Using a Metronome

Let’s look at how to use a metronome in our practice. If you’re not familiar with what a metronome is, the definition from the Oxford dictionary is:

“A device used by musicians that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick.”

A metronome can take many forms. The most popular I have seen used today are the traditional metronome and a metronome app on their phones:

How to use a metronome #

We’ve established what a metronome is, but how do we use one? It’s quite simple in concept (although it can be challenging in practice). Let’s walk through how we can use a metronome app to improve our playing.

1. Download a metronome app #

The first thing you need to do is download a metronome app. I like to use “The Metronome by SoundBrenner”. It is a fantastic app that does exactly what it says on the tin. I know they also have various accessories, but I haven’t personally used these. The app is available on both iPhone and Android.

2. Set the time signature and tempo #

We now need to set up the metronome to play the beats we want it to. We need to set 2 crucial things:

1. The time signature
   • A time signature is a number that looks like a fraction. It has a numerator and a denominator. Examples of time signatures include 4/4, 2/4, 8/4, 10/8, 6/8, etc.
   • To set the time signature, you should find out the time signature of whatever rhythm it is you are practising and trying to play. The time signature can usually be found next to the rhythm you’re learning, or by Googling the rhythm. Any of the rhythms that I teach will have a time signature clearly mentioned. The time signature of the Heavy Sa’idi, for example, is 4/4.
2. The tempo
   • The tempo is the speed at which a passage of music should be played. We typically express the tempo as a number of Beats per Minute (BPM). For example, common tempos include 80 BPM, 100 BPM, 120 BPM and 150 BPM.
   • To determine the tempo to practice, we need to estimate how fast we want to play. Start playing the rhythm and assess whether the tempo you’ve chosen is too fast or too slow. If we are learning a rhythm together, I will include the recommended practice tempo.

3. Play the metronome #

This one is a fairly straightforward step, but I’d like to just mention a point here regarding best practices:

1. Let the metronome play for a few cycles first, just so that you can hear what the rhythm is like.
2. Try saying the rhythm in time with the metronome so that you get a feel for the timing and speed of the rhythm.

If you’re struggling to say the rhythm, don’t worry, keep practising and it will come.

4. Start playing in time with the metronome #

Here is the important step. The set-up is done, our metronome is playing, let’s get into time with the metronome!

For us to do this, we must first identify where the strokes we are playing fall in relation to the metronome’s beat. Let’s use Heavy Sa’idi as an example of this:

Exercise practice tempo: 80 BPM
Time signature: 4/4 (this can also be found on the drum tab)

Now, since this is a 4/4 rhythm, our metronome will sound like this:

Tick – Tock – Tock – Tock – Tick – Tock – Tock – Tock – etc.

We can hear in our metronome that there is 1 Tick, followed by 3 Tocks. Our rhythm will start perfectly in time with the first Tick, and when we repeat the rhythm, we should again start on the first Tick of the next cycle. This means that we have to play our rhythm between the Tick of the first cycle and the Tick of the second cycle.

To do this, I want you to play a Heavy Sa’idi on the first Tick. Just play one, and play it as well as you can, and see whether you finish before the end of the cycle, or whether you finish after the end of the cycle.

If you finish before the end of the cycle, you’ve played the rhythm too quickly and need to slow down. If you finish after the end of the cycle, you’ve played the rhythm too slowly and need to speed up.

Let’s just look at how the Heavy Sa’idi looks in time with a metronome:

If you notice, the first Doum lands on the tick, as we previously mentioned. However, an interesting feature in this rhythm is that the Tek lands on the last tock! This means that you must time your rhythm so that you play the Tek on the last tock.

Give it a shot, it will take a few tries to get used to it – but that’s okay. If you’ve tried for a good 30 minutes and you still can’t get the hang of it, press play on the tab above with the metronome switched on and listen to where each stroke lands — or watch some videos on using a metronome.

