How to Practice Guitar with a Metronome
Ask any teacher what separates players who sound good from players who know the same chords, and the answer is timing. A metronome is the cheapest fix there is, and most people own one and never turn it on. Here is how to make it useful instead of annoying.
What a metronome does for you
It tells the truth. When you play alone you speed up on the easy parts and slow down on the hard ones without noticing. The click does not care. Ten minutes a day with it and your chord changes land on the beat, your strumming evens out and playing with other people stops feeling like a race.
Which metronome
Phone apps work, but the phone is also where the distractions live. A small dedicated unit sits on the music stand and is always on. The Korg TM-70T is the one we recommend because it is a tuner and a metronome in one box, with a loud enough click and a tap tempo button.
Where to set the tempo
Slower than you think. Pick a speed where you can play the passage clean three times in a row. If you cannot, drop it by ten. Clean and slow beats fast and sloppy every time, because what you practice is what you learn.
Three exercises
- Chord changes. Set 60 beats per minute. Strum one chord on the click, change on the next click. When four changes in a row land cleanly, go up five.
- Down and up strums. Set 70. Down strum on the click, up strum between clicks. Keep the hand moving even when it does not hit the strings.
- Halve the click. Once a passage is easy at 80, set the metronome to 40 and feel the click as beats two and four only. This is how drummers hear it and it exposes every wobble.
Keep a log
Write the date, the exercise and the tempo on a card. Seeing 60 turn into 90 over a month is the thing that keeps people practicing. Pair this with the routine in how to practice guitar 15 minutes a day.
Tune first
A metronome session on an out of tune guitar trains your ear wrong. Tune before every session. If you are new to it, read how to tune a guitar. A clip on tuner on the headstock is the fastest way.
For banjo and mandolin players
Everything above applies, and matters more, because bluegrass tempos are fast and the whole band is listening to your timing. Start the rolls at half speed and let the click drag you up. See the bluegrass starter guide.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What tempo should a beginner practice guitar at?
Start around 60 beats per minute for chord changes and raise it only when you can play clean three times in a row.
Is a metronome app as good as a real metronome?
The click is the same. A dedicated unit stays out of the way of notifications and is always on the music stand which is why we recommend one.
Does the Korg TM-70T tune guitars too?
Yes. It is a chromatic tuner and a metronome in one and works for guitar bass banjo mandolin violin and band instruments.
How long should I practice with a metronome each day?
Ten minutes of focused work with the click does more than an hour without it. Make it the first part of every session.
