Hey Guitar Star,
Have you used your metronome yet today? 🕰️
What about this week? Month? Year? 📆
Maybe you’ve never used a metronome. Just in case no one has told you yet there’s a direct correlation between how much time you spend with your metronome, and how good you sound on the guitar.
Timing is EVERYTHING on this instrument. 🎸
GUITAR FACT OF THE DAY:
Even if you only know how to play 4-5 different open chords, but you have a great sense of timing, people will think you are a guitar legend! 🎸🔥
I know this because I’ve seen it…many times!
Take modern-day indie-folk musicians. Lots of these players can’t play barre chords. They use capos so that they can utilize beginner open chord shapes.
They rely on their timing (and usually their voice) and the audience thinks they’re as good as Clapton or Hendrix! 🎸🔥
When in reality, you probably know almost as much about guitar as they do! (in some cases you might even know more than them!)
The only guitar advantage they have over you is their timing. 🕰️
So, let’s calibrate your timing with a simple exercise!
I don’t care if you are a seasoned pro or a total beginner. This exercise is for everyone.
First, download a metronome app on your phone! (any free one is good) If you don’t have a phone available, just search metronome on google and you’ll find something!
Set the metronome to 60bpm (beats per minute) 🕰️
This is very slow. Exactly one second is surprisingly hard to nail!
That’s what makes this exercise so beneficial, slow speeds will kick your butt!
Now that you’ve got your metronome playing at 60bpm, start picking your big E string on every metronome click. 🎸 🕰️
Really listen. Make sure you play at the exact same time the metronome clicks!
If this feels too hard, speed up your metronome to 80 bpm and try again. If this feels too easy, slow your metronome down to 40 bpm.
The slower you have your metronome, the harder this is going to be! So, adjust accordingly.
Start doing this for 3 minutes at the start of your practice session.
If you practice every day, after a month your timing will be much more calibrated!
Strum patterns, fingerpicking, chord transitions, and songs will become easy.
But more importantly, when you have good rhythm, the guitar is much more enjoyable.
And if you’re one of those people who thinks using a metronome is bad and makes you sound robotic, I’m sorry but you are simply wrong.😂
👉Practice with a metronome, perform without.
This is one of the best tips anyone can give you for quick improvement.
Ps. Don’t be metronome-phobic! Metronomes are your friend, and they will transform your guitar playing! Don’t you want your friends to think you’re as good as Clapton or Hendrix? 🎸🔥