So if you’re tempted to subscribe but wonder if I’m here to answer questions, to deal with technical issues (rare), and to celebrate with you as you experience the thrill of achieving your musical goals, the answer is—absolutely! I invite you to sign up and join the thousands of other subscribers that my videos have helped over the years, many of whom have been generous in expressing their gratitude.

But I have another reason for posting today: a new dimension to my online offerings—private lessons via Zoom.

Actually, my experience in teaching live one-on-one sessions remotely began years ago when I received an email from a Play & Sing subscriber named Mary, who lives in Canada (I’m in Los Angeles). While taking my video course, she became interested in the possibility of receiving more individualized instruction from me. Mary’s a wonderful singer and had been unable to find a piano teacher near her with experience in teaching students to accompany themselves on pop songs.

So, knowing that I teach private lessons in L.A., she asked if I might be interested in helping her remotely via Zoom. We talked it over, and though neither of us knew for sure that the arrangement would work, we decided to give it a shot.

Well, that was the start of a student-teacher relationship that lasted over two years, ending just recently (at least for now). We’re both wildly excited by what she has accomplished over that span. Starting as a complete beginner, she began by learning to play simple (but gorgeous) accompaniments for ballads like The Rose, I Will Remember You, and Someone Like You. By the time we were done, she had worked her way through advanced arrangements of Desperado, Bridge Over Trouble Water, and finally, even the flashy, uptempo piano part to Walking In Memphis.

(Keep in mind that what I just described is but one musical journey. Many of my students prefer classical repertoire—which is my my first love—while yet others combine a variety of genres in their playing/practicing. What matters to me is passionate involvement regardless of style, and since my own tastes are eclectic, teaching this way suits me to a T. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I relish it when someone sends me a Youtube link to a song or movie theme I’ve never heard, and asks, can you teach me this?)

Getting back to Mary, her experience proves that lessons at a distance can be just as effective as those in which both parties are present in the same room. And the timing couldn’t have been better for me to learn this. For just as Mary’s musical adventure was winding down, coronavirus came on the scene, making in-person lessons impossible. Suddenly, all my students have become Zoomers.

I’m grateful to have had the last couple of years to get my remote teaching act together. Thanks to my experience teaching Mary, the transition has been smoother than I would have thought possible. To the point where now, months into the new routine, it’s become clear that nothing of importance has changed for my students and me. Except that some of them, with more time on their hands than in pre-covid-19 days, are actually advancing more rapidly.

My teaching rates

If you need help in these difficult times, I’ll do what I can to make things easier. While my fee is normally $90 per hour (typical for top-tier instruction here in L.A. where the cost of living is high), if this doesn’t work for you, let me know. We can talk about:

• 50% reduction for the first month.

I know from experience that weekly lessons are essential for at least 4 weeks. And because of the comprehensive nature of my instruction, less than an hour is insufficient. If my usual rate is too steep, I will cut the fee in half for that period, knocking it down to just $45 per hour.

• After that, lessons every other week (at my usual rate of $90 per hour)

For many years, bi-weekly lessons have been a common arrangement with students who have already mastered the basics with me. While I prefer to extend weekly lessons beyond four weeks, this quick “weaning” will likely work well for some, though it may not be appropriate for others. So if you’re considering this option, you’ll need to think about how comfortable you are with a more independent learning style.

• Group lessons

Zoom lends itself to sessions with multiple participants. So if you know someone who might like to study with me, and if the two of you (or three or more!) share similar musical interests as well as being at about the same level, you can split the costs.

Once again, at this unique moment, I want to assure you all that I am thriving and eager to be of service. And that’s true whether you’re looking for an online video course (still the most economical option, obviously), or private lessons, or a combination of the two. While my experience is primarily in teaching students over extended periods (years), I look forward to helping you even if you want just a lesson or two. And rest assured that my half-price offer for the first four lessons applies regardless of the expected length of our relationship.

Thanks for stopping by, and be well!

