Usage
Metronomes may be used by musicians when practicing in order to maintain a constant tempo; by adjusting the metronome, facility can be achieved at varying tempi. Even in pieces that do not require a strictly constant tempo (such as in the case of rubato), a metronome "marking" is sometimes given by the composer to give an indication of the general tempo intended, found in the score at the beginning of a piece or movement thereof.
Tempo is almost always measured in beats per minute (BPM); metronomes can be set to variable tempi, usually ranging from 40 to 208 BPM; another marking denoting metronome tempi is M.M. (or MM), or Mälzel's Metronome. The notation M.M. is often followed by a numeric value indicating the tempo, as in M.M. = 60.
More specific uses are given below:
- Learning consistency of tempo and rhythmic beats
- Practicing technique (during drills: setting the metronome progressively to higher speeds; or during performance: exposing slow-downs due to technical difficulties)
- Sheetmusic often has metronome-markings, that show the speed at which the work should be played
- Click tracks: Musicians can separately play the different parts of a word, according to a synchronized click-track (using headphones); and audio-engineers then mix the tracks together, synchronizing the parts at the clicks.
- Backing tracks are often created with electronic synthesisers and inherently adhere to strict beats
Read more about this topic: Metronome
Famous quotes containing the word usage:
“Girls who put out are tramps. Girls who don’t are ladies. This is, however, a rather archaic usage of the word. Should one of you boys happen upon a girl who doesn’t put out, do not jump to the conclusion that you have found a lady. What you have probably found is a lesbian.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1951)
“I am using it [the word ‘perceive’] here in such a way that to say of an object that it is perceived does not entail saying that it exists in any sense at all. And this is a perfectly correct and familiar usage of the word.”
—A.J. (Alfred Jules)
“...Often the accurate answer to a usage question begins, “It depends.” And what it depends on most often is where you are, who you are, who your listeners or readers are, and what your purpose in speaking or writing is.”
—Kenneth G. Wilson (b. 1923)