How to start to use a metronome if you’ve never really used one before, and you might be too afraid to ask at this point.

Ah, the metronome. Again, I can feel the eyes rolling - going to the eye gym, if you will.

Now, this is not the post on how to get comfy with the metronome if you are just annoyed with it and avoid it. You can find that post linked here. This is the prequel. This is a post on what I recommend trying to do when you know you should use it, and are kind of lost on how to bring it into your practice as a useful tool.

I’ve come across this in students of all ages at varying points in their flute journey who don’t really know how to use a metronome, mainly because they’ve never been shown how in a way that works for them - so they don’t use it.

Here are some of the ways I suggest getting started when someone I’m working with has not used one in their practice, and might be too afraid to ask. 

First, I don’t shame them, and I listen to their reasons for not using them. A lot of the time it’s because they never learned in a way that worked for them - so when it didn’t line up in whatever situation, they ignored it. 

My first suggestion is to put the metronome on 60 bpm, no subdivision, and just listen. 60 bpm is one second long, so if you don’t have a metronome available, but have access to a clock with a second-hand, that works too.

Next just count to four aloud and repeat along with the sound of the metronome. Here we are getting used to hearing it, and acting on the beat.

If that’s super comfy, next try eighth notes - so the “and” or the second half of the beat will fall within the space. If you clap the rhythms instead, your hands will be away from each other. If you need to, put on an eighth note subdivision to hear the second half of the beat.

Another thing I like to do at this stage, but it’s not required, is to move to the beat to internalize it, and really feel it.

When you feel you are comfortable with it all, I suggest trying the quarter notes with your instrument. Of course, it might be hard at first as you are now adding another layer to the challenge, and our minds have to account for an extra thing - which is exactly why we’re starting at the beginning again.

What we’re doing here is starting really basic, because it’s new and we’re trying to incorporate it into an already challenging task. I wouldn’t expect someone to be good at using a new tool immediately (I’ve stated before that the beginning is one of the hardest parts of learning something new), but I would hope they would try and give themselves the patience and grace to get comfy with it.

Keep going, you’re doing great!

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