——Bruce Siegel (aka DoctorKeys)

BruceSiegel.com (Site for my private instruction.)

He replied that he hadn’t understood that the lessons “were in a logical order.”

Now, I call Play & Sing a course for a good reason.  In the first lesson, I explain the sequence of the tutorials, their logic, and I discuss the importance of mastering one step before going on to the next.

But hey—I understand where Robert is coming from. I know the feeling of wanting it all right now. Many have been the occasion when, for example, I’ll unwrap a new goodie such as a piece of software that’s destined, I feel sure, to bring joy or convenience into my life, and I’ll struggle to make it work without having the faintest idea what I’m doing.

Will I read the instructions? You know, that friendly guide that introduces the app one step at a time? Nope. I’ll just dive right in, clicking one button after another, frantically trying to somehow get the software to work. I’ll flounder, get frustrated, feel more and more impatient, and begin to worry that I’ve bought the wrong thing, that this new technology takes too long to learn and I’d be better off with another solution.

So here’s what I want you, my subscribers, to know. As a private teacher, I’ve been helping people learn to play the piano since the 1970’s. And based on my experience, I’ve put together a sequence of video tutorials that work wonderfully well—when followed in sequence. (See testimonials.) And if you find yourself struggling with a given tutorial, it’s possible that you haven’t laid the foundation for the new lesson by mastering what leads up to it.

Which is not to say that legitimate questions can’t arise. And that’s why I’m here to support you. If I can be of help, do shoot me an email and let me know!

Keep in mind, though, that at some point, I may be tempted to ask: Are you practicing the lessons in order?

And wouldn’t you know, on Wikipedia I found a massive list of songs containing those very chords, in the form of the  I V vi IV progression, and its moodier minor-key cousin, vi IV I V. (They’re the same sequence, really, just starting from different places.) The power and beauty of these progressions is truly remarkable, which is why they’re used again and again by virtually every composer or songwriter who takes pen to hand (or sets fingers to keyboard).

My Play and Sing course teaches a number of songs in this category, and the first three lessons of Pop Piano Accompaniment focus solely on the two progressions.

What makes the Wikipedia list especially useful is that you can sort it according to Title, Artist, Year, or Progression. So if you’re looking for, say, a song by Beyonce, just click the “Artist” heading and two songs come up under her name. (Including If I Were A Boy, for which I provide keyboard styles in Pop Piano Accompaniment.)

For those of you who subscribe to my courses (not to mention all you others), this list just may come in handy. Oh—and if you haven’t seen it, check out this highly entertaining video featuring a comic medley of many of these songs. Enjoy!

“I scrolled through so many videos before this on ‘wrist movement while playing’ before I came across your video and I wish I had found yours first! Thank you for explaining this so simply and humbly! It really made sense!”

It seems so obvious: we play the piano not just with our fingers, but with our wrists, arms, and entire body. What’s more, if we’re interested in learning to play without tension, yet with precise control over dynamics (volume), it makes sense to let gravity do the work, since nature provides all the downward force we need, in perfectly predictable increments.

I talk about all this in more detail here.

Now some of you, I suspect, may come to my courses simply to learn what notes to play, as if learning to play the piano is like learning to type: just show me where to put my fingers, please! And my courses do cover that aspect in detail, through my focus on chords and chord theory.

But what has always excited me about DoctorKeys is that I don’t just show you what to play, I teach you how to play. I help you build the sort of technical foundation that will enable you, ultimately, to move in any direction—whether that be the latest sounds from today’s artists and songwriters, or the classics as penned by Bach, Beethoven, and others of that ilk.

So why am I drawing your attention to the Whole Body tutorial now?  The reason is its (questionable) placement within the course. You see, when I first uploaded it to Play & Sing, I had a choice to make. (The lesson is in two parts, by the way, only the first of which is available for free on YouTube.) Where should I place it in the sequence of lessons? For a while, that was easy. It went at the top, since you need to develop the right habits from the very first time you touch the instrument.

