The importance of playing alongside with a metronome.

[Hei]

For awhile i've been hearing from people here that playing with a metronome is quite important.
To be honest, i have never really used a metronome, only played slower with an old version of Guitar Pro.

I'm not really an soloist or anything, but does the metronome apply when you're playing at like 120 or higher?
i'm quite sure you guys know of songs that are faster, but does the metronome still apply at those speed?

i know some of you stress the importance of the metronome,
what about on a band level?
when you're playing along with the drummer, bassist, do you all use the metronome together?

sorry for my ignorance

 

[LadyInTears]

when i practice or record i use a metronome.

when i jam i cant even hear myself sometimes how to hear a metronome?

that aside now that im into weird time passages, ive bid the metronome byebye

 

[RayKnight]

From what I'm taught, playing along with the metronome actually helps improve your accuracy, speed and patience. People are often too eager to play faster than what they are mortally capable of and end up making mistake. I'm by no means a perfect player and I still play using the metronome, it's nothing to be ashamed of. People start out playing slow before they move to playing faster licks.

On a band level, it is as important as your drummer. Depending on the speed of your drummer, you have to play to his speed. He becomes a metronome. If my timing is screwed up while my drummer is playing, then I can pack up and go home. We don't use the metronome as a band, the drummer act as the metronome and "time keeper". He's good enough to play it in his head and the rest of us follow according to his beat.

Since there's not really a "perfect time" because things will change depending on the music genre and patterns, you may end up playing 2/4 or 4/4 or 2/6 and switching here and there.

Yes, it is important. It is even more important to start playing along with the metronome at a slow speed. It helps, it really does. It is boring exercise, yes. But the vast improvement you'll see yourself after a few weeks of practice, you'll know where you're at.

 

[alvinkubi]

I think its important to play with one. Sometimes the hardest thing is to keep things tight. And going off timing can lead to off solos, the band seeming very unstable etc.

Metronome is kinda like a discipline? Its not one of those things that we individually can see and feel the results tangibly but it does have an effect and improves one's technical foundations.

Actually at higher speed should use a metronome cause there's a tendency to speed up like what Rayknight says. To play well isn't just to sound nice but to produce quality music at on consistent and constant basis.

Hope this helps!