont have a job for very long.


So what is the best way to get on good terms with the click? It’s the same answer as everything else... Practice!


First of all grab yourself a metronome. Nowadays there is no reason to buy a metronome, there are loads available fr free on your smart phone, tablet and computer. in fact if you type metronome into Google, Google has its own metronome!


Next set it at a nice easy tempo. I would suggest nothing higher that about 80 bpm.


Now play the following for about 5 minutes a day:
4 bars of 1/4 notes
4 bars of 1/4 note triplets
4 bars of 1/8 notes
4 bars of 1/8 note triplets
4 bars of 1/16 notes
4 bars of sextuplets
4 bars of 1/32 notes
Then reverse the order back down to 1/4 notes and repeat all over again.


in no time at al you will be playing perfectly in time and happily using the click.


Give it a try and let me know what you think.


Phill