Musicians, including guitarists like me, are told from their first month of learning their first instrument, to practice with a metronome. A metronome is time keeping utility that, instead of measuring seconds or minutes or hours, measures Beats Per Minute. Learning to play along with a metronome is fine and well, except that it’s incredibly boring to play along to a constant clicking sound.
Beats are Better
So I came up with an idea, “make metronome training fun”, and the only way to do that was to get rid of the metronome. Beats are Better is the result. Drum beats are easier to listen to for long stretches, provide musical context, sound more like songs (music), and are more fun to play along with. The full name of this project is Beats are Better (than a metronome) and that is the point. Musicians who want to work on rhythm training can select a track with a ballpark tempo and perform their drills over the track. It’s like having a personal, steady, tireless drummer at your disposal.
Musicians can perform rhythm drills, chord changes and progressions, or practice vamping in a given key. The tracks can be streamed or downloaded from any major music distribution service. More albums are planned.
If you are a musician who has been avoiding metronome training because it’s boring, give Beats are Better a try. If it helps you, share with a fellow musician. Practice can be hard, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.
