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Posted by: Blister Mar 1 2011, 03:57 AM

As I celebrate my one month anniversary here at GMC, I am trying hard to get into a groove as far as practicing goes. I'm nearly getting to practice everyday & starting to get my pattern down as far as my practice routine goes. And through ideas given in the forum I take notes as well so I have a record of what I practiced & to what point I had progressed. I really enjoy the video chats & how Todd really uses the metronome. I thought it can't really help that much. Boy was I wrong. I just started using it intently tonight & could feel myself improving immediately (though, when you are near the bottom it's not so hard to reach the next level). A special thanks to Todd's great lesson notes with very helpful exercises.

So this is my testimony to the power of the metronome & if you aren't using it YOU SHOULD! If you are improving without, then that's great but I apparently need it.

The help from the instructors has been great & the encouragement from the fellow students is much appreciated.

Gary

(admin: you may wish to place this in the Absolute Beginners , but I felt the metronome was not just for beginners)

Posted by: dark dude Mar 1 2011, 04:32 AM

Yep, many underestimate the metronome.

Cool to hear you're making progress!

Posted by: Jerry Arcidiacono Mar 1 2011, 12:44 PM

Metronome is definitely one of your best friend. You can also use drum machines, backing tracks or similar tools if you don't like the metronome sound after awhile.

Posted by: badfingers93 Mar 2 2011, 01:41 PM

Metronome FTW!

Posted by: Blister Mar 2 2011, 10:49 PM

Thanks for the replies. I'm a little bummed that on my second night I didn't improve as much as I had expected. But I was also real tired. Hoping for better results tonight. I guess I was just suffering from poor "Brain-to-Finger" syndrome. I'm still a believer & will never give up!

Gary

Posted by: Todd Simpson Mar 3 2011, 01:32 AM

The metronome is your friend Especially at first, and even after you've been playing forever it still helps. Eventually you'll hear one in your head when playing with other musicians. It becomes built in which is handy Keep it up! Hope you can make it to the Vid Chat lesson this weekend!

Todd

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Mar 4 2011, 02:09 PM

Metronome is a great tool for practice. I advise hardware metronome, because software can often be imprecise.

Next to metronome, I would advise use of harmony whenever possible. Rhythm machine can help here. You will develop ear much better if you do your exercises against chords.

Posted by: Blister Mar 5 2011, 03:42 AM

Thanks Todd, I plan on being there. I'm working on lesson 10 at the moment & moving my fingers between two strings & while not in sequence is what is giving me my "Poor-Brain-to-Fingers" syndrome.

Thanks for the tip, Ivan. I have to get a guitar to computer interface & then I will start looking in a rhythm machine. I have two kids in college & so is my wife so funds are a little tight, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Is there a combination unit or do I need to get two separate devices? (I sure hope that's not a stupid question!) I am using a Fender G-dec amp that has some backing tracks on it but I really haven't taken advantage of that feature. I have looked at the other forum posts on the interface.

Gary

Posted by: dark dude Mar 5 2011, 04:31 AM

Here's one example of something that does both: http://www.korg.co.uk/products/effects/pandora_px5d/fx_px5d.asp

Just saw Steve Vai using it in his recent free online lesson (check it out!).

An interface by itself will set you back at least ~$120 (http://line6.com/podstudiogx/), the PX5D will set you back ~$250. If money's tight, I wouldn't be so concerned with getting something to play a configured backing, you already have your G-DEC!

Posted by: Blister Mar 7 2011, 02:03 AM

Thanks Dark Dude. The PX5D looks pretty good. I looked at a bunch of demos & reviews on youtube & it looks like it will do what I need. But it appears that a 2nd foot pedal needs to be purchased in order to take full advantage of the features. I am sure Mrs. Blister will surrender a few bucks if I need them. Here in the states I can get the unit for $170 & an extra foot pedal for $30.

I'm still in research mode, but this looks pretty good.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Mar 11 2011, 02:54 AM

Hi Blister,

yes metronome is GREAT practice buddy! Look at it as a guide when practicing - it will show you if you are doing something right.
If you want to develop your time keeping skills here are some tricks we bass players do:

- turn off the sound of the metronome and just use the visual clue
- then start playing one bar of rhythm guitar while looking at the metronome and then try looking away for the next bar. Then look back to the metronome to see how you did (you need to be able to keep time as precise as possible). Try extending number of bars in which you play without looking to the metronome.

Regarding software solution that will aid your practice, its simple - Band in a box (google it).
It's a software in which you can input chord progressions and choose various styles and it will automatically generate a backing track for you. Use it when practicing techniques. For example if you are playing arpeggios - put some chords in the backing (appropriate ones) to make the pure exercise musical. Software is great for practicing scales and improvisation too.

Also, EVERY GMC lesson has backing tracks which is awesome. Use them regularly. You should be able to get in the groove with the drums (which play metronome role in this case).

These are just some tips for practicing, hope they help

Posted by: Michael AC Mar 12 2011, 02:37 AM

The metronome I have you can set different beats. It is really nice to set it to triplets if that is what I am practicing or 16th notes or whatever. I like playing with backing or drum tracks better though.