Metronome part 3--how and when you use it

Legendary session bassist Carol Kaye has a great demonstration of this idea. Kaye played on an enormous number of recordings during the 1960s and beyond, and her sense of time was part of what made her such an in-demand studio musician.

In the video linked below, listen to what happens when she plays with the metronome. Instead of treating the click as something she has to chase, she locks into it and makes the click feel like part of the music.

If you're playing and the metronome sounds like it's grooving right along with you, you're in the pocket.

Here are some simple, easy-to-follow suggestions on how to fit a metronome into your practice time:

• Don't turn the metronome on the instant you start learning something. First learn where your fingers need to go. Work out the chords, notes and basic movements.  A metronome is not helpful during this type of practice.
• When you are familiar with the chords and movement you need to make, find a tempo where you can play the material correctly.
• Not almost correctly.
• Correctly.
• Once you find that tempo, practice there until you're comfortable. Then increase the tempo gradually. If the song starts falling apart, back it down.
• The goal isn't to see how high you can set the BPM. The goal is to make your worst section as solid as your best section.  That's when you actually know the song.

For a great example, watch Carol Kaye's metronome demonstration starting around the 1:15 mark in this video:

Pay particular attention to the relationship between what she's playing and the click. The metronome isn't just measuring the groove anymore.