Practise with a Metronome

A metronome gives you a steady reference to listen against. You can use it to notice a rushed note, a late chord change or an uneven gap between notes.

I once asked a friend who was attending the Academy of Contemporary Music for his main tip for someone starting guitar. He recommended practising with a metronome.

What the clicks mean

BPM means beats per minute. For the exercises below, treat each click as one quarter-note beat and count four beats per bar. At 60 BPM, the clicks are one second apart.

The rhythm tells you where notes belong within those beats. You might play once per click, twice per click or leave a beat silent. Changing the number of notes per beat changes the exercise even if the BPM stays the same.

Start by following the beat

1. Open the online metronome and select four beats per bar.
2. Try 60 BPM as an example. Listen to a few clicks and count 1, 2, 3, 4 with them before playing.
3. Pluck the open high E string once on each number. Play two bars, listening to how the notes meet the clicks. Then pause to choose what needs attention.
4. Check whether a note arrived before or after its click. If following the beat and playing together feels too much, practise counting with the clicks first.

Choose another tempo if that helps you follow the pulse comfortably. A starting number is a place to try, not a target you have to meet.

For chord practice, use two shapes you can already form. Strum the first on beat one and let it ring through beats two, three and four. Change to the second chord on beat one of the next bar. If the movement is not ready, work on the chord change without the clicks for a moment.

Play two notes per beat

Keep one click on each numbered beat. Count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and, placing each “and” halfway between two numbers. Pluck the same open string on every number and every “and”:

These are eighth notes in this exercise. The pick-stroke lesson gives you a down-up pattern to try with the same count.

Next, compare two notes per click with three eighth-note triplets per click. Keep the numbered beats steady while changing the subdivision.

Change tempo without chasing a score

Choose a short passage and keep its rhythm the same while comparing tempos. When the notes and timing feel controlled, try a small increase, such as 60 to 63 BPM. That increment is an example, not a required practice rule. Slow down again if notes become unclear or the movement feels tense.

Record the passage, tempo and what you noticed. A note such as “60 BPM, one note per click; a gap before D” tells you what to work on next. A higher BPM by itself does not describe note clarity, rhythm or comfort.

Take regular breaks and stop if playing causes pain. Use the clicks for a focused part of your session, and leave time to play music you enjoy. Our general practice lesson gives you a session to adapt.