I was thinking it might be fun to upgrade my metronome to one that does different rhythms, like the Korg CA-30 or the low-end Boss Dr. Beat. But from reading the reviews I’m getting the impression that these guys go “bleep” instead of “click”. The metronome I have now (an old Kwik Time) clicks with a somewhat high pitched woodblock sound, and I like that pretty well. A bleeping metronome sounds kind of annoying to me…
So who has one of my possible target metronomes (or some other multi-rhythm metronome), and does it bleep or click? If it bleeps, how annoying is the sound? I don’t want to spend $30 on something that’s only going to annoy me (though I suppose that’s kinda what metronomes are for,)
You can more or less try before you buy … with a free software metronome that’s programmable with midi percussion sounds. I like Weird Metronome for its relative simplicity, but I’m sure there are others. The side stick or wood block sounds come close to a simple click or “tock”.
I think you’ll find that many “serious” musicians still prefer the simple click of a basic metronome over having a pseudo drum-kit in the background. Part of metronome practice is training your ear and brain to fill in missing beats (sub-divisions), and to mentally re-interpret rhythms (e.g., 3 against 2). Having those details spoon-fed to you by a metronome could actually hinder progress instead of helping, IMO. Also, in ITM, it’s your melody instrument that should be able to provide the drive and lift of the music, without a percussive accompaniment. Playing against a complex rhythm background can mask a lack of lift and hinder its development.
I like my Korg CA-20 (predecessor to the CA-30). But mostly I just set it to a simple click, plus sometimes a secondary click to mark the beginning of measures. Heck, I still use my 40 year old Franz electro-mechanical metronome with its flashing light and authoritative “snap”. A shame it’s no longer made. I’d like pendulum metronomes like the Taktell if they weren’t so prone to syncopation.
I’m no Luddite, and I love gadgets. As a guitarist I play complex rhythms, and I enjoy melody playing to good rhythmic accompaniment. But with metronomes, while bells and whistles are fun, I tend to think simple is better. YMMV …
[quote=“MTGuru”]You can more or less try before you buy … with a free software metronome that’s programmable with midi percussion sounds. I like Weird Metronome for its relative simplicity, but I’m sure there are others. The side stick or wood block sounds come close to a simple click or “tock”.
The bleepers are loud, but tend to have a distinct pitch. I find the pitch annoying as it creates intervals against whatever I am singing or playing. I use an old electronic clicker.
I personally HATE metronomes that have that high-pitched electronic beeping. Trying to play along with that would drive me nuts.
I have a Franz metronome that I really like. It has a natural-sounding tone, like a wood block.
What’s really nice for ITM is that you can set it to play a lower “klock” on the downbeat and a higher “Klick” on the upbeat giving you a great background to practice reels against, helping you to get that backbeat lift.
What I haven’t seen is an affordable, portable metronome that will do “additive rythms” such as 2+2+3+2+2 (Bulgarian kopanitsa) etc.
You mean varying time signatures? That would probably require some kind of pattern programming capability, and then we’d be moving into drum machine territory.
I used to have an old (I’m guessing… early eighties maybe?) electronic metronome that I kept in my guitar gig bag. It went bob-bop-bop with no accents or anything, and it was great. Unfortunately I lost it somehow. I also dislike clicks that have a discernible pitch, it’s very distracting.
