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A BIG METRONOME: Time Development Studies

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Q	I have been playing guitar for over 20 years and back in high school I took a few years of lessons including some basic theory, (although I often forget the terms as it has been years....) rhythm exercises, a little ear training and lots of technique exercises. I do know from my experience then and since that the right teacher and teaching method makes all the difference. I had much more working knowledge of the guitar with two full years of lessons in high school than any of my friends who studied with other teachers. It is clear from your writing that you have put a tremendous amount of thought and work into your teaching methodology and that your objectives are practical and the results well proven. That is why your material is so appealing to me. I do not read music very well but I know the names of the notes and am very good at picking up melody lines by ear. My performance history is non -existent except for rock and jazzy rock bands in high school and college. I also took a number of folk style finger picking lessons which have left their mark on my acoustic playing, but I never learned to separate the rhythm of my thumb from the other picking fingers. I have no other formal music training but I am a quick study with an open mind. If it is helpful to know, the theory introduction to the single note ear training book was not at all new to me but I read it anyway just to make sure I knew what you wanted me to know before proceeding. I am putting a band together (rock dance cover tunes ala Van Morrison, Motown etc...) and through that I have begun wanting to develop both my internal sense of timing and my ear. I also want to work on scales and chord mastery (more jazz oriented there) and any advice on where to start with that would be helpful too. I know my blues, major and pentatonic scales in 4 or 5 positions and am comfortable improvising as long as the song stays in the same key. I also know a little about tone centers and playing in and around a melody but again, more for simply chorded rock and roll and less for jazz. As far as the Big Metronome. One basic question I have is the difference between a bar and a measure (you use these terms but I forget the definitions, I thought they were the same but obviously they are not.) I gave it another shot yesterday using cd 1 at track 10 and being very patient and only going up to the 5 count before moving on the the next set of exercises. Any specific instructions to clarify exactly how to use the cd and the book would be helpful. As far as the single note ear training complete method I was wondering if you had any thoughts about me using my computer to burn a cd with just c-f-g-a on it. Then when I master those note recognitions making a cd including d, e and b as well. And when I master that adding 2 or 3 of the sharp notes, and then finally using the full cd. Is there any danger or value to this approach as far as you are aware? Your explanations and FAQ section of this book are immensely helpful and it is this level of detailed explanation, easy to follow instructions and supporting Q & A that make it much easier to follow than the Big Metronome. Also, I am inclined to buy the fanatics guide to sight reading as it sounds like an invaluable complement to the ear training, even if sight singing is not my goal. Please confirm. And finally, what books (yours or otherwise) do you recommend for chord study and scale work. (Is comping the term for accompaniment via chords, triads and other and multi note arrangements?) The ultimate goal is self expression and that requires the ability to relate to, and work with other musicians in a variety of settings. Improvisation of both single notes and chords is a sub goal there. I do have access to a keyboard in case that is necessary for any of the material you recommend.
A	Thanks for the indepth history of your music studies. It helps me focus in on a practice regimen that makes sense for you. I usually have students start with The Big Metronome in conjunction with Rhythms Volume One. You can find a few measures from this book on page 13, 51,52, 91,92. Because your reading isn't that great I think we should try some of the other exercises I commonly assign. I'd like you to take a chord progression from a couple of songs you play well. Find a track preferably on the 2nd CD and play the song to the appropriate track. Try not to count but to start to feel the longer sense of rhythm. This could take a while to master so give yourself a week or so to start to play it correctly. Along with that I would learn one of the chord progressions on page 35,75 or 115. These are progressions from the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. I would again use a track from the 2nd CD -- between track 9 and 12 would be a good starting place. The rhythmic feel for the chords should be strum on 1 and the "and of 2." Let me know how that goes and we will take it from there. For scales I would go to www.arnoldjazz.com and then to the music workshop and download all the scales. This will show you the proper fingering for the scales. I would get the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. This will give you exercises and chord progressions to help you apply the scales. I would start learning the C major scales from the website in all positions. Think the notes and the degrees, do not memorize fingering patterns. After C major I would learn C dorian the same way, working your way down the list. Try to do a new scale every week. It's important to apply these scales so make sure you do this in conjunction with the Music Theory Book. For chords you need the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. I would start with the barre chords on page 26. Use the method presented on page 25 to learn the chords. After you have learned about 10 pages of chords go to the back and start learning either the C major or C minor Blues progression. Use the same rhythm I recommended for the Big Metronome. You want to learn a new progression every week and 3 or 4 chord voicings a week. Bars and measures are the same thing. A measure is a used to divide up music into usually even groupings of notes. For example a 4/4 measure would have 4 beats where a quarter note would get one beat. So one measure or bar would be 4 beats and would be delineated by a bar-line placed across the staff. I will soon be uploading a pdf file in the member's section on how to read music which will give you visual examples of this if you need more clarification. As far as burning a CD I won't really recommend it. I think you would be better off choosing the tracks you want from the notes list in the book and then use shuffle play and I wouldn't do that do much either. I would rather you get the Fanatic's Guide and start to sing more and only do this limited note thing a little bit if at all. The Fanatic's Guide in combination with the listening will really make a difference in your progress. As far as limiting the notes with the CD, the problem is you need to hear all the notes so you start to form a distinction based on hearing them all rather than limiting the pallete. I understand your concern and I tried this when I was starting but found it really didn't help much and I've found it to be the case with my students too.

