Best Metronome For Piano Beginners

Best Metronomes: Musicradar’s Choice

The Boss DB-90 is our pick for the best metronome thanks to its sheer breadth of features and versatility. Quite simply, this one is difficult to beat. A special mention, however, goes to the unassailable Korg MA-2, for being a solid, rugged solution with a great pedigree that can be picked up for pretty much peanuts.

In the more traditional corner, the Wittner 811 is an unsurpassed, though rather expensive choice in our best metronomes guide. Its timeless design and impressive build quality means this is probably the only metronome youll ever need to buy. If your budget doesnt stretch that far, you wont go wrong with the cheaper Wittner 836 Taktell Piccolo, as long as you dont need a bell.

More like a mini drum machine than a metronome, the Boss DB-90 is literally the all-singing, all-dancing king of the timekeepers, with a huge array of functions that are reflected – quite fairly, lets face it – in its somewhat hefty price tag.

This seriously pro timekeeping tool has it all – four non-abrasive metronome sounds, including human voice count, realistic PCM drum sounds, 50 pattern memories, instrument input, and even a 5-pin MIDI input to sync to an external sequencer for onstage cueing.

Pyramid-style pendulum metronomes have just one job, at which they excel, and Wittners extensive range of models delivers just the right blend of antique style and modern build quality for those who prefer a traditional approach to timekeeping.

Do You Hate Practicing With A Metronome Is It Difficult And Frustrating Will You Do Anything To Avoid Your Metronome

If you answered yes to these 3 questions, then congratulations, you are exactly like all my students!

Today I’ll share with you 5 tips that will make it easier to practice with the metronome.

Because, trust me, once you get used to it, the metronome will become your best friend!

Now let’s dive in and reveal the top 5 tips so you can start using the metronome to improve your piano playing!

Should I Use A Metronome When Playing Piano

A pianist who does not have a group may benefit from practicing with a metronome to improve their group playing skills. Its worth noting that if you find practicing with a metronome tiresome and time-consuming, youll be able to see how others feel when they play with someone who isnt doing anything well.

When studying Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, or Scriabine, a metronome is especially useful. It is tempting to begin using the majority of expression and tempo variations too soon, but this can be dangerous. If you accelerate unevenly, overexercising, or simply not at all, you will retain a hard time polishing your memory. The music of Frederico von Schweetz contains a large number of small notes that must be combined into a few beats. Because most players slow their left hand so that they can accommodate the extra notes faster , the Metronome test is especially important here.

You May Like: What Falling In Love Feels Like Piano

How To Practice With A Metronome: Setting Your Time And Tempo

Now its time to grab your metronome. If you dont have one, here are some recommendations from Mr. Hoffman. Set your time signature, if its an option on your metronome. Im going to practice in 4/4 time. Pick your tempo. A moderate tempo like 70 beats per minute is a good place to start. If youre new to the metronome settings and start too slow it can be difficult to get locked in with the beat. If you start too fast, you might not be able to keep up and your technique may suffer.In the video above, Im going to demonstrate playing the C Major scale. In this case, each note Im playing is a quarter note, and each beat on the metronome is a quarter note. As I play, every note lines up with a click of the metronome at least it should, if Im playing in time.After you get comfortable with a piece, you can increase the tempo. If you feel comfortable at 70 beats per minute, you can raise it to 74 beats per minute. Make sure as you increase your speed that you stay focused on good technique.

Exercise No : 16th Notes

The fourth study/exercise is from Czerny, and its all about playing 16th notes with a metronome. It has a lot in common with exercise no. 1 but the next level of difficulty. You could play each bar in a loop as many times as you want to get a hang of the rhythm.

How many 16th notes should fit inside each metronome tick? Four. These are harder to sync up with the metronome because there are so many extra notes between the beats.

Its a good idea to start at a slower tempo lets say 60. Every set of four should be lining up with a tick. Thats why its helpful to play one bar over and over until youre comfortable then you can play around with different tempos.

I didnt write in any of the fingering here, but the second bar is just a C major scale if youre unsure how to play that, check out the video on C major scale.

Don’t Miss: City Of Stars Piano Music

Metronome App #: Steinway Metronome

From the makers of Steinway pianos, this free metronome app is aesthetically pleasing with 8 different wood finished themes.

It works in both portrait and landscape modes and has an on-screen click wheel for fast tempo adjustments. Whats more, the app has tap-in tempo.

This is a metronome for users with a love for the visual aesthetics of the piano, but it doesnt have as many useful features as the other apps listed. Check it out here.

Do Professionals Record With Metronomes

Some artists and bands, in some situations, opt to record without a metronome. But this is rare.

Sometimes its not possible to capture a certain energy without recording live off the floor.

And, in a situation like that, metronomes are sometimes abandoned completely.

At other times, songs just sound better when theyre allowed to flow how they will. Some songs dont even work with a strict rhythmic pattern behind them.

Metronomes are not required for live recordings either, but sometimes they are used.

Nevertheless, a metronome is almost always used for multi-track recording, which represents most recordings these days.

