virtual metronome?

[paul wheaton]

I'm no musician, but by son is. Yesterday his instructor suggested that he work with a metronome. And it occurred to me that maybe there is some software he could run that would be his metronome?

Anybody tinkered with anything like that?

[Gregg Bolinger]

Hey Paul. There is this really cool site called Google. I did this thing called a "web search" for Metronome Software and by golly if the dern thing didn't show me a whole slew of web pages.

Here is one such page.

[fred rosenberger]

i believe there is also this great computer language called Java that would let you create such a thing on your own, without too much difficulty.

heck, i think a book called "Head First Java" might even have something similar, that you might be able to adapt to your needs...

[marc weber]

The geek approach is certainly... Uh, logical.

But you might also consider the plethora of cheap (and portable) metronomes available from musiciansfriend.com. In fact, there's a combination chromatic tuner and metronome made by Ibanez (good brand) for only $17.99.

[paul wheaton]

Yup - I did the google thing, that's why I know they exist - but which one is the one to use? I don't have the foggiest about what would be useful vs. what would be a waste of effort.

I've placed many orders from musiciansfriend for my kids, but all that stuff looks the same to me.

"a combination chromatic tuner and metronome made by Ibanez": Now THERE is some good, solid info! Thanks!

[marc weber]

Ibanez has a good reputation, but after reading some reviews on this product, it seems they let some quality slide here.

So I would probably opt for the Boss TU-80 Guitar Tuner and Metronome at $28.99.

What instrument does your son play? If it's guitar, then does he already have an electronic tuner?

[Madhav Lakkapragada]

I have an electronic piano (Yamaha) and I have a set of 3 CDs called Jump Music - Piano Discovery. I know it does have some metronome thingy but then I haven't used it in over four years. One of these days when I retire or maybe my daughter can give you a better answer once she grows up a little more.

Anyways, the theory is that I hook-up the keyboard to the computer using the MIDI cable and I can play along lesson by lesson. I did about six or seven lessons on CD-1.

That is as much info I have on this.

- m

[paul wheaton]

Dane played piano for a while. Then he moved on to trombone and bass guitar. Now he's also picking up the fiddle.

The thing he really wants to do right now is get really good on the bass guitar. He wants to improve his fingering speed.

His instructor told him that a metronome would really help him in trying to do that.

He has a tuner that he really likes .... I wonder if it might have some metronome functions built into it!!!

[marc weber]

An electronic tuner is essential. But since he already has one, you don't need this feature in a metronome.

Since he's playing bass, he might want to practice with different rhythms instead of just a constant click, click, click... So you might want to look at the Boss DB-30 (Dr. Beat Metronome), which is $39.99 at musiciansfriend. This model has built-in rhythm patterns and beat variations, including odd time signatures and Latin rhythms.

(Can you tell I taught at a guitar store for 6 years?)