As I’ve worked more as a professional musician, I’ve grown to appreciate just how important learning to play with a metronome can be. Here’s my top 20 reasons to use a metronome: 

 

20. It improves your rhythm

 

19. It makes your practicing more consistent

 

18. It forces you to listen to something other than your own playing

 

17. It’s a qualitative way to track your improvement over time

 

16. It makes you aware of timing issues throughout the song

 

15. It helps you stick with a drummer 

 

14. It makes you aware of playing songs faster than the songs intended to be played

 

13. It simplifies challenging rhythms

 

12. It forces you to work up a tempo sections in a song to the proper meter

 

11. It allows you to play with backing tracks live

 

10. It helps you do multi-take recording in the studio

 

9. With the proper software, it allows you to make real-time transcriptions of your music

 

8. It helps you stay with a band 

 

7. It can help you master obscure rhythms

 

6. When used in a band, it can make everyone more consistent rhythmically 

 

5. If you tap along with it, you can actually practice the rhythm of your songs without your instrument

 

4. It keeps you from slowing down when you play quiet sections in your song

 

3. It keeps you from speeding up during loud sections in your song

 

2. It makes you confident enough rhythmically to lead other musicians, and keep them on the beat

 

1. It helps you not suck

 

 

Now get out there, grab one for your smartphone or buy one, and get started improving today!