And, so far as pop music is concerned, its almost always locked in at a steady tempo because the drums are made using a drum machine, which is set to a specific tempo.

Don’t Miss: Alesis 88 Key Digital Piano

Reputation Of The Brand

Consumers’ purchasing decisions are heavily influenced by the best metronome for piano beginners brand’s reputation. Your e-previous store’s customers’ reviews or the brand’s longevity are both taken into consideration while making this decision. More than 60 percent of buyers will abandon their shopping carts if the quantity of bad reviews on their best metronome for piano beginners product or service is significant. As a result, it is critical to keep an eye on the online store’s reputation.

Tip #: Get Synched With The Metronome

If you don’t take the time to internalize the metronome’s beat and tempo before you start playing, you don’t stand a chance at matching the metronome.

Take some time to count out loud with the metronome before you start trying to play anything. Even tap along with the metronome, or sway gently.

This enables you to feel the beat internally, making it much easier to match the beat.

And continue counting out loud once you start playing. The counting acts as a bridge that connects the internal beat you feel in your body and the external beat produced by the metronome .

Don’t Miss: How To Position Hands On Piano

How Should I Use A Metronome

Always choose the tempo of the metronome only fast enough so that you dont make any mistakes while practicing. It is better to set the tempo slower at first, so slow that you can still allow for the time of a difficult note change with the appropriate fingering. Only practicing a difficult passage slowly will bring the desired success. After that, choose the next tempo level you can set. With a metronome app, for example, you can select the BPM value five units higher. You will hardly notice this acceleration, so playing your practice passage at the new tempo is relatively easy. In this way you can increase the tempo almost unnoticed in sensible steps and after a short time you will master the passage perfectly in double tempo.

The metronome is therefore a practical aid when you are overwhelmed by the independent maintenance of a constant tempo during practice, or when you simply cant get on with a certain passage without rhythmic help. It trains you to play evenly and serves as a rhythmic support, just like the training wheels on a bicycle that keep the beginner from tipping over. Eventually, youll have the regularity of playing down, just like riding a bike without training wheels. Nevertheless, extensive study of the musical text is still indispensable.

Alesis Recital Pro 88

Alesis Recital 88 fully-weighted keys are touch sensitive and are beginner-friendly. The key response and key noise are perfect. It has 12 different tones like Piano, electric piano, chord, harpsichord, organ, church organ, vibraphone, clavi, strings, synth, acoustic, and fingered bass. The voice can be split and layered and enhanced with modulation, chorus and reverb. It has a big LCD which displays navigation and functions. It makes the navigation of different functions a lot easier.

Alesis Recital digital piano can be battery operated in case of a power emergency pr outdoor plays where there is no electricity. It also has a song recorder inbuilt with it.

This is a great piano for new learners with standard facilities, split, layered, record, and lesson with 128 notes of polyphony. It has 20 watts inbuilt speakers and the sound output quality is very good.

• Its heavy with around 15 kgs of weight
• No Sustain pedals Included with the product

You May Like: Mark Levine Jazz Piano Book

Exercise No : 3/4 Time Signature

The third exercise is from Berens op. 70 collection of easy exercises. This one is for 3/4 training. Many of my students struggle with playing in 3/4 time, since it has such a different flow compared to 4/4 time.

What I often hear is people who play a 3/4 piece with a 4/4 beat. They leave an extra beat hanging around each bar line. Thats why I created this as a metronome exercise.

Set your metronome to a 3/4 tempo it should have a different-sounding tick every time it gets back to the first beat. This will help bring your attention to the start of the bar. If you get to a new bar and it doesnt line up with that louder tick, youll know you did something wrong.

This exercise is also slightly more demanding than the first two you might need to go through and learn how to play it. Just go really slowly once you can play slow and steady, turn on the metronome and give it a go.

What Is The Greatest Metronome For Drummers

Korg KDM-2 Digital is the best alternative for drummers, who need to hear their metronomes properly both with or without headphones since it’s pretty loud in itself with an extremely good speaker designed to carry sound well. Drummers tend to use metronomes a lot so the fact that it has a backup memory that allows you to start where you finished is great. Metronomes can really aid a drummers performance, read the study to find out more.Again, BOSS DB-90 Talking Dr. Beat is a superb choice if you feel like treating yourself, there is simply no metronomes on the market that is better than it!For a study on the synchronisation of metronomes .

If you liked this review by Music Critic, please leave a positive rating:

Read Also: How To Learn Piano At Home

How To Use A Metronome While Practicing Piano

If you are patient and dedicated enough to take these 5 tips and put them into practice, you’ll find playing along with the metronome will become much easier.

It won’t happen overnight. You’ll have to work at it a little bit each day for a few weeks, or perhaps even months. But it will be so worth it in the end!

Once you’re comfortable playing along with the metronome, your playing will improve drastically. Learning new pieces will be easier, your playing will sound better, and you will feel more successful. And with all these wins in your pocket, you’ll be more motivated to continue learning piano.

