Some days I am full of energy, and it is just so easy to play the piano. On other days, it might feel like nothing is going right. What I have found is that "your metronome is your friend". This device makes clicks or beeps so that one can hear a steady beat. Some metronomes are wind-up with a swinging pendulum, or some are electronic and include a flashing light. The metronome comes in very handy because it helps me to know what is my tempo, or the speed of a piece.

Your mood changes the way you hear the speed of a piece. On a good day I might play a piece like Allegretto 2 from Piano book 1 at 92 to the quarter note.

On another day, just playing the same piece at 72 might feel like the right speed.

Your friend, the metronome, will be able to tell you your speed if you use your metronome as your practicing companion. First, you need to practice regularly with the metronome so that you know what is your regular tempo for a piece. My speed for Ecossaise from Book 2 is 92 to the quarter note. Here is the first phrase.

If your teacher says practice it slowly, maybe you should try it at 54 to the quarter note.

One of our challenges is when there is a hard part in a piece that we cannot play as fast as the rest. It is important knowing what is your comfortable speed as a starting point to learning how to play faster. The metronome can be adjusted at each repetition to go just a little bit faster each time. It is such a slight change you probably won't notice it is any faster.

Let’s do that with the second section of Ecossaise. Even though I played the beginning at 92 to the quarter note, the second section is much harder, and I am more comfortable at 48 to the quarter note. If you practice this section 5 times each day and each time you get a little faster, by the end of the week, you are going to be noticeably faster.

The important thing is that you can practice one click at a time, such as 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56 on day 1. On day 2 start one click higher than your slowest tempo from the day before: start at 50, then play at 52, 54, 56, 58, and 60. On day 3 start at 52, then go one click at a time to reach 63. On day 4, start at 60, and do one click at a time until 76...in this way each day you start slow and then go a little faster. If you try this you will surely learn to play a difficult section faster. Your metronome is a very valuable practicing companion.

Another reason to use the metronome is to keep a steady tempo throughout the whole piece. Sometimes we don’t realize we are getting faster with a piece, but we accelerate without realizing it.

Using the metronome will help us stay steady throughout the piece. Let's try 72 to the quarter note.

Finally, the best way the metronome can be your friend is before a concert where you might be a little nervous. Just check the speed that you have been practicing while you are still back stage or quietly on your smart phone. Then you can go out with confidence that you have the right tempo.

Your metronome is a handy tool for practicing, so be sure to make your metronome your friend.

Sachiko Isihara
Executive Director