But later, after adding the 2-part tutorial called “Playing Your First Piece,” I decided that “Piano Technique, A Whole Body Approach” was redundant, since much of its material is explained in the newer video. So I moved it to the bottom of the page, under the heading “Free Bonus Lessons For Subscribers.”

But I sometimes wonder if that was the right move. Certainly, this hasn’t been a major mistake, since ecstatic reviews for the course keep pouring in.

But I do suspect that subscribers might be well-advised to view the original video as they’re getting started. Because it does go into greater detail about arm weight, gravity, and certain trouble-shooting aspects that aren’t covered in “Playing Your First Piece.”

The choice, ultimately, is yours. But whatever you decide, promise me that you’ll begin your Play & Sing adventure by reading the Play & Sing course guide, OK? Many of the questions I receive from subscribers arise because they’re not following the lessons in sequence, perhaps thinking that what I’ve created is an assortment of random lessons, rather than a step-by-step course developed through teaching hundreds of private students over the years.

So do follow it in order, please. And enjoy!

I’ve said it elsewhere and it’s worth repeating: there’s a huge difference between singing a song in a key that sort of works, and singing it in the key that brings out the best in your voice. Clearly, you want to spend most of your time singing notes that are comfortably within your range—not too high or low.

But often (I see this frequently with my own private students) we’re lazy about finding that ideal key. Or maybe we think it’s too hard a task, or that transposing the accompaniment is more effort than it’s worth.

I assure you, it is worth the effort, and I speak from personal experience. Because often, after spending weeks, months—even years—performing a song in one key, transposing (shifting) it to another key has inspired me in ways I hadn’t expected. Suddenly, it’s like: “Hmmm… I’m a better singer than I thought!” Or: “I had no idea this song could work so well for me!”

Now having said that, I need to clear up a common misconception. There’s no such thing as your best key in general—that one magic key that works in every situation.

Nope, songs are different. The right key for you with regard to one song, may be the worst when applied to another. And because of the importance of this subject, I provide tools and tutorials in my two courses to help you with it. I’ll point you towards some of them as we proceed.

Getting to know your voice.

To find your best key for a given song, you need to know two things: your own vocal range, and the range of the song in question.

So if you’ve never given much thought to point number one, try this experiment. Sing a scale, starting with a note (played on your instrument) that’s comfortably in your range. You know: do re mi fa so la ti do.

Can you get from first note to last? (Do up to do.) Can you sing even higher? If so, jot down precisely how high you can go. And take note also of how high you can sing comfortably. Because the very highest and lowest pitches you can reach, may not be notes you want to actually put to use while performing. It’s no fun straining, or singing pitches that end up as mere croaks or squeaks.

After singing the scale in question, try singing downwards from where you just began, and similarly ponder the lower part of your range.

OK—now you know a bit about your voice, and you’re ready to look at some songs.

Tessitura

Now there’s a word you may not have used in a while. It’s Italian (as so many musical terms are), and speaks to a vital concept: while singing a given song, the tessitura is the range of pitches where you will spend most of your time.

For although you’ll want to know the highest and lowest notes the composer uses, those extremes may be used only once or twice—and perhaps in ways that can be worked around. (Though not necessarily. The highest note, for example, may be an essential ingredient of the song’s structure, not to be messed with. To find the truth of the matter for each song you sing, you’ll need to experiment.)

The tessitura, on the other hand, is fixed. It’s essential. And it’s where you’ll be “living” for as long as the song lasts, so by all means, make sure you’re happy there.

How Do Re Mi can help.

Having the melody of a song written out can be helpful, though it’s by no means essential. As I’m looking over the sheet music for something I want to sing, I’ll mark the highest and lowest notes, and also try to get a feel for the tessitura.

And how do I label those pitches? With one of my favorite tools: solfege. (Pronounced: soul-fedge.) That’s the do re mi system we all know from The Sound of Music, though you can use numbers just as well: do = 1 (for the first note of the scale), re = 2, etc.

