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  • Using metronome for first time

    Posted by NW7 on October 7, 2021 at 12:20 pm

    I’m just over 3 months playing. In the comment today someone recommended that I start playing with a metronome to help with my chord switching speed.

    I found that I can switch from a G to a C and vice versa at 40bmp. I wanted to try that since it’s a big change with no fingers in common. Just need to clean up the C when I land it sometimes. I put it on 4/4 and just strum each beat and switch after the 4th, trying to land the chord and strum on the 1st beat.

    Is there anything I need to know to make good use of the metronome or is simply doing the above on the right course?

    N-lightMike replied 3 years, 4 months ago 4 Members · 6 Replies
  • 6 Replies
  • jumpinjeff

    Member
    October 7, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    All sounds good @NW7 , Try strumming on beat 1 & 3 and take the full 2 and the 4 beat to make your change. As you make the change focus on the fluidity of motion in your fingers and hand. Do this at a speed where you can do it without tension and where you have precision accuracy. Once you spend some time in that relaxed place with precision accuracy crank up your speed but only a little, until achieve that same state and then crank it up again….and so on….and so on. Never chase speed…sneak up on it methodically.

    Metronome was hard for me at first. It has become my most valuable tool.

    • NW7

      Member
      October 7, 2021 at 2:03 pm

      Ok, I will give that a try. If I’m taking a full beat to change then I can no doubt up the tempo. Is there a reason to do that as opposed to switching between beats?

      • jumpinjeff

        Member
        October 7, 2021 at 2:51 pm

        It helped me develop better rhythm initially and kept me more relaxed. No need to up the tempo until that relaxed fluidity begins happening. Playing without tension allowed me to increase speed at a pleasantly surprising pace. Mess around with it, see what you think.

        The way I read your description you strum 4 down strokes and change on the “&” ready for the next downstroke on 1?

        Same tempo you will have twice the changes but change more slowly. Less strumming as no strum on the change.

  • tailsawaggin

    Member
    October 7, 2021 at 2:21 pm

    You’re off to a good start. One thing I wish I’d done sooner is prioritized rhythm over chord correctness, especially since once I started doing that, chord correctness started to come along in its own time. It took me a long time to let go of starting over, or trying to get the chord right again before the two beat, or some other correction. It’s better just to hit that beat, no matter what you hit it with . . . after all, when you’re playing with someone else or they’re singing along with you or whatever, they’ll forgive you for missing notes if you keep the beat, but if you lose the beat, you lose your singer too. 😁

    Just keep at it, slow and steady, and the rest will come.

    • NW7

      Member
      October 7, 2021 at 3:16 pm

      Sounds great! Thanks for the encouragement!

    • N-lightMike

      Member
      October 7, 2021 at 3:56 pm

      yeah, @tailsawaggin , this advice about the importance of rhythm is great. I’ve seen the truth of this but still struggle with wanting a perfect chord and stalling out the rhythm. Thanks for the reminder. Especially as I am planning on playing with another guitarist soon.

      MG 😀

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