So do yourself a favour and take the time to make friends with your metronome!

What Tempo Means Understanding Different Tempos

Many metronomes that you buy or use online have the capacity to use multiple tempos. Italian words are used to describe the tempo, and this music technology is a worldwide language. You dont always hear these terms in popular music, they are more common in classical music. If you want to train to be a concert pianist, you will need to understand them.

Larghissimoincredibly slow Graveslow and often sad Lentoslowly Largothe most common of the slow tempo types Larghettoa sort of in-between tempo that is still slowAdagioa slow but popular tempo Adagiettogetting a bit quicker, these are hip hop realms in some modern music Andantea popular tempo that the Italian word means at a walking pace Andantinothe quicker end of AndanteModeratotranslates as being moderate tempo. In modern terms, more hip hop and some slower dance music is at this tempo Allegrettogetting faster nowAllegro moderatomoderately fast is what this actually means Allegrothis is around the heartbeat tempo, and dance music is at this tempo Vivacelively and quick,, this is where drum and bass would be Allegrissimovery fastPrestohey, presto. This is very fast and a common tempo in the quicker parts of classical songsPrestissimoyou will need this incredibly rarely

Also Check: Love Of My Life Piano

What Does The Metronome Do When Practicing

A metronome ensures that you keep a constant tempo when practicing the piano. This sounds good at first, but unfortunately the metronome is not a panacea, namely when you do not engage with the given tempo, which is difficult for beginners, especially in the beginning of learning to play the piano. They then play their own tempo, often completely bypassing the metronome. However, this is normal, because the simultaneous coordination of hands, fingers, note values and keyboard is not yet developed in the implementation.

Metronome Apps Most Convenient Metronome For Musicians

The Metronome by Soundbrenner

You can always find free apps that are robust and have versatile functions as metronome apps. The Metronome by Soundbrenner is packed with a ton of advanced features, all free to use. The Metronome by Soundbrenner is designed to be a professional tool to help musicians play with perfect precision.

A powerful metronome app for everyone. From beginner to professional, it suits different instrumentalists. The Metronome by Soundbrenner works great for daily practice, live performances or recording sessions.

This app works seamlessly with Soundbrenner wearables. Channel your rhythm through tactile pulses on top of auditory senses.Recently a subscription-based service on the metronome app called Soundbrenner Plus. Features include cloud library synchronization, built-in music lessons and more! For more information about the added feature, you can check it out here.Why musicians like it:

• Its free! And available on both iOS and Android
• Its often rated as one of the best designed metronomes
• You can customize the time signature, subdivision and accents
• There are 21 different sounds to choose from
• You can create and save rhythm setlists
• You can sync and control Soundbrenner wearables with this app
• Set the metronome to automatically pause at the end of the song with Playback Counter
• Keep track of how long you practice with the metronome with Stopwatch feature
• Set the metronome to periodically mute as you play, and see if you can stay on the beat.

You May Like: How To Play Keyboard Piano

Come Practice With Me

In this lesson, we talked about counting and playing quarter notes with the Metronome.

It can get a little trickier when we start counting 8th notes and 16th notes that all have to fit within the tempo.

In this video, I introduce you to playing all of these different types of notes with the metronome as well as go over some easy pieces that you can play along with, to get some real time experience.

I’ll also show you how to “feel” the beat in your music, which will help you connect even more with the Metronome and start benefitting from using one!

How To Use A Metronome For Guitar

There is really no big difference between guitarists and other musicians when it comes to using a metronome. The main thing is that the metronome ticks. One thing that could be slightly different is that some metronomes allow you to plug in your guitar and listen in the headphones along with the click, and some have a clip on that is convenient to use especially on guitars, but that’s about it.

Don’t Miss: Animal Crossing Piano Sheet Music

How To Play Your Piano With Your Metronome

Before you try playing a piano piece with your metronome, just try counting 4 quarter notes along with the beats sounding from the metronome.

Put the Metronome on a very slow pace for example number 50.

Count 1, 2, 3, 4…while the metronome beats each one out loud. Do this a few times.

Next, move the metronome up to number 60.

Do you hear how it’s faster? Now count 4 quarter notes with each beat that you hear.

Keep with the tempo of the metronome don’t get faster or slower than it is.

Now move up 10 more numbers to 70, then 80, and so on…going as far up as you can until you can’t really stay with the metronome any longer. How far did you move up?

OK…now you’re going to do the same thing on your keyboard.

Find Middle C. Turn your metronome back on, and bring the tempo setting back down to 50, where you started before when just counting the beats instead of playing them.

This time you’re going to play the C note for each quarter note, instead of saying the beat. Do this for a few measures to get used to it.

Now, just like before, start moving your Metronome up anywhere from 3-10 numbers and try it all again. You have to play faster this time. Are you able to keep with the Metronome and not get behind or ahead of it?

Keep moving the metronome up until it is too fast for you to keep up with.

Practicing with your Metronome this way before starting to use it with your music will help you get used to the sound and the structure that it provides.