"Internal tempo" for beginners? (Little to no use of metronome)

Snare

Member
Two weeks ago I was going down to my high school from 9am to 3pm everyday for marching band camp and we have a person completely new to the drums, now on snare. My brother and I missed the first two days, so when we came in we were expecting to be put on snare (as the band teacher told me, last day of school). Instead we were put on marching bass and the next morning we came in and the snare guy was struggling with the part, so we decided to help him out for the next hour or two. He had been practicing with the metronome all week and wasn't making any progress. Turns out that the percussion coach gave him the metronome and told him to practice the part on a certain speed. We told him to turn off the metronome and practice the part at his own (steady) speed since he was stumbling through the notes, speeding up and slowing down on certain rhythms, trying to match the metronome. In about 15 minutes he was able to play through the part. (then we eventually added the metronome, sounded a lot better)

I joined concert band in 6th grade and all throughout middle school our band teacher never used a metronome once. I think that this was to prevent the band from being dependent on the metronome and to teach us to always watch the conductor. When we came to the high school band, without the metronome, it took 4 or 5 tries to get the band to play in sync, whereas it only took about two tries in middle school. The high school teacher tried hooking us on the metronome and I think it hurts the percussion when we’re performing because everyone is all over the place in speed. Although I think part of the problem is that the percussion (as of last year) was placed in a separate class from the concert band and it's difficult to get the entire section into rehearsal at the same time. The teacher has percussion practicing at speeds from 100 to 160 bpm when he knows that the performance speed with the band will be 120 to 140. This isn't a problem for me or the percussion section leader(s), but for everyone else, they're eager to play and slowly speed up as the song progresses. I have to tell them to slow down mid-performance and sometimes they don't listen. We listen to the recording after the band festival and write reports on how we could've improved, usually it goes something like,"The percussion was a little fast." I don't mind letting others play during school concerts, but when we're competing for trophies (which leads to field trips), I can't keep allow the tempo to keep us from winning.

Personally, I believe that the conductor should set time on full run-throughs of songs so that the band melds better together. With metronome it should be like,"
*turn on metronome*
Here's the tempo the song is at, memorize it and keep it in your head
*turn off metronome* lets play."
I don't see the constant use of it as necessary for a full band. It's not like a percussion ensemble where there's silence in between, there's almost always other instruments playing so that you can feel the tempo and its changes.
 
It depends on the piece, but normally, orchestra music, in my opinion, should not be used or practiced with a metronome. So much of a piece's character is based on the ebb and flow of the tempo, which the conductor naturally controls. If a metronome is doing the conductor's job, on a perfect level, then certain just wouldn't sound right.

Of course, marches and the like should be pretty much spot on tempo-wise, but most other pieces should have a flowing tempo.

This piece in particular just wouldn't be the same with a perfect pulse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B49N46I39Y
 
^Great example...i love that piece.

The metronome should be used with a grain of salt...There are times when the met is needed and times when it isn't. There are times when you can get away with not using the met, and there are times when you can't. I played in Marching Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band and Symphonic Band in high school and it took me all four years to realize what I needed the met for. For marching band the metronome is a must. You have to keep the band in time or it will fall apart. People have to be FORCED to keep up or else the music sounds bad and the drill doesn't match up. But of course...practice makes permanent. If your line is practicing above the marked tempo then it is understandable that you rush because you practiced rushing. Now if you are actually playing the correct tempo but the band is slowing, then it isn't exactly your problem.

Of course after a while the met should be taken out because it's the responsibility of the musicians to have that tempo in their feet and hands...unfortunately we can pretty much say that isn't the case.
 
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