I recently did an AMA on Reddit. For those of you that aren’t savvy to Reddit terminology that means “Ask Me Anything.” This is where people in unique careers offer up themselves for Q and A’s. There was one question that struck a nerve with me.
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What a Metronome Cannot Teach
Those of you that know me well know that I paid for a good chunk of college and the first couple years out of college DJing and producing across the country. I miss that life but I still get my fix by putting playlists together for my students to practice to. Now you can benefit from them as well! But first, you must understand WHY you should be playing with music instead of a metronome.
I spent years playing to a metronome and I got VERY good at playing in time. I could play a 5-let over the barline but I was missing something. What was it?
Nate Smith
Feel.
Playing with music is going to start developing something a metronome cannot… FEEL! Take a moment and go listen to Jon Bonham play “When the Levee Breaks.”
There is something different about the way John Bonham plays this groove. It has been covered by numerous drummers thousands of times but everyone agrees… no one sounds quite like John Bonham. It’s his signature, and you will start developing yours too.
What else?
You will start playing better time too.
As a teacher I watch students’ dependence on metronomes. I have felt it in my own practice. As soon as the metronome is taken away we start to push and pull tempo. We become dependent on the very tool that is supposed to help us play in time. So here is my proposition for you. Start thinking of the metronome as a tool… and nothing more. Use it as A way instead of THE way. Consider it medicine.
Go drum to music…. Yo.
I will continue sharing a new playlist at the beginning of each month. Each track on the playlist will increase by BPM and is family safe. Use the hashtag #matthewblackmedia and #drumwithmusic on social media for a chance to be shared on my Instagram. Have a track that you want to hear on a Matthew Black Media playlist? Hit the contact form and shoot it our way!