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I play guitar...Essential Tool for the Beginning Guitar Player – Free Online Metronome
Wow. I cannot believe it has been months since I last posted here on Watch Me Learn Guitar dot com. I am absolutely disgusted with myself! Even moreso because I’ve been receiving a ton of great email from those of you have stumbled onto this little corner of the internet. The sheer volume has been a bit overwhelming — not only a lot of great comments, but also a lot of tips from veteran guitar pickers looking to help out a newbie like myself (and keep me from looking like an ass in the videos).
To pay you all back, I’ll be back on schedule posting my guitar progress at least a couple of times a week and letting you watch my mistakes through the wonders of streaming internet video. We live in an amazing age where it only takes me a few minutes to post a video and completely embarass myself in front of thousands and thousands of complete strangers. Yay, progress!
Check back on Sunday for a new video post as I continue down the path to becoming a guitar hero. For right now, tho, I want to start with a very helpful little piece of software I found online — the free online metronome.
For those of you who are new to playing a guitar like I am, sometimes you become so focused on getting the darn chords right that you completely forget about things like keeping the beat. Heck, for me just putting my fingers in the right places is more than enough for me to worry about without having to remember to tap my foot in proper time.
So, if you’re like me, a metronome is an absolutely essential tool for your practice sessions. In the real world, a metronome is a device which produces a steady, uninterrupted beat to allow you to keep time. Now, I know exactly what you’re saying. You’re saying, “But, Mat, I’ve already got a mother-in-law who produces exactly what you’re describing — a steady, uniterrupted, monotonous beat that keeps me in line…why should I go out and buy another expensive piece of equipment?”
Well, as a married man myself, I couldn’t agree with you more. And, you’re absolutely correct, metronomes can be pretty expensive — just like mother-in-laws. Luckily, we live in that amazing age I mentioned earlier and the internet has given those of us who are frugal (cheap) or of limited means (poor) — two phrases which describe most musicians I’ve ever known — some pretty fantastic free options.
The best and easiest piece of free online metronome software I’ve found is at the aptly named Metronome Online website — http://www.MetronomeOnline.com. Click on the link and you’ve got immediate access to their free piece of metronome software right online without a download, installation or registration. There are even some pretty handy instructions on how to properly use a metronome, which was great for me because I’m generally pretty clueless about things.
Another cool bit, for the more adventurous of you (something I haven’t tried yet), is their mobile metronome software. For like $6 you can put a version of their awesome online metronome onto your cellphone. Their mobile phone metronome is a great option if you practice somewhere away from your computer. I play here in my home office, so the free online version is more than enough for my needs.
Now, there are tons of other metronome options out there (aside from www.MetronomeOnline.com and your mother-in-law) if you do a Google search. This is just the one I use and have found pretty hassle-free. If any of you, my loyal readers, have found a great alternative, feel free to email the link in and I’ll post it here for everyone to check out.
That’s it for this morning. Check back tomorrow for a new video. Take care and keep pickin!
-Mat Nastos
http://www.WatchMeLearnGuitar.com
