A Metronome is defined as “an instrument of the devil which speed up in difficult passages and slows down in easy passages”.
To prove my point, try playing the last page of W. Brandt Concertpiece # 1 with a metronome and you will realize how much a metronome can increase in tempo. And on the other hand, play Lil Darlin’ by Neil Hefty and observes that after only eight measures, the same time keeper has slowed down. Interesting phenomenon isn’t it?
Keeping a steady tempo has always been a challenge to musicians and solving this problem requires patience and regular use of a metronome. Notice I said “regular use”. Most often we get the old clicker out when we need to know what tempo the composer had in mind and never think to use it in perfecting our own time keeping ability.
The importance of keeping a steady tempo was brought to my attention while attending (at that time) North Texas State. During one of the trumpet sectionals, our section leader told us to form a circle but instead of pointing in to the center, he had us turn to face away from the center with our horns pointing out. If you want to find out if you are keeping time with your section, try that exercise. With your back to the center, you don’t have the advantage of seeing, hearing and feeling what your neighbor is doing. It gives you the same feeling as walking through a field of live land mines. I relate this story only to illustrate how unaware we usually are when trying to keep a steady tempo.
Exercise # 1
Set your metronome at a moderate tempo (mm90). Let it run for a minute or two. Then shut it off and continue to count at the same tempo for a minute. Restart you metronome and notice how far you have increased or decreased the speed. Continue this same exercise until you can sustain the original tempo.
Exercise #2
Do the same exercise but this time increase the speed to mm160. Restart your metronome and again notice how far you have increased or decreased the speed. Continue this same exercise until you can sustain the original tempo.
Exercise #3
Do the same exercise but this time decrease the speed to mm60. Restart your metronome and again notice how far you have increased or decreased the speed. Continue this same exercise until you can sustain the original tempo.
Exercise #4
Repeat exercises #1- 3 everyday for the next week and see if your concept of time has improved. If it hasn’t improved, turn in your trumpet and start learn to play the drums!
I think the idea of really listening to a metronome to calibrate your mental clock and then trying to sustain it is a good idea. Also good to learn to count a moderate tempo, a slow tempo, and a fast tempo. However, how about this: For exercise 1, use 92 bpm, then count out 23 bars’ worth of 4/4 exercises from Arban’s that would be appropriate for playing at 92 bpm. Then start a stopwatch after listening to the metronome (a timer on PC or laptop can be started with an inexpensive foot pedal), play the 23 bars, and stop the timer. You can then know how well you did by comparing the elapsed time to 60 seconds. Same for 160 and 60 bpm, but with 40 bars and 15 bars, respectively. This gives two benefits: you can quantify how far off you are (OK, technically, how far off you were on average, not necessarily at the end), and you can be using the time actually playing the instrument. I suspect keeping tempo is tougher when you’re actually blowing the instrument than just counting.
I find the same is true of intonation, the subject of your previous article (also good): it’s easy for me to listen to two (or more) trumpets and tell who’s in and out of tune and in what direction and by how much. Once I start playing, there’s so much going on physically (my embouchure is doing its thing, the back pressure causes my inner ear business to shift ever so slightly, my jawbone is resonating, I’m hearing my own sound bounce off the stand/the room/etc.) that it’s much harder to really listen critically. Add this to the demands on me as a higher range lead player (i.e. more back-pressure, higher SPLs) which furthermore often require me to open up big intervals with the band (say I’m playing A above high C while the tenor sax in my horn band is playing top space E an octave and a fourth below me) and it becomes really hard.
Man, you’re way ahead of me. I can’t even count the ledger lines that high. I pass out just thinking about that.
Seriously, you have brought up some thought provoking ideas I’ve never thought of and I’d be interested to see if our readers would like to comment on your suggestions.
Thanks for your visit and your great suggestions.
I love (NOT!) to record myself with a two speed tape recorded and my Dr. Beat subdividing into sixteenths. I record at the fast speed and play back at half speed. It’s amazing how inaccurate the subdivisions are on my Dr. Beat. 🙂
Great idea. You need to share that idea with everyone.
Keep sending the helpful hints, we all can benefit from them.
Thanks for sharing!
One horn teacher I had told me using the metronome was a “crutch” what! an ass
You have made a fine observation.
When we think back to all of our teachers, both trumpet and in school, we can remember those who have helped us as well as those who have been in our way.
The best advice is to use what works and avoid what doesn’t.