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Does anyone have serious opinions on praticing with a metronome? Iv'e recently come back to serious drumming and feel my time keeping slips occasionally, (probably an age thing!).
I have tried using an electronic metronome but find the bpm figures confusing when choosing a rythm, can anyone help?
spexman.

My opinion is - use one. I recently started practicing a little more seriously (with a metronome) as well and discovered how good my sense of time really was not.

What exactly do you find confusing about the bpm figures? If you select a tempo of say 60 beats per minute, then the metronome will click once per second. If you are in 4/4 time, each click is a quarter note. if you are in say 6/8, each click is an eighth note. Am I missing the questions or does that help?

No your not missing the point at all, I guess I was just being thick, needless to say I haven't used a metro before!! Your explanation helps a lot, I just can't get my head round the bpm when trying to practice. Do I set a speed for the downbeat or for what i'm playing on the h/h ?   I even find it difficult to sus what bpm another drum riff is when being played on a cd I may be listening to. Thanks for caring enough to reply,

I always ask new students I take if they have a metronome, if not I say get one.

To answer you quetion, set it for the down beat.  If i'm playing a 2/4 or an upbeat tune I usually double the bpm to signify 8th notes instead of quarter notes, it makes it easier to follow.  Works for me ayways.  4/4 tunes I set it for the downbeat.

The main thing is get used to playing with the metronome but not let it become a crutch for you time keeping.

Peter

If you're worried about timing, use a metronome.

The electronic ones are way better than the mechcanical ones.

Don't worry about the BPM.   Just practice what you would ordinarily play in a band.

Do just 15-20 minutes a day, but do it every day.

In a week or two, you'll have a solid handle on where you're timing's at.  Your time will also improve, rapidly.

So, get an electronic one, and a pair of headphones, and go for it.

One other thing.  If you get a drum machine, make sure not to program any "feel" into it.  You want to know where "one" is, not where just to the left of "one" is.

Yeah, ya gotta use a click track.

The settings are a matter of personal preference.  The down beats (half notes) are a good starting point.  You can figure out after a while if you want to double it up or (like me), use whole notes.

As for tempos, you need to experiment and then keep a record of what tempos you want to use.  To figure out the tempo of a song, just count the beats for one minute, and that's your tempo (approximately).  

I greatly prefer a drum machine to a metronome for a number of reasons.

I can program changes between time signatures or between regular time and clave and practice moving back and forth.

For rudiments, I have a click track that gradually accelerates and then slows down, and I play along with that to develop speed.  

The tempo variation is also useful when writing click tracks for songs that are intended to speed up or slow down as they're played.

For learning songs I program a click track that has no detail, and has little cues at the song changes.  If I learn to play a song from memory, using its click track, there's a huge difference in feel the next time I play it with the band.  My confidence and assertiveness go way up.

If you get a drum machine, try to use it as a fancy metronome, not a musical instrument.  Just write click tracks and don't waste time programming actual drum parts.  That's a whole other project.

Most of my opinions on the topic will appear in an article I've written called Studio / Session Drumming (http://community.drummercafe.com/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=23) in the 5-Minute Lesson section of my lounge.

Youve gotta use a metronome!  I have seen my time keeping ability go up dramatically since using one.  At first using one was frustrating, but you will get used to it.

Personally I've found it extremely useful to practice with a metronome.  I find it really helps build your sense of time, so when you play without it, you're not as likely to waver with your time.  Also for singles/doubles etc practice and working on hands in helps if there's a 16th subdivision you can hear to really lock into.  The thing I find with a click is you can really hear if you're not in time with it!  :-[  :)