I love metronomes. I’ve relied on them my entire life. If I could choose only one accessory to go with my musical instrument, I’d go with a metronome every time. Sorry, tuner! So long, music stand!

I’ve been practicing guitar a lot lately, so I thought I’d dedicate the next couple of newsletters to that: how I approach practicing, what I’m working on, and any advice I can think of that might prove useful. Given how much I love metronomes, I figured I’d start with some tips on how to get the most out of yours.

The first tip is simple: use a metronome. It is so, so easy to start practicing without a metronome. Or to think, “I’ll get out the metronome when it’s time to work on [X], but for now I’m just warming up.” Nope! You should warm up with a metronome. You should practice repertoire with a metronome. You should play through transcriptions, riffs, vocabulary, sight-reading, song ideas… you will get so much better if you do all of that with a metronome!

I mean, use your phone if that’s what you’ve got. I like Pulse, if I have to use a metronome app. But I’m very much in favor of leaving my phone across the room from where I’m practicing, and I think it’s way better to use a dedicated metronome. I use my phone to record myself (see tip five), and anytime I have to slide my thumb around on that stupid thing it invites so much distraction. Oh hey, I got a text. Lemme respond real quick.

Anyway, I have a handful of physical metronomes that I like. My three favorites are in the picture above. The mechanical metronome is neat but I generally recommend a digital one, with a loud, low click. Just don’t use your phone unless you have to.

When I practice without a metronome, I tend to rush. I get sloppy as a result. Using a metronome forces me to slow down and play more consistently. But I try to always be open to slowing down further, and to avoid the impulse to just keep trying at my current tempo. If I make a mistake, I’ll drop the tempo a couple clicks and see how that goes. If I still mess up, I’ll slow it down further. At some point, slowing down stops being helpful, which means it’s time to break whatever I’m practicing into smaller chunks. Even if you’re routinely using a metronome, it’s a safe bet you’re taking at least one thing you’re working on too fast. It’s important to remember that “too fast” doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough! It just means you’d learn it faster if you played it slower.

I recommend keeping a practice diary for a lot of reasons. It doesn’t have to be super elaborate, or purpose-built. I’ve used big “musician’s practice book”-type deals, with all the tabs and the staves and whatever else. I’ve tried using my iPad, with mixed results. I actually have the most luck just using a little basic notebook where I can easily write down everything I worked on in a given day. I find it’s particularly good for keeping track of tempos. If I’m working on something difficult, it can be helpful to practice it a couple clicks faster every day. Two clicks is rarely noticeable on its own, but after a week, I’ll have increased 14 clicks. I need a written record to do that, otherwise I’ll forget where I’m at or get sloppy about ratcheting up. Keeping records allows for a degree of tempo discipline that I can’t achieve on my own.

“Record yourself” is good advice in general, but I find it’s particularly helpful to record myself playing with a metronome. I have a little tripod set up where I practice, so I can easily throw my phone up and record myself. When I listen back to the recording, the metronome is there in the background doing its merciless thing, and I can really tell whenever I’m pulling ahead or falling behind. (It’s always pulling ahead.)

There you have it, five tips for using a metronome. The first one is the most important, though. If you don’t already practice with a metronome, and you really want to get better at your instrument, I am telling you: start using one. You will be amazed how much it helps.

That’ll do it for now. Keep your metronomes handy, and as always, you can find me on Instagram and Bluesky. At least occasionally.

I’ll leave you with Appa, who kept making this same stupid face for like five minutes after I took this pic. Sometimes the world blesses us, and ours is not to reason why.

Take care, and keep listening-
~KH
9/12/2025