Benefits of a metronome #

A metronome helps us keep time when we are practising and playing. It is an essential part of any musician’s toolkit, and every competent musician out there must have the skills and ability to play in time to a metronome, in my personal opinion. If a musician can’t play to a metronome, I don’t think he or she can call themselves a musician! Let’s look at a few benefits of a metronome:

1. Improves timing #

The primary purpose of the metronome is to provide a base tempo for you to keep in time to. As such, improving your timing is arguably the most crucial benefit of a metronome. It allows you to understand where each note in your rhythm is. This becomes especially important for drummers where they must repeat rhythms over and over in perfect timing, to keep other musicians in time.

2. Slows you down #

A metronome helps to slow you down to focus on building technique. Beginner darbuka players tend to speed up a lot, especially when ornamenting. Ornamentation by its very nature causes you to play more strokes in a shorter space of time, and as such, it can cause you to speed up your rhythm. This means that when you return to a slower rhythm after having done some fancy ornamentation, your rhythm is actually much faster than when you started playing! This is a big problem because eventually, you’ll be playing so fast that you can no longer ornament properly. A metronome dramatically helps with this by forcing us to play at a slower speed to build technique, and then helps us stay in that slower rhythm so we can practice for extended periods with good timing.

3. Improves recording skills #

If you ever decided to record something, perhaps either your own solo composition or a song along with other musicians, you’d almost definitely need to play to a click track to ensure that the timing was perfect. Most popular music editing software revolves around all instruments being in perfect timing with not only each other but also with the electronic click track, to edit appropriately after the track has been recorded. Practising with a metronome means that when you get to a stage where you are ready to record something, you can very easily match your rhythm to a click track.

4. Builds inner tempo #

Your inner tempo is one of your most essential skills as a musician. Tempo will start to become ingrained in your body and mind after you play for long enough. A metronome helps you build this inner tempo. For example, I am confident that if I estimate an 80 BPM click cycle without a metronome, I’ll get it right. I’m also confident that if I heard a rhythm in a 100 BPM cycle, I’d be able to recognise the tempo instantly. This helps when playing and practising with other musicians. If you know how fast they are going, you can easily join in at the same speed. You might think to yourself, I know that Maqsum (a popular darbuka rhythm) might be a little too fast for this 120 BPM song, so I’ll play Malfuf (another popular darbuka rhythm) instead!

5. Improves performing skills #

Aside from the previously mentioned points that also improve performing skills, a metronome and strong understanding of time signatures are essential if performing live in a formal setting with other musicians, for example when everyone is reading from sheet music. Being able to follow the timings defined in the sheet music is something you may well need to learn to do if you were to ever be in this environment, and your training with a metronome will help you with precisely that.

General metronome advice #

I think it’s worth a small disclaimer in this section regarding the metronome. Metronomes have their uses, at certain places and at certain times. You should have various kinds of practice session:

• In some practice sessions, you should focus on technique and timing, ensuring you have perfect technique and you are bang on time with any rhythm you are playing. In these kinds of focused practice sessions, you should definitely have a metronome playing. I like to use headphones where I can put one headphone in and leave the other out (so I can hear my darbuka), so I can practice appropriately in time with the metronome.
• In other practice sessions, you should allow yourself to freestyle. Don’t tie yourself down with a metronome; allow yourself to go wild and ornament your rhythm as best as you possibly can. These practice sessions will allow you to uncover different aspects of a rhythm you previously didn’t know and will help you along your darbuka journey greatly. If you find yourself coming up short on what you can do to ornament, it might be worth studying some fancier ornamentation techniques or listening to some Arabic music songs where they play the darbuka. Listen to the way they ornament and see if you can copy some of their techniques. In these kinds of practice sessions, a metronome would only constrict you. Turn it off for the time being and go wild with your practice!

It’s also worth noting that when you play with other players, you don’t typically use a metronome, so if you rely on the metronome to keep you in time, you should keep practising so that you can stay in time without a metronome to help you.

Finally, it’s worth noting that playing with a metronome is usually harder than it is to play with other musicians. Metronomes require you to get every single stroke perfectly correct and in time with an electronically set tempo. Usually, in a live performance, you ebb and flow the tempo a little, which gives the music more flavour. This isn’t a bad thing, but if you find yourself increasingly frustrated with the metronome, remember that it’s just for training purposes and when you go out into the real world, the rhythm will be much easier to play!