Repetition is a time honored musical tradition. Do you think that if they only played the "Louie, Louie" riff once it would have come close to being our state song? I think not. So even though I've mentioned my website before, here I go again.

Recently I've done quite a bit of work on the 'Songwriter' section. There are some MP3's of songs I've written which are under consideration for my solo album. There is also the triathlon video music I did last summer and even a few song demos from years ago. You will also find lyrics and commentaries.

On the 'Teacher' pages I’ve added links to student websites. Their websites are one way to put their music out to the world. Let's support their hard work. As always there's a current schedule and back issues of this newsletter.

I hope you'll click on by,

I have such an easy job! Most of my time is spent telling students to slow down. Everyone, myself included, thinks we can go faster than we can. We can't!

There is absolutely no doubt that the way to play well (and fast) is to play slowly so that there is time to think about all the details involved in the music. I find that when a student slows down so they have enough time to think about everything, they can play just fine. What is needed is an objective way to find a proper tempo and be able to repeat it. Enter the Metronome.

First manufactured in 1816 by Johann Maelzel, (see www.franzmfg.com/history.htm) the metronome enables the player to set a desired tempo and play along with the clicks. This not only allows the player to control his tempo but she also learns to play to an external time source. It's sort of like having a drummer except that metronomes are much better behaved! 8)

Bottom line is that it's hard to imagine a student progressing very rapidly without one. The only question remaining is which one should you get?

There is a dizzying array of available metronomes ranging from $6 to $250. Let's talk options. First, forget the wind up ones in the nice wooden cases. They're too big, they're fragile and usually cost too much.

The main thing you want a metronome to be is loud! Any extra bells and whistles are just that. I like the ones that give a solid sounding "tock", not an electronic beep. I like selecting the tempo with a dial rather than by pushbuttons. I'm not crazy about the combination tuner/metronomes although the Sabine MT9000 ($24.95 at Musician's Friend or in stock at Mills Music, Bellevue) is a decent unit.

My top recommendation is the Sabine Zipbeat. It's plenty loud, has a rotary dial and at $18.95 online at Amazon.com or in stock at Mills Music, Bellevue, it's hard to beat. By the way, my students get a 20% discount at Mills Music, Bellevue.

Other options could include a drum machine or the rhythm section of an electronic keyboard. These are a little less portable and somewhat more costly than a plain metronome but it's fun to play to a drum beat.

There is also metronome software available for computers and palm pilots. Finally, digital sequencers like Cakewalk and looping programs such as Acid and FruityLoops let you program your own beats. Maybe we'll chat about those another time.

For now just keep it simple. Learn to play in time all the time and the world will be a brighter place.