3 MAGIC STEPS TO HELP YOU PRACTICE YOUR PIANO WITH A METRONOME
Now that you have attended piano lessons and you can play a couple of songs, or you have just grasped a couple of chord progressions, and you would like to start making some simple rhythms the next thing you need to do is, learn to control your speed. Thankfully, when you practice playing you piano, metronome will guide you through.
Sadly a metronome is by and large ignored by many pianists. Your need to know that the tick, tick, tick, gulp sound produced by the metronome is as important as the kick of a kick drum and you need it in your practice.
Why you need a metronome?
Artists compose songs with different speeds depending on the mood the song is meant to arouse to the audience. Any musical piece, therefore, provides the tempo of the music and you as a pianist must steadily follow the rhythm of the song. This now is where a metronome comes in. Metronome sets the beats for you and helps you to maintain a steady speed when playing your piano.
How to practice with a metronome.
Now that you know the primary purpose of a metronome in your piano practice; follow the following simple steps, and you are ready to go:
Set the speed
This is the very first step of practicing with a metronome. To set the tempo, you just need to dial the number of beats you want per minute on the metronome. If the music sheet does not give you the tempo, you can try different speeds on the instrument till you land on the right tempo.
Count the beats
Apart from helping you to maintain a steady speed, a metronome is meant to help you develop timing skill which is crucial for you as a pianist. You, therefore, need to know where the beat starts and where it ends, you also need to know where in the beat to play your piano. To achieve this, you should count the beats until you realize that your counting is in perfect sync with the beats; then you can start playing your piano. The timing on a metronome helps you to know where to play whenever you play your piano alongside other instruments.
When practicing your piano, metronome is an important instrument to guide you through. Though is difficult for beginners to practice with a metronome, try the three simple steps above, do it repeatedly, and you find you piano playing more smooth and accurate.