Happily, solfege is perfect for this task. Because if, for example, the highest note of a given song is mi (or 3), all I have to do is look for the 3rd note of a scale I want to check out as a candidate for singing, and see if it’s in my range. Remember, “scale” is synonymous with “key” in this context. So If I’m singing in the key of B flat, for example, I’m using the notes of the B flat scale, and mi would be D.

At the same time, solfege tells you what note to start singing on in any key, so you can experiment. For example, Amazing Grace starts on so (5). In the key of C, then, I would start singing on G. In the key of F, the melody would begin on C. And so on.

Now usually, I don’t have sheet music for songs I want to learn, just lyrics and chords (as obtainable for free on Ultimate Guitar.com, for example.). In that case, I might listen to a YouTube performance. I can then pick out the tune by ear on the piano, while taking note of high and low pitches, and tessitura—and jotting all this info down in solfege.

Tutorials to help you transpose the accompaniment.

Having gathered this information, the next step is to experiment—to actually sing the song in various keys, all the ways through (with the exception, perhaps, of sections that repeat.) If the song is short, this can be an easy task. If longer, the job gets more complicated.

In which case, since you’ll probably be serving as your own accompanist, it can be helpful to provide yourself with a simple keyboard backup in each key you want to try out. It doesn’t have to be a rich or detailed arrangement. You just need to plunk down some of the basic chords to keep yourself on track, and on pitch.

In Play and Sing, and Pop Piano Accompaniment, I provide tools and tutorials to help you as you learn to transpose.

Looking down the list of lessons for Play and Sing, you’ll find a tutorial called: How to Transpose a Song Using Numbers. The numbers in question are often written as Roman numerals, and serve the same function with regard to chords, that the do-re-mi syllables serve for pitches: they provide a universal way of labelling them that applies to every key.

The list of lessons for Pop Piano Accompaniment includes many tutorials that explore transposition in depth, from a variety of angles:

• Lessons 4 and 5 teach you to build—and help you to practice—the most common chord types in any key.

• Lesson 6, on the Circle of 5ths, gives you a foundation in understanding how keys work, and the larger chain, so to speak, in which each key is a link.

• Lesson 9, How to Play a Song in Any Key (Transposing Made Easier), shows you not just one, but four ways to transpose. (Teaser: one involves visiting a website that does much of the work for you, for free.)

Even lessons 1, 2 and 3 are worth mentioning. By focusing on some great songs that use a single progression (chord sequence)—I-V-vi-IV—they can make practicing transposition fun.

Bottom line, folks.

As you probably know, my courses teach you to be your own accompanist. And one of the benefits you’ll enjoy is being able to create arrangements in keys that showcase your voice at its best.

So don’t fall into the trap of following the path of least resistance. Take the time to discover, for each song you sing, what that ideal key is. You may end up with a whole new take on how much fun singing and playing can be.

Get started playing your favorite songs with this jam-packed video. You’ll learn the basic chords (I, IV, and V) at the heart of countless tunes, how to arrange (invert) them for maximum effect, and how to make it all come alive with rhythm and bass line. Virtually a complete course in one crystal-clear tutorial.

Starting Monday July 9th, you’ll find it here.

Secondly, as you may know, I’m forever stressing the importance of developing your ear. (As I do here, for example.) And while there are many ear training resources to be found online, perhaps none is as extensive as Musical U. The site offers a variety of strategies, including the use of solfege, the do-re-mi system familiar to anyone who’s ever seen The Sound of Music.

Solfege (also known as solf-fa) is an approach that has proven immensely useful to me, to my private students, and to countless other budding musicians over the past thousand years. (Yep—really that long.) It focuses on the “gravitational force” exerted by do (the tonic or keynote) over other notes in the scale, and helps you to recognize all the tones you hear by sensing their “need” or “desire” to resolve to do.

In the coming months, I plan to upload my own tutorials combining ear training, improv, and piano technique—a potent combination indeed.

