6 Signs It’s Time To Dump Your Metronome App

Sad Violinist

Metronome apps are a common practice tool that all musicians should be using to improve their internal clock. There are many great ones out there. However, even the best metronome apps may not suit your current musical goals. Worse, they may be slowing down your progress. Here are 6 signs that you may need to try something different.

1. It’s annoying

Click, click, click. This is a big problem. While some metronomes do have a few choices of click sounds (wood block, cross-stick, cowbell), the selection is still pretty grim. An annoying click sound will slowly kill your motivation to practice. And if you don’t practice, how will you ever improve?

2. It’s boring

Ok. Maybe the incessant clicking doesn’t kill you. But now what? Where’s the fun? The bad news is that you won’t get much of it practicing with a regular metronome. You may be tempted to turn the click off and freestyle, but then you’d be missing out on the valuable tempo training.

3. You’re distracted by too many options

Some metronome apps look like the dashboard for a space shuttle. Why do we need to see all this stuff? If the goal is practicing your instrument or writing a song, you really don’t need to see much at all. Some features are helpful, but too many can slow you down and cause unnecessary stress. Practice should be fun and stress free.

4. You never really found your rhythm

Metronomes are critical for steadying your internal clock. But what about getting funky with a shuffle or swing feel? How do you learn to start playing “in the pocket”? Most metronome apps don’t have the right features to practice rhythm, so if that is one of your goals, it may be time to find a new solution.

Related: 10 Tips for More Effective Musical Rhythm Training

5. You lose the beat when the click stops

As a musician, you need to be able to continue playing in time until the rest of the group comes back in. This is called “beat continuity” To practice this effectively, you’ll need a tool that can “drop the beat” or perform “bar breaks” to perfect your timing. Most metronomes don’t offer this important feature. For them to stop playing for a few bars, you actually have to switch them off.

6. Your tempo changes when you play harder

Ever notice when people play live sometimes the songs are faster? The adrenaline makes them play harder and they speed up. Musicians need to learn how to maintain a consistent tempo while playing softer and louder. This is called “dynamics”. Most metronome apps lock the intensity of the click either soft or loud. This will not help you practice timing through changing volumes, which is extremely important since most music changes intensity as it progresses.

If any of these signs sound familiar, you’re ready to dump your metronome. Try the Drum Beats+ Rhythm Metronome App by Ninebuzz. It uses real drum beats to develop your senses of rhythm, timing, beat continuity, and more. It was made by musicians who were frustrated by practicing with boring metronomes.

Download it today for iOS and Mac

Drum Beats+ Metronome App

DRUM BEATS+ HIGHLIGHTS

Stress-free simplicity. Drum Beats+ has just the right amount of features so you’ll never waste time fiddling with buttons and getting stressed out. It’s a straightforward metronome with great-sounding drum beats that is designed to help you improve.

Train your rhythm naturally. Since Drum Beats+ is packed with real grooves, you’ll have the perfect environment for training your rhythm (it’s just like playing with a real drummer). Say goodbye to that horrible click.

Master beat continuity. With our fun and challenging ‘bar-break’ beats, you’ll be able to easily make beat continuinty a regular part of your practice routine – which your bandmates will love. This is impossible to do on regular metronome apps, and a pain to program on drum machines.

Keep time when playing loud or soft. With our pre-programmed dynamics trainer beats, you can easily practice playing from soft to loud at different speeds and rhythms. This is a great way to improve your timing and dynamics all at the same time.

It’s affordable. Our app costs less than a hamburger and has tons of valuable, great-sounding beats.

CHECK IT OUT

Music has brought a lot of joy to our lives, and Drum Beats+ is our gift back. It was lovingly designed to save you time and make practice more fun. Download it today and bring back the fun and productivity to practice! We know you and your students will love it.