Sam Baron, grand old man of the flute and one of my teachers, used to say that working with a metronome was like taking a vitamin—you need to do it each day.  OK, maybe he actually said that vitamin thing about playing Bach, but I think it applies to metronome work, too.

The thing is, no one (and I mean NO ONE) has a truly perfect sense of time.  Except maybe Jason Marsalis, but he probably practices with a metronome too!  So, if you are not Jason Marsalis, if you are one of the rest of us, please continue reading.

Metronome Trick No. 1, along with the practice notebook, is one of the most powerful practice techniques I have ever found.  If you don’t read any more of this blog ever, if all you do is adopt the practice notebook and this trick, you will definitely improve your practicing, and therefore, your playing.

So what is it, after all this buildup?  It’s pretty simple.

1. Choose a small section to work on.
2. Choose a metronome speed that is slow enough that you can play it exactly how you want to EVERY TIME at that tempo.
3. Repeat the passage 4 to 7 times at that tempo.  (note:  professionals—4 times will usually be enough, beginners will need more)
4. Now set the metronome two clicks faster than your original tempo.
5. Repeat the passage 4 to 7 times at the new tempo.
6. Set the metronome to the tempo one click down from this faster tempo.
7. Repeat the passage 4 to 7 times at the new tempo.
8. Continue on, setting the metronome up two, then down one, repeating the passage the full 4 to 7 times at each level, until you get to a tempo that is two clicks faster than the target performance tempo.

What’s it for?  This trick is the most efficient way to learn a passage of music and get it up to performance tempo.

And, if you were following along, you will note that this method will yield A LOT of repetition of your passage.  That’s one of the reasons it works.  Here are some of the others:

Unlike the old stand-by of increasing the tempo one click at a time until you reach performance tempo, this technique has you building a very strong foundation for that eventual fast tempo.  When you just increase steadily, and never decrease, you are essentially building yourself out on a limb.  Eventually, you have nothing below you.  Up two down one is like building straight up on your strong foundation.

Another reason this technique is so effective is that it gives you a chance (in the down one) to integrate what you learned when playing it up two.  The pressure is off, you’re at a slower tempo, and you can relax and play, instead of trying like you did at up two.

Yes, it does take time to do that many repetitions.  Give it a try anyway! I assure you, when you use this trick, in conjunction with the other principles and techniques we’ll cover here, you will agree it is the most efficient way to learn a difficult passage.  None of your time on this technique will be wasted.

When you’re in performance, you want to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you can play that passage every time.  Metronome Trick No. 1 will help give you that confidence.

[NOTE:  You will need an old school metronome for this.  Trust me when I say that the tempo levels on a non-digital metronome are perfect for this technique…there will be more info in a later article on The Old School Metronome and The Human Scale.  In the meantime, for those of you with nifty new-fangled digital metronomes,  here is a clip-n-save list of ye olde metronome markings:  ye-olde-met-markings1]

So, let’s say you want to bring a passage from quarter equals 80 up to quarter equals 100. Here’s the order of metronome markings you would use, always mindfully and successfully playing the passage 4 to 7 times at each separate tempo:

1. 80
2. up to 88
3. down to 84
4. 92
5. back to 88
6. 96
7. 92
8. 100
9. 96
10. 104
11. 100
12. 108
13. you’ve got it!

[Note:  the awesome photo above is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcgladdery/2355605963/ ]