Finally, I’ve recently discovered a free music notation application called Musescore. One of my students mentioned it, and the timing was perfect because I was in need of upgrading my ancient version of Sibelius, the industry-standard software I’ve been using for many years for creating musical scores, but which will now cost me a pretty penny to keep using.

To my surprise, Musescore—which, I repeat, is free—is much more than a toy. I’ve now composed a piano piece on it, and am using the program, at least for now, for a variety of other tasks as well. While not quite up to the standards of Sibelius in every way, there’s no question Musescore can create scores that look just as professional.

Musescore’s easy availability is also encouraging me to incorporate it into my students’ lessons. It’s a great tool for helping people learn to transcribe music—that is, learning to notate recordings by ear. Transcription is an exercise universally recognized as one of the best ways to train your ear.

Naturally, learning to use Musescore also improves one’s music reading, and it can help to make the process of learning to compose easier and more fun (not to mention cheaper).

I’m glad I found it!

My piano teacher has been complaining that I bounce my wrist a lot when I do scales… but you are suggesting raising the wrist and letting it drop so that the wrist and arm is parallel to floor which makes sense. When I asked what is wrong with bouncing the wrist, she said that it may slow me down when I want to play faster…. can you tell me what your thoughts are? i am really struggling with proper technique.

This is a frequent and understandable source of confusion. So here are my thoughts.

When you play scales rapidly, there’s no advantage to—or indeed time for—raising and lowering your wrists.

But in slower passages, at the ends of phrases, when playing chords—in such situations a loose and flexing wrist is a real asset. It helps you play in a relaxed manner, with rhythm that’s precise and exciting, and fine dynamic (loud-soft) control.

In general, a relaxed wrist is a cornerstone of great piano technique. But as the tempo quickens, the bounce—the outward visible sign of your relaxation—lessens, and may disappear entirely.

Every musical passage is unique, and these things have to be seen and experienced to be fully understood. For the songs and videos I present in Play & Sing, a loose, bouncing, wrist is perfect. I feel that it makes sense to begin by mastering the motions of the larger muscles, before playing passages, like rapid scales, that place great demands on the smaller muscles (the fingers).

See also this post for my thoughts on beginners and scales.

I hope this helps a bit!

I’m trying to learn how to play the piano by ear for fun and enjoyment, and although I know how very important it is to learn scales, my question is: Does one learn the scales (all 12) so that they’re so ingrained in your brain that your fingers know exactly where to go when forming chords to play songs? All the videos and info that I’ve watched and read, push ‘learning all the scales’ so much, that I’m beginning to get paranoid about them.

Great question! I’ll bet other readers are wondering the same thing. So here are my thoughts on the matter.

As a result of teaching hundreds of private students, and thousands more through my video tutorials, I’m convinced of this basic premise: one of the best ways to get started at the piano—if not the best way—is learning to accompany your own singing. For this approach, the beginner needs:

• Knowledge of a few simple chords.
• Knowing how to use your body—particularly wrists, fingers, and arms—in the most effective and relaxed manner possible. You want to form great technical habits from the start.

This is is why, as I teach beginners, I introduce chord exercises (rather than scales) that accomplish both goals at the same time. To see this in action, watch this video.

I introduce this little piece at the very first lesson, along with a separate exercise, involving chord inversions, that enables the student to use chords in the context of a basic accompaniment.

Then, at the second lesson, the student is able to tackle a genuine piano/vocal arrangement.

Do you notice I’ve said nothing, so far, about scales? That’s for two reasons:

• We accompany songs with chords, not scales. So why not cut to the chase and get right to work on mastering chords? (Many students of classical piano will attest to the fact that’s it’s possible to practice scales for years without the least understanding of chords.)

• To play scales properly is more difficult than playing chords. If you approach scales too soon, you can easily develop tension in your wrists—a habit that will be hard to break.

Now, having said all this, scales are important. And I sometimes discuss them, even in the first few lessons. But at this early stage, I would never ask a student to practice all twelve scales with proper fingering.

