Using a Metronome

I was discussing about this site the other day with my friend who goes to the Academy of Contemporary Music. I asked him what tip he would give people starting out on the guitar, and he said he’d advise them to practice while using a metronome.

A metronome comes in very handy when practicing as discussed previously in the lesson, About Guitar Practice. It allows you to increase the speed at which you play a song in a systematic manner. This is crucial if you ever want to be able to play fast as it’ll allow you to gradually increase your speed while avoiding picking up bad habits.

When learning a particular solo or anything technical, you should start by playing it at a very slow tempo using the metronome. Once you’re happy that you have got the hang of it at that tempo you should gradually increase the tempo in small increments, practicing at each tempo until you are satisfied with it. For example you could choose on 5bpm increments.

It’s also very useful if you ever want to keep a record of your progress (speed at which you can play a riff etc…)

The metronome is therefore a very worthwhile investment. If you can’t afford one at the moment or don’t have one handy, why not use our free online metronome.

  • Want to improve your guitar playing?
  • Guitar Tricks

    These lessons have been written by me, a guitar enthuthiast. I've written them to the best of my abilities, but I'm no guitar teacher!

    If you want award-winning, well structured but inexpensive lessons, I strongly recommend you check out Guitar Tricks. They have great range of video guitar lessons from numerous coaches specialising in a wide range of styles.

    I've seen their videos, and they're great. With these guys, I'm confident you'll be improving in no time!

  • Visit Guitar Tricks Now