Yeah, I know -- so many of my students truly hate practicing to a metronome. One student even said it reminded him of his mother!
I understand. Sort of.
I was watching a tutorial on YouTube in which the legendary Michael Brecker said even he got depressed when he used his metronome because it busted him for rushing.
But if it wasn't one of the most important tools available to sax players at every level of the game, I wouldn't harp on you all to use a metronome at home, nor would I bring mine to lessons.
Trying to learn to play music without a metronome is like trying to get somewhere without a map: you end up all over the place.
And if and when you do gig with a band, you'll stick out like a sore thumb because you will likely have timing issues from not having gotten down with your metronome.
But -- there are alternatives you may find that are even better than the steady blip-blip-bleep coming out of the little black box.
Rhythm tracks, for example. You can buy them online and download for use. YouTube only has about a million of them under various headings, such as this funk groove drum beat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiz-pj5FMSE
Whatever you decide on, use your metronome or a backing drum track every day without fail for a portion of your practice session.
You can thank me later.
rhythm studies, saxophone advice, music lessons, metronome, rhythm tracks, saxophone, woodwinds, rhythm, beats
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