At first, when I discuss scales, it’s to show how chords derive from scales. In this way, beginners learn to build chords in any key, without having to resort to a reference.

In addition, understanding the major scale—which is essentially a pattern of whole and half steps—sheds light on what it means to play “in the key of c, or g, or f” and so on. This is covered in the first few lessons, without the need for learning to play scales beautifully.

As the months go by, my students eventually do practice scales. But this happens on a different schedule, and in different ways, for individual students, depending on their needs and goals.

Make sense? If so, you’ll now understand why, in my tutorials on basic piano accompaniment, the primary focus is on mastering chords.

Happily, over the years, my interest in music persisted, and I thrived despite what I now see as a less-than-ideal start. But how I envied those who could improvise, or spontaneously play by ear their own versions of familiar songs. Many of them had much less training than I (with my studies at Juilliard, and my later Bachelor in Music degree).

For me, improvisation was the Holy Grail—something I longed for, but had no idea how to approach.

It wasn’t until I graduated from college that I began to understand how improvisers work their magic. Largely through arpeggiating (breaking up) the chords in my favorite Beatles tunes, I discovered how easy it can be to get started with this formerly mysterious skill, and how much fun it is. (Stay tuned for my tutorials on the subject.) Over the years, I kept adding new strategies and techniques, and gradually, I became a bona fide member of a club that had once seemed hopelessly out of reach.

Recently, I stumbled on a set of practice guidelines I wrote for my own use in the 1990’s, a period notable for some pretty thrilling breakthroughs. I had titled this list my “Improv Manifesto,” and if that sounds strange, it’s because learning to improvise transformed my musical life, and with this list I was affirming my commitment to the insights and attitudes that, at long last, were making it possible.

Perhaps none of the points you’re about to read is more important than the first, a reminder that my reasons for playing and creating go deeper than my professional involvement. Like many of these principles, it’s relevant not just to improvising, but to all our music-making.

IMPROV MANIFESTO

• My primary purpose in making music is the joy of expressing myself.  I need to experience, on a regular basis, the vibrant inner world that music allows me to enter.

From this perspective, absolutely no standards, judgements, or comparisons are applicable.  I make music because I love to do it.

• I know that whenever I’m making music, I’m improvising.  The question is: to what degree, and within what parameters, do I wish to improvise at this moment?

• Developmentally, there is no substitute for practice that emphasizes the  improvisational aspects of playing.  Stretching myself as an improviser helps me to achieve greater expressiveness and confidence in all my playing.

• I learn to improvise in one way only: by improvising.

• I learn to improvise by improvising regularly, for extended periods.

• I allow and encourage myself to feel deeply as I play, and my improvisation is the expression of that feeling.

• My body moves as I play, and my improvisation arises from that dance.

• I sing inwardly, and my playing is the externalization of that inner voice.  I continually strive to develop my ear so that I may more accurately reproduce what I hear.

• I allow rhythmic flow. As I practice, I find just the right challenge, addition, level of difficulty, or tempo—the precise step, in other words—that enables me to play with continuity.

• I allow ease.   At each session, I discover what I need to do‚ or not do, in order to improvise playfully, without struggle, from the heart.  I know that I’m not really expressing myself as long as I’m working.

I allow myself to enjoy what I can do at this moment.

• I will not make the mistake of thinking that music needs to be difficult or sophisticated in order to be expressive.  I remember the power and beauty of silence and simplicity.

• I continually refresh, renew, and strengthen my abilities by experimenting and adopting fresh perspectives.  This might mean learning a new song, chord, style, groove, scale, or a thousand other possibilities.

• I listen to the music of other musicians for ideas and inspiration.

• I listen to what other musicians have to say—how they learned to improvise, what their approach is, and so on.  But I don’t become hypnotized by any method or person.  I know that what works for you may not work for me, and what worked for me yesterday may not work today.

I am continually developing my own style of learning.

• Any music that can be heard or imagined can be improvised, and all styles are equally valid.  I embrace my own culture, time, and place, but I look beyond it, too, and ask myself:  What music moves and excites me now?

