Metronome part 2

Playing by yourself carries the inherent risk of lying to yourself. If you hesitate for half a second while changing chords, or you speed up during an easy section, or slow down during a difficult one, nobody is there to gripe about you playing the song wrong.  When you practice something wrong enough times, it sounds like you're playing it right--at least it sounds that way to you.

When you're playing with a drummer, bass player and another guitarist, the rest of the band isn't going to slow down because you're having trouble with the next chord.  They will quickly let you know that you are not grooving with the band.  

That's one of the things a metronome teaches you. That little click isn't going to wait for you. You learn to hear the beat, anticipate what's coming and make your hands do what they need to do on time.

Honestly, practicing with a metronome isn't all that different from practicing with another musician. You're learning that the beat exists independently of you.

The benefit everybody talks about, and it's absolutely real, is that regular metronome practice helps develop your internal sense of where the beat is. Over time, you get better at recognizing when you're rushing, dragging or sitting right where you're supposed to be.

The way to tell when you're getting it right:  The metronome starts to groove.

to be continued. . .