Holding the beat tempo , playing with metronome

I've noted the same thing when I listen to songs, but I haven't used a metronome to compare beats. I think it helps a song sound natural if there are very slight waves in the tempo...I guess that's why many computer-generated songs sound kinda robotic? *shrug*

I don't think it has anything to do with the human ear - it's more about the brain; since you're focusing on something else, you probably won't notices a few BPM here or there...but if you tune into it, like you did, then you'll definitely notice. Listen to a lot of modern rock music, and listen to the beats - you'll notice that they slow down or speed up, here or there, especially when the drums come out of the picture.

nodding your head or tapping your foot can make a steady tempo become more ingrained as part of your whole body, but i noticed also when i started using a metronome that there would be small fluctuations in what i thought was an even pace.

I think there are probably few if any people that could hold a perfect tempo through a 3 minute song without a click, however this isn't the whole point of a metronome. It would probably be quite easy to write a few pages on the benefits of practicing with a metronome but I think you only really start to beleive it when you actually feel it, and this is something that comes over time by practicing against one quite a lot.

Personally I think the most important thing that you gain from it is learning to feel the beat in lower time values than you are trying to actually play. For instance it teaches you things like playing 16th's against quarter notes rather than against 16th's? That probably doent make sense, I'm not sure how to describe it, however one thing is certain, if you practice with one enough it will pretty much guarantee you become a faster, cleaner and much more dynamic / controlled guitarist rather than just chasing a drum pattern all the time. I listen to a lot of people trying to play fast without precision and this actually can sound slower than somebody playing slower with good control.

It may not work for everybody but I'm fairly confident that a lot of people would improve greatly if they used one more often rather than only ever playing against drum beats, even if it's only an hour per week I'm sure that in time you'll see what all the fuss is about.

Or maybe I'm just different :)

Lee

Lee, I think that what you're talking about is something called subdivision...deving the beat into 8th, 16th notes, etc. The best local drummer that i've ever hear told me once that that's the secret to his playing, which is incredibly crisp and tight. If you can learn to subdevide in your head while playing, it'll help your playing immensly. AS far as a metronome, I learned music with a conductor waving a stick in tempo in fron of me for 5 years, and it definately helps me to pick up rhythms that other people find hard to follow.

When I am trying to improvise a guitar solo over a recorded song, I find myself trying to pick every note in "exact" timing with a beat that my brain can extract from the song, normally from the bass or drums.
But this means that I have problems to do a fast solo that goes out of the beat (1/4, 1/8, 1/16) for some measures and then cames back on the beat.
I find that my solos therefore are slow and "square", sounds more like a bass player solo.
One reason is also that my picking capacity don´t alow for faster picking speed than 1/8´s in a 100 BPM song.

I think there are probably few if any people that could hold a perfect tempo through a 3 minute song without a click,

Lee
This made me recall a story I heard once about Frank Zappa. Not sure whether it's true, but the story goes that when a musician would try out for his band, he would set up a metronome and have the prospective band member start playing to the beat. he would then take the metronome away while the guy kept playing. Later he would return with the metronome, still at the same setting, to see if the prospect would still be playing in time to that same tempo. He's want to see that the musician could keep the time in his own head.

I would believe that of FZ, as he was quite a serious musician. Anyone else heard that story?

I know that, particularly in the days of vinyl, record companies would mess with the speed of the master, so that it was more difficult for people to learn it by ear. I have a Dire Straits song (I think it is them) that is 23-25 cents sharp all the way through.
It was often said that the Beatles sounded more in sync than other bands, because Ringo Starr was able to follow the meanderings of John & Paul in and out of the beat.