Q	I'm a jazz guitarist practicing with a trio (bass & drums). I am noticing that we start out at a medium tempo for a jazz blues or a tune like Autumn Leaves, but for the out head we are playing at a faster pace. In listening back to some recordings, I notice that the bassist tends to play on top of the beat and the drummer pushes the time accordingly. Sometimes there is a noticable shift in time within a measure. I believe it is OK to speed up a bit organically, but not 25-40%. I've broached the subject with the group, and we are all aware of this. We sort of corrected it before but "the time keeps creeping up". I would like for us to be able to play tunes at say 7 different tempos and keep them locked in those "tempo regions" How would you suggest using some of your tools to correct this "rushing the time" problem as a group, or individually?
A	Well the Big Metronome and the Doing Time Series would help you guys out immensely. I use it with some of the drummers I play with in New York and it's a really challenge to play in time without speeding up or slowing down especially when you're really "going for it" in a solo or when everyone is soloing. I would recommend you get the Big Metronome, Doing Time with the Blues volume one and two. That will give you the tools to get started. I also have a volume 3 and 4 of the doing time studies but haven't finished the books. By the way, you will need some sort of PA or amp that you can run a CD player through in your rehearsal space so you can hear the CDs. You might consider ordering this through the www.muse-eek.com website because you won't have to pay for shipping and I'm sure they have those books in stock. They are more advanced books so many retailers don't stock them. Watch out though, your drummer will probably want to steal these books from you. All the drummers at NYU use these books to help solidify their time. I use the Big Metronome in place of a regular metronome when I practice. Once you get use to it a regular metronome seems so intrusive.

Q	I just found your books on Amazon.com, which led me to this site. I'm a pianist (jazz, mainly) and have become fascinated with the rhythmic conceptions of people like Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy and all the guys who are in Dave Holland's Prime Directive. Not only is their odd-meter playing incredibly fluid, but their playing in common-time is also amazing. I've been working with the metronome with some degree of improvement, but not a lot. Which of your books would I find most helpful in improving in these areas?
A	I would recommend working with Rhythm series. I don't know your current level but most professional musicians in NYC find any of these books to be challenging. You should at least work through: Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Odd Meters The Big Metronome If you email me after you get the books I'll give you a practice regimen to bring your playing and rhythmic ability to a new level.

