Ah, the age old question for any musician writing original music or interpreting existing music. What is tempo? Is tempo a feeling? Is it speed? Is it a consideration of how one measure links to the other? Or is it how much time we take in between phrases, and how much space we are able ...

Ah, the age old question for any musician writing original music or interpreting existing music. What is tempo? Is tempo a feeling? Is it speed? Is it a consideration of how one measure links to the other? Or is it how much time we take in between phrases, and how much space we are able ...

Do you remember that first moment when you heard a tune that really made an impression on you? Or the first time you picked up your guitar, played the first note on the piano, or sung your first phrase? Those are beautiful moments that make us fall in love with music in the first place. ...

Ah, the memory slips. We don’t want them, we don’t like them, but somehow they creep up every now and then and make our presence on stage that much more awkward. Or even worse, they grow from simple bumps on the road to hills that we cannot conquer and we simply must skip the section ...

Memorization, visualization and repetition are all parts of a daily practice routine. After days, weeks and months of such practicing, our fingers start to take over and we spend less time looking at the music and simply playing. This means we have memorized what we are practicing. What if we are pressed for time and ...

We have all heard our fair share of horror stories when it comes to musicians traveling. While a musical instrument is on many airlines considered a personal item, there is still a strong chance that an airline representative will feel obliged to not grant airplane entry with a musical instrument. With guitars and cellos smashed ...

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘music is like a song’? How about ‘just sing the phrase’? These sayings are there for a reason. When we play an instrument, especially a one that does not require us to breathe in before playing a phrase, such as the guitar and the piano, it can easily happen ...

Another week and another Rhythm Through Diversity, a fun musical trivia section on Metronome Online, where we explore music and dance through the development of cultural and social etiquette, history, and background of people in diverse communities. The cultures around the world showcase many different musical forms and this week we will explore polka, originally ...

Recording sessions are the ultimate microscope for any musician. How many times have we gone into a studio, played what we thought was a good take, listened back, only to be completely disappointed by what we heard? Then the repeating of take after take, leaving us completely fatigued by the end, feeling empty and disappointed. ...

Another week and another Rhythm Through Diversity, a fun musical trivia section on Metronome Online, where we explore music and dance through the development of cultural and social etiquette, history, and background of people in diverse communities. The cultures around the world showcase many different musical forms and this week we will explore gamelan, the ...

Most of us practice a couple of hours a day, five to seven days a week. That’s a lot of time and energy spent on improving our playing, so we want to be sure we’re getting the most out of every practice session. When I started playing bass guitar in 2006, I thought that if ...

Who doesn’t love to play for hours at a time? Or at least until our body starts to ache. How many of us have experienced lower back pain and hand fatigue, but never properly addressed ways of tackling these issues? Today we will discuss a couple of quick solutions, in hopes that these help us ...