ChopsDrums, guitar & bass · practice guide
How to practice with a metronome: a simple tempo ladder for drums, guitar and bass
A metronome tells you where the beat is. It doesn't tell you what to do with it. Most players set a tempo that is too fast, miss the click, and decide they don't like metronomes. This guide gives you a starting tempo, a way to raise it, and where to put the click on drums, guitar and bass.
The short version: start at a tempo where you can play one exercise correctly for a full minute, count in one bar, then raise the tempo 4 to 5 BPM only after each clean minute. If you miss twice, go back 10 BPM. Log your top clean tempo so tomorrow starts where today ended.
Pick a starting tempo
Start slower than feels necessary. The right tempo is the one where you can play the exercise correctly for a full minute: right notes, steady timing, loose hands. For most beginners that is around 60 to 70 BPM for steady 8th notes, a first rock beat or one-minute chord changes. If you can't get through it cleanly, the tempo is too fast. You aren't too slow.
Work on something short. One exercise, or two to four bars of a song, with the click on. Ten focused minutes on four bars does more than an hour of playing the whole song through.
Count in before you play
Start the click and do nothing for one full bar. Count it out loud, 1, 2, 3, 4, then start on beat 1. If you start on the first click you spend the first bar catching up, and that is usually the moment people decide metronomes are stressful.
The tempo ladder
This is how you get faster without getting sloppy. Speed comes from playing clean repeatedly and letting the tempo rise in small steps.
- Set the click below your clean tempo. Pick one short exercise or a two to four bar passage. Set the metronome where you can play it correctly for a full minute without tension. For most beginners that is 60 to 70 BPM. For a hard passage it can be much lower.
- Count in, then play a clean minute. Let the click run for one bar and count it out loud, then start on beat 1. A clean minute means the right notes, steady timing and loose hands. If the passage is only a few seconds long, play it cleanly three times in a row instead.
- Raise the tempo 4 to 5 BPM. Only after a clean minute. Keep the same exercise, subdivision and fingering or sticking. Don't jump 20 BPM because one run went well.
- Drop back 10 BPM if it breaks. If you miss twice in a row at the new tempo, or your hands tense up, go back 10 BPM, play a clean minute there and climb again.
- Stop on a clean run and log it. End the block on a good run, not on the attempt that failed. Write down your top clean tempo and the date, and start there next time.
Our drum, guitar and bass routines use the same approach, with an exercise for each instrument. See the drum, guitar and bass practice routines.
Where to put the click
The same ladder works on every instrument. What changes is what you play against the click.
| Instrument | Start with the click on | Then try | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drums | Single strokes on a pad or snare, one stroke per click, then 8th notes. Then one groove with the hi-hat on the click. | Half the tempo, so each click is beat 2 or 4 and the snare lands with it. Then a fill that lands back on beat 1 with the click still running. | Rushing the fill. The click shows whether you come back on beat 1. |
| Guitar | Chord changes: strum the last beat of the bar, move, and land the new chord on the next click. Then one strum pattern, counting out loud. | Count how many clean changes you make in a minute at a set tempo and write the number down. | Stopping your strumming hand to find the chord. Keep it moving even when the change is late. |
| Bass | One root note per click on an open string at 60 BPM, then the root of each chord in a song. | Click on beats 2 and 4, or a drum loop where you can hear the kick, and land with the kick. | Where each note ends, not only where it starts. A note that rings late blurs the groove the same way a late note does. |
Make the click do less
Once a part is solid with a click on every beat, take beats away one step at a time. This is how you go from following the click to holding time yourself.
- Click on every beat. Where everyone starts.
- Click on beats 2 and 4 only. Halve the tempo: for a groove at 80 BPM, set 40 and treat each click as beat 2 or 4. You now have to place beats 1 and 3 yourself.
- One click per bar. Halve it again, or use your app's option to mute the other beats. Three of every four beats are yours.
- A few bars of click, then a few bars of silence. Some apps have this setting. Keep playing through the silence and listen to where you land when the click comes back. Ahead means you rushed. Behind means you dragged.
Fixing common problems
- You rush. Most often the tempo is too high or your grip is tight. Drop back 10 BPM, loosen your hands and shoulders, and play quarter notes before 8th notes.
- You can't hear the click over the kit or amp. Use headphones, or pick a sharper click sound and turn it up. Don't push the tempo just to hear it better.
- The click makes you stiff. Keep the metronome block short, five minutes is enough, then play along to a song or a drum loop. Once a part is solid with the click, try it with a drum beat at the same tempo.
- You land on the click and barely hear it. That is what locked in sounds like. When your notes hit exactly on the click, the click blends in.
- You can't tell if you're improving. Record one take on your phone each week and listen back. Small wobbles in time are easy to miss while you play and obvious on playback. Your logged top clean tempo is the other check.
Where it fits in a session
In a 20-minute session split as in our guide on how long to practice each day, the metronome belongs in the technique and groove blocks. That is 10 of the 20 minutes. The warm-up and the song block can run without it, and the log at the end is where you write down your top clean tempo.
Coming back after a break? Start the ladder lower than you remember and use the 12-week comeback plan to rebuild.
Practice safely: tired muscles and some fingertip tenderness are normal, but sharp or lasting pain, numbness or tingling means stop and rest, and get it checked if it doesn't settle. Drummers on an acoustic kit: wear hearing protection.
Metronome practice: FAQ
What BPM should a beginner start at?
Start at the tempo where you can play the exercise correctly for a full minute. For most beginners that is 60 to 70 BPM for steady 8th notes, a first rock beat or one-minute chord changes, and it can be slower for harder material. If you can't play it cleanly, the tempo is too fast.
How much should I raise the tempo each time?
About 4 to 5 BPM, and only after a clean minute. When you are close to the top of your current range, 1 to 2 BPM is fine. If you miss twice in a row, go back 10 BPM and climb again.
Should I use a metronome for every minute of practice?
No. Use it for the technique and groove blocks, where tempo is the point. For the song block, play along to the song or a drum loop, and sometimes play without any click so you also practice holding time on your own.
Why do I rush when I play with a metronome?
Usually the tempo is too high for the exercise, or your hands are tight. Drop back 10 BPM, loosen your grip and shoulders, and count in a full bar before you start. If you only rush in fills or at the end of a phrase, try one click per bar.
Do bass players need a metronome?
Yes. Time feel is the main job of a bass player in a band. Use a click for technique, then switch to a drum loop where you can hear the kick, and aim to land with it.
What does it mean to put the click on 2 and 4?
You halve the metronome tempo so each click is beat 2 or beat 4 of the bar, where the snare falls in a basic rock beat. You have to feel beats 1 and 3 yourself, which is what builds steady time. Try it once the beat is solid with a click on every beat.