Q	I am moving on to singing two notes against the drone and am having fun singing them against various progressions as you suggest in "Fanatics Guide." I want to make sure i have the right idea. If I take the 2 note exercise c to f# and sing it to a 12 bar blues progression in C, the solfege would run do-fi over the I chord, fa-ti over IV, and sol-di over the V chord. Of course the metronome must be going. How would you suggest the metronome be incorporated. Also, is one key sufficient in this process before moving on or should the example be sung in all keys or at least a few keys before a new 2 note exercise is employed. Also I have found this type of singing is really helpful in learning new tunes. I make it a point to sing through each layer of the basic voicing of the chord changes when learning a new tune and then trying a couple of 2 note exercises through the tune. It really is amazing what I am hearing when I improvise on this tune afterward (very slowly of course). Are there any other exercises like this you might suggest to aid in hearing and working out a new tune at my level. I would also like to get a hold of your time books. They sound fascinating. Can you give me a couple of examples of how the time series would be applied in my practice sessions? I'm still working on key recognition. The minor keys are a little better but I notice I am memorizing the register of the 2-5 progression and have inadvertently started to cheat on my key recognition. Any suggestions?
A	The metronome should be incorporated just as a time keeper to make sure you are able to sing each 2 note group and not lose your time. If you are weak with certain notes you will tend to take more time and thus lose time. You can set the metronome up many ways. You can try the typical beats on 2 and 4. You might also try singing in a few keys maybe 4 keys moving in minor 3rds.. This will help to make sure you are not using vocal tension for any notes. Singing over tunes can get very dicey and I would recommend you have Key Note Recognition totally down and are working on 2 note ear training before singing over actual tunes. This is mostly because tunes can modulate and it's important to have the skills you learn in the previous mentioned books before attempting tunes. Also remember that the tempo of a tune can drastically change the way you hear a tune. Once you start singing over tunes there are a lot of ways to progress. Here are a couple of possibilities: 1. Sing melody play chords 2. Sing arpeggios over a one chord drone 3. Part sing chords (Check out the book LINES) For time books I would suggest starting with the Big Metronome. There are many concepts at work within these time books. One of the major concepts is to "feel" time rather than "count" time. You will see after working with the examples in the books that you will gain a new confidence about time. Also keep in mind that you could spend the rest of your life working on the examples in this book. I don't have a solution for your problem with Key Note Recognition except to make your own CD with progressions in different registers.

Q	Could you give me a practical scenario to help me understand how the 2 note workouts will be applied to real musical situations? How do you use this modulating, 'do' in the 'automatic' sense your method is aimed at in your present work and can you give a recent example from one of your gigs? Finally, can you give me a brief history of how your hearing skills progressed as they correspond to each method you have developed to attain automatic hearing. The hard work would sure go a lot easier if I can get a handle on some of the improvements I can look forward to in my hearing and musicianship. Now I know this is a tough assignment and I know that your not getting paid... but I am sure everyone in the FAQ room will be tickled pink to hear your testimony!!!!! Besides I will gladly send you exotic food stuffs, my Mickey Mantle baseball cards... oh what the heck... my first born... just to get a little more insight. take your time... no rush on this one and I will be eternally grateful.
A	With rhythm you need to first do the basic building blocks of counting and thinking the rhythm/time in order to learn what a rhythm sounds like. After that you should progress to more of a Big Metronome approach. So your method of learning is good as you stated. The 2 note ear training teaches you to modulate and also helps you to gain more experience with the one note ear training but now you have to identify multiple notes. There are many applications of this two note method. One of the most common is a situation where you are playing one note on your instrument, let's say a C, and it sounds like the tonic and then it starts sounding like the 3rd then you have modulated to the key of Ab. Two note method also helps you the split up multiple notes in your mind and be able to identify them. As far as my ear training history I don't think it is really that relevant because each person is different and I don't think my progression through these exercises will have any bearing on you or anyone else. I will give you a brief idea of my experience just to satisfy your interest. One of the reasons why I have so many methods to help you develop your ear training skills is because I have a lot of difficulty with learning ear training. I did the interval thing in college and always got an A in the class but found it didn't help me hear music in the real world. When I started the technique I teach now it took me a very long time to unlearn intervals and then relearn how to hear within a key. One Note Ear Training took me 1 and 1/2 years to get down. I had to do a lot of singing too to help my improvement. This is one of the reasons why the Fanatic's Guide has so many exercises in it. I had to go through that amount of singing before I could hear the one note ear training. Each of the other exercises i.e. Key Note Recognition and two + ear training exercises all took quite a bit of time for me to master. The application of the ear training covers all aspects of music making. I use it to tell what key chord progressions are in by using the Key Note Recognition method. I can tell how a progression is modulating by using the two note method and I can hear individual notes by using the one note method. Probably the most profound effect this has upon your playing and music is you become much more musical in your playing and composing. Once you hear music correctly it makes all the difference in how you hear, what you hear and how you interact with other musicians. There isn't an end to the ear training process I still work at various aspects of ear training mostly applying it to the music I write. Many people also don't realize how hearing makes there physical ability on their instrument improve. Once you really hear what you are playing you play it much better and your able to play faster and with more accuracy. Ear Training is absolutely the most important thing you can do for yourself to improve your musical ability. You should look at it as a life long path that will always keep you as close to the essence of music at all times.

