The metronome, and the ladder
A click to practice to, and a tempo ladder that raises the speed one rung at a time and drops back a rung when you miss.
Press M
The metronome is on the practice screen, and one key starts it. While it runs, it shows the tempo and two buttons to adjust it, so you can change the speed without leaving the drill.
| M | Start or stop the metronome |
| += | One BPM faster |
| -_ | One BPM slower |
Tempo and meter
Set the tempo in Preferences and pick the meter. In 4/4 and 3/4 the first beat is accented; 6/8 is compound, with a strong accent on beat one and a medium one on beat four. The accents let you hear where each bar begins.
The click can be a sound, a visual flash, or both. The flash helps when the sound is a problem: in a quiet house, with headphones on, or when it covers up your own playing.
The tempo ladder
With Progressive tempo the speed becomes part of the exercise. You start slow, play a set number of clean repeats, and the metronome goes up a step. If you miss a chord, it drops back a step, so the tempo only rises while your playing stays clean.
At the top of the ladder the drill moves on to the next key or scale, and the tempo goes back to the bottom for the new material.
The ladder also shows your working tempo: the highest speed at which you can play the material twice in a row without a mistake.