I develop my own musical language and means of expression.

• When (and if) I wish to share my musical gifts, I find ways to do so that feel good to me.

• I discover how music fits into my life.  How much energy can I devote to music while maintaining harmony and balance within the larger picture that is my whole life?

• I pause frequently during my musical activities, release all my striving, and allow my breathing to assume its natural rhythm and depth.  In this way, I continually re-connect with my deepest inner guidance.

If not, it’s probably because you haven’t yet learned how helpful this little device can be.

Starting with the most basic of the metronome’s functions, here’s what I mean:

1. It can help you learn to play in time.

Pianists have a reputation for terrible timing. Do you know why? It’s because we so often play by ourselves.

If your instrument is guitar, flute, violin—just about anything besides keyboard—chances are you often jam with other musicians. Maybe you even play in a band or orchestra.

But we pianists like to think of ourselves as the orchestra. (And given our instrument’s capacity for handling both melody and harmony, that’s understandable.) The problem is, while putting on a one-man show, we have no external frame of reference.

Rhythmically, there’s no one around to keep us honest, to keep us steady.

That’s where the metronome shines.

2. It can remind you where you’re slowing down.

Consider this common scenario: at her lesson, a student will play for me a piece she’s been practicing for weeks. And I’ll say: are you slowing down in this measure on purpose? And she’ll look at me with a puzzled expression.

Get it? Since the passage is hard, every time she reaches that spot, she slows down. And by now, she’s so used to hearing a change in tempo, it actually sounds right to her.

So I turn the metronome on, she plays again, and the truth dawns: Ahh. I see. I do slow down.

So give your playing the metronome test. On a given song, if it’s easy to play with the ticker ticking, you may not need it.

3. It can help you practice at a slow tempo.

You’ve probably discovered the value of slow practice. If not, you need to. After all, to practice means to play a given passage repeatedly, and to play it well. Otherwise you’re just reinforcing mistakes. And to play a difficult part correctly from the start, usually requires you to play it slowly—or even very, very, slowly.

But here’s the thing. It’s tricky to play a song in slow motion, because you’re accustomed to hearing it up to tempo. And what you hear inwardly as you practice, will keep pulling you like gravity, trying to get you to match that familiar feel.

So this is where the metronome comes in. It doesn’t let you speed up. It keeps you at the slow tempo you’ve set. And by so doing, it helps you to practice just the right notes (and rhythms, dynamics, phrasing, and so forth.)

4. It can help you gradually increase the tempo.

Once you can play a piece slowly, it’s time to begin working it up to tempo. And that’s best handled in stages, increasing the level of difficulty little by little. With its precise markings, the metronome makes it easy to keep track of  where you are tempo-wise, so you can move up the ladder incrementally.

This function is especially handy when practicing exercises. Like an athlete motivated by the thrill of achieving his fastest time or highest jump, the student who practices exercises with the help of a metronome, may find his practice a lot more fun.

5. It can help you find—or remember—exactly the right tempo.

I don’t know about you, but I find there’s a huge difference between playing a song at a reasonably suitable pace, and playing it at the precise speed that brings out what I most love about it. If you look at my sheet music, you might see, for example: “7.27.17: 138 for the quarter note.”

That means that on that day, playing the piece at 138, it felt wonderful. At the time, the effect produced by that tempo may even have come as a major revelation to me.

Now admittedly, over the years, my interpretations may change.  But it’s amazing how often I’ll find myself playing a piece at such and such a tempo, and then discover that 20 years earlier, I settled on exactly the same feel. So sometimes, when playing an old favorite, it’s a time-saver to see an ideal tempo written down, instead of having to figure it out all over again.

So there you have some of my favorite ways of using this ancient and rightfully ubiquitous device.

By the way, my own metronome is a Wittner MT-50. It’s loud, inexpensive, and has survived at least a thousand drops onto a very hard floor.

Let the ticking begin!