Q	I bought a metronome, Dr. Beat. I wanted to know if there was a book to learn how to use the metronome in all its intricacies? Even though I got the instructions, I want to know more how to use it.
A	We have some books that deal with a metronome but they are pretty advanced. The Big Metronome is part of a series of books which are designed to show the student how to develop a better internal sense of time. This is accomplished by requiring the student to feel time as opposed to relying on the steady click of a metronome. The Big Metronome is filled with exercises and comes with 3 CDs to play along with these exercises. Each CD contains 13 tracks which correspond to the metronome markings found on a traditional metronome. Each track gives you a two bar count off and then a click every measure, two measures or four measures. As this pulse happens at wider and wider periods of time it requires the student to rely more and more on their own internal sense of time.

Q	I'm a jazz player from France and would like some advice: I've got a problem with modal tunes like Impressions where you stay on one chord for 16 bars and then you modulate. I always feel myself lose when improvising and I never anticipate the chord changing. Which book do you think I should take: The Big Metronome, Doing Time with 32 bars???
A	I think that any of the time series books would help you start to hear larger groupings of time. I think you should start with the ideas presented in the Big Metronome and apply it to the songs that you are having difficulty. To start with I would make a tape of yourself comping the charges to Impressions and play over this every day for a month or two and you will see that you will gain a basic aural image of this tune over time. If you also incorporate some of the ideas of the Big Metronome into this comping tape, or just work on the exercises in the Big Metronome, this will help to strengthen your overall ability to hear large groupings of time. I think you have to be patient with your improvement with hearing form and with the exercises in the Big Metronome. The improvement occurs over months of practice rather than days.

Q	Less than a year ago I read an article you wrote on how to improve 'one' timing. It was last year in Guitar One magazine or Guitar Player. Can you tell which issue? I have not been able to find it. Also, can you recommend a book you have written to help improve timing? Particularly, not losing 'one.'
A	I believe it was in the December 2000 issue of Guitar Player. Basically the article talks about the book Big Metronome which teaches you to feel time rather than count time. This book is best used by a more advanced student and does require some ability to read music. If you get the book and have questions or want me to give you other applications for the book please write back and I'll help you out.

Q	Here's what I own: Music Theory Volumes 1 and 2 Jazz and Blues Bass Lines Comping Styles for Bass Single String Studies for Bass Volumes 1 and 2 Rhythm Primer Fanatic's Guide One Note Complete Big Metronome What kind of schedule would you recommend for someone who works two jobs and has a wife and three kids? I can give a committed hour everyday in addition to time in my car (delivery job). What would you recommend I do when I have additional time (very sporadic)?
A	In your situation practicing in your head is the best solution. It is common knowledge among classical musicians that you can learn a piece of music or for that matter anything in music by visualizing it in your head. Many classical musicians don't even play a piece on their instrument before performing it live in front of an audience. You can use this technique to help you work on music when driving a car or waiting for a light to change. Of the books you have you could use any of them to practice in your head. For instance you could think through and finger in your mind any scale or arpeggio from the Music Theory Books. You could memorize a bass line from the Jazz and Blues Bass Lines or Comping Style book or you could work on hard rhythms from the Rhythm Primer. You of course can listen to the ear training and sing notes over the Fanatic's Guide CD as you drive. (You might want to get a chromatic pitch instrument to help you check notes.) http://www.encoremusic.com/vocal/6630002.html Just remember that mental practicing is exhausting when you first start it. It takes months before you can do it for any length of time. As it develops you will find it to be the most efficient way to learn. I would then spend your hour or instrument practicing playing the things you have mentally practiced or use the time to improvise with the scales you are learning in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.

