Ask yourself that simple question and if you your answer is no, then stop whatever you’re doing and read this post. Seriously.

What’s the big deal?

Using a metronome to help develop your guitar skills will have a major impact on your progress. One of the main factors that separate a poor guitarist from a great one is the player’s sense of timing and rhythm. A metronome can help you develop your sense of timing and force you to improve your rhythm skills. It’s such a simple tool to use and the results are often amazing. Think of it a different way: if you don’t use a metronome to practice and hone your sense of rhythm, you may develop poor habits and continue to play with bad timing and not even realize it!

How to get started with a metronome

Fortunately, it’s quite simple to learn how to play along with a metronome and learn to use it to develop techniques and other skills. There is a lesson here to teach you the basics of practicing with a metronome to start you off right away.

Do I need to buy a metronome?

The great thing is you don’t need to have a physical metronome to get started. Although it’s not a bad idea to have one handy, there are alternatives. You can download apps to your phone that will do the job or to your PC/Mac. We even have a section on this site under the Backing Tracks Section that simulates a metronome at various tempos.

What’s the next step?

After you work through the lessons on this site, you will have a basic understanding of the metronome and how to use it. From here you can continue to use it to help you improve your abilities with techniques such as tapping, sweep-picking, alternate-picking etc. For now, just start with the basics and your abilities will definitely improve straight away.