{"id":2511,"date":"2014-09-09T15:34:40","date_gmt":"2014-09-09T20:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/blog\/?p=2511"},"modified":"2025-02-13T04:51:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T10:51:31","slug":"metronome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/metronome\/","title":{"rendered":"Some insights on the history and use of metronome, including a discussion of modern options."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Metronome<\/a><\/p>\n

Irene Gomez
\n( edits J Wunsch)<\/p>\n

Recently, while reading the book \u00a0\u201cL\u2019\u00e9criture du geste\u201d, \u00a0a conversation between pianist C\u00e9cile Gilly with French composer Pierre Boulez, I came across the subject of\u00a0 Tempo.<\/p>\n

In this book, Boulez explained how two composers of the Romantic period, Wagner and Berlioz, had completely different concepts of tempo<\/i> when they were conducting their own works. It was thrilling to discover that while Berlioz was extremely precise over the rhythm, Wagner was more into the practice of having tempo <\/i>follow the musical ideas. This thinking was in accord with his conviction of the importance of bringing the text (poetry), the image, and the music together. (Gesamtkunstwerk).<\/p>\n

This explanation of the practice in that regard of these two great composers and directors of their own music led me to exploring the thoughts of musicians of different times regarding the concept of tempo<\/i>, and how the metronome became such a necessary device for us. The metronome\u2019s use was spurred to open acceptance by Beethoven, recognized as the first composer to specify the tempo marking in a score. \u00a0This happened after the creation around 1815 by Johan Maelzel of an \u201c instrument\/machine <\/i>for the improvement of all Musical performance called \u2018metronome\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

Looking even farther back in history, David Martin in his book \u201cEarly Music\u201d mentioned that in the\u00a0 \u201cPrincipes de Musique\u201d Loulie describes in Paris in 1696, a chronometer Quantz, that he had not seen, and he established that he preferred \u00a0to take the pulse of a healthy man as his standard. This he fixed at eighty beat a minute!<\/p>\n

Additionally the question of being free but recommending to be steady as well, was part of the discussion at that time. (This discussion is still alive!)<\/p>\n

Arnold Dolmetsch in his classic book \u201cThe interpretation of the music of the 17th<\/sup> and 18th<\/sup> centuries\u201d pointed out two opinions:\u00a0 The preface to the first volume of Tocattas of Girolamo Frescobaldi published at Rome in 1614, contains many advises to the reader (player) in which the common denominator is to \u201cleave it to the good taste and fine judgment of the player to regulate the Tempo<\/i>\u201d.\u00a0 And, Thomas Mace, who published in 1676 the book entitled \u201cMusick\u00b4s Monument; or a Remembrance of the Best Practical Musick, both Divine and Civil, that has ever been known to have been in the World\u201d, \u00a0states in some paragraphs: \u201c\u2026you must Know, That although in our First undertaking, we ought to strive for the most Exact Habit of Time-keeping <\/i>that possible we can attain unto (and for severall good\u00a0 Reasons, yet, when we come to be Masters), <\/i>so that we can command all manner of Time at our own Pleasures\u201d.<\/p>\n

Every day, even in our digital era, we musicians still have to deal with the subject of how to approach the right tempo<\/i> in the music we play. Even before learning a piece people now have access on the internet to see or hear many versions of the same piece, each one with at least subtly different tempi. In the case of beginner students this would not be the best reference without the guidance of a teacher. The modern convenience of a metronome allows students and teachers to better communicate on the critical questions of what tempo is best for a particular piece in the hands of a particular player, and to effectively work toward accomplishing that tempo.<\/p>\n

We currently have a wide range of possibilities to choose from in order to have the metronome that best fits our needs.\u00a0 The old pendulum metronome that Beethoven used is now more in the field of charming rarity and instead we can look to reliable options<\/span><\/a> such as the Seiko Quartz Metronome SQ50V, the Sona MM-1000 \/ SM1000, and the Korg KDM2 Digital. The Seiko Quartz is an excellent basic metronome for establishing and guiding tempo, while the Sona MM-1000 \/ SM1000 and the Korg KDM2 Digital also provide beat patterns. These models with beat patterns are very helpful in understanding and refining meters and subdivisions within beats, such as a triplet in one beat. These metronomes also have different tones which help one to better discriminate meters and subdivisions.<\/p>\n

Currently there are also a number of metronome – tuner<\/span><\/a> combinations on the market. Most of these tuners contain a silent metronome that discreetly guides a player with a flashing light.<\/p>\n

Like everything else, the use of metronome does not have to lead to a mechanical interpretation. The use of this device should be conscious, and used when necessary in the process of working a piece, stopping its use when we feel we have established or understood the right tempo or when we finally know the\u00a0 rhythm is in place. This is a sane way to use the metronome while preventing it from leading to a stiff interpretation of the music. \u00a0Tempo<\/i>, as we know, can change through the time, and it is very probable that the Andante in Bach\u2019s time (or in Beethoven\u2019s time!) is not our same Andante. But in spite of that consideration, there is no doubt of the value of having the metronome close when building technique or working to establish accuracy of rhythm.<\/p>\n

Classical guitarist Irene G\u00f3mez regularly contributes to Strings By Mail through her teaching and performance videos as well as articles. She is a Strings By Mail Sponsored Artist, teaches guitar at the National University in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, and performs worldwide.<\/p>\n

Sources mentioned in this article:<\/p>\n

L\u2019ecriture du geste, conversations avec C\u00e9cile Gilly, Gedisa Editorial<\/p>\n

Early Music, David Martin, Oxford University Press (through Jstor)<\/p>\n

The Musical Times, Standley Howell, Musical Times Publications (through Jstor)<\/p>\n

The Interpretation of the Music of the 17th<\/sup> and 18th<\/sup> Centuries, Arnold Dolmetsch, Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola New York<\/p>\n

Items mentioned:<\/p>\n

Seiko Quartz metronome SQ50V<\/a><\/p>\n

Korg KDM2 metronome<\/a><\/p>\n

Sona MM-1000 \/ SM1000<\/a><\/p>\n

Metronome image:<\/p>\n

Metronome – Something about metronomes… they’re reassuring to me. – picture shared from James Lee @ www.jronaldlee.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Irene Gomez ( edits J Wunsch) Recently, while reading the book \u00a0\u201cL\u2019\u00e9criture du geste\u201d, \u00a0a conversation between pianist C\u00e9cile Gilly with French composer Pierre Boulez, I came across the subject of\u00a0 Tempo. In this book, Boulez explained how two composers of the Romantic period, Wagner and Berlioz, had completely different concepts of tempo when they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accessories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2511"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3662,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511\/revisions\/3662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stringsbymail.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}