Q	I have made my mind and shall order the suggested books at your store. I have one little question: I would also order your book A big Metronome for tempo training. Or is it better to start practicing with a metronome? From the faq I read that the book A Big Metronome is more alike for intermediate to advanced students. If you have a simpler book verse for tempo training I really would have you recommend me this.
A	It's hard to say if A Big Metronome would be good for you because I don't know your exact level. I would though recommend that you work through the rhythm series before attempting the big metronome. To get an idea of what kind of rhythms are involved I suggest you download the examples found at: http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/index.html You will see them listed as: Eighth Note Rhythms (Rhythms Book One) Sixteenth Note Rhythms (Rhythms Book Two) Odd Meters (Odd Meters One) These books will give you a solid foundation in all rhythms on 2 different metric levels plus introduce you to the complexity of Odd Meters. The muse-eek.com Web site also has midi files that you can use to play along with these books to check your accuracy. Rhythms Volume One also has some MP3 files with a swing feel. I think starting with these books would much more beneficial and give you a solid background before moving into the time studies in A Big Metronome.

Q	I'd just like some clarification on where to begin with the Big Metronome. Should I just keep trying Rhythm Technique One until I get it? I can't really do the first exercise, and I am not sure if I'm approaching it correctly (I can do the 2nd exercise pretty well, but I suspect I must be doing it incorrectly if I cannot do the first one, that I must be breaking the pulse down, counting in a way). Here's what I have been doing: I listen to the CD on one of the faster tracks and just try to clap when I think the click will come. If I count I can usually do it pretty accurately, but I force myself not to count and to just clap when I think the click is coming, however, I feel like it's really just hit or miss or that I'm judging time unconsciously with my breaths or my heartbeat. With Fanatic's Guide it was pretty clear to me what I was to be listening for in my head, but here I'm not sure if I should try to replicate the clicking in my head or if feeling time is something different from that. Do I just need to keep working at it and trust that I'll figure it out on my own with time?
A	I don't know your level of musicianship so it's hard for me to recommend specific things. In general you can try playing through chord progressions with the CDs. You could also try soloing but playing chords is usually easier to start with. I also recommend reading out of Rhythms Volume One. Some of this book is excerpted in A Big Metronome. I usually find that it takes students nearly a month of working with this book before they start to get it correct. You first must believe that you have the ability to "know" time without thinking of it. If you just trust yourself and keep trying it will happen. You never want to think or count time just learn to experience the duration of the click and you will find yourself getting closer and closer as each day passes. Obviously this form of music education is far removed from the referential processes usually taught in colleges. If you give it some time and have faith you will find a whole new world will open up.

Q	Should I use a metronome when I practice playing piano? if yes, should I use it often? I am a very beginning piano learner. Because I have tried your Big Metronome book. for two weeks. Should I keeping trying, even if I am just learning rhythm, ( I am practicing your Rhythm Primer which is learnable). Or will you recommend keeping pracitcing Big Metronome unti I develop a great internal sense of time? I've found it quite contradicting that you say we should ger rid of using metronome. But why we ask us to practice Rhythm Primer using metronome? I mean is it better practice te Rhthm Primer wihtout using Metronome?
A	The Big Metronome is a book for more advanced students. You could use it but it will be very hard if you are just getting started. I would use a metronome as suggested in the Rhythm Primer. You might also continue to try one exercise from the big metronome maybe spend 15 minutes in it a day. But remember it might be months before you feel progress on the big metronome because of your current level. But the good news is you are building in a sense of long line rhythm at a very early stage in your development so that's a good thing. As mentioned previously the The Big Metronome book is for more advanced students who already have a strong sense of rhythm and have the ability to sight read most rhythms on sight. Most students learn rhythms with a metronome. This is fine the problem begins when they then rely on the metronome for their time after they have learned a rhythm. You need to develop an internal sense of the rhythm and then feel the rhythm on a larger rhythmic frame which is what The Big Metronome teaches. In general when using a metronome you want to get away from smaller subdivisions as soon as you can. But remember any complex rhythm will have to be subdivided until you "hear" it then you should move towards the ideas present in The Big Metronome. Rhythm Primer is a good book for you now because it gives you exact guide lines on how to use the metronome with each study those guide lines should be extended when you begin the Rhythms Volume One, Two and Three books.