My nine-year-old daughter's cello teacher has asked her to practise playing different note values with a metronome. The problem is when I switch the metronome on she becomes mesmerised by it and is incapable of actually starting to play. I have an old fashioned mechanical one so I put a folder in front of it to hide it (I could see her eyes moving from side to side following it as if it was going to hypnotise her) but it didn't make much difference (except for her keeping her head still). I told her to try counting "one, two, three, four" in time and then play but she couldn't even do that - she just kept saying I don't know when to start.

Any suggestions?

Can she count along with the pulse felt in her wrist? (some kids don't like doing this, but it is good for 'feeling' regularity)

Some of the girls I teach have found it difficult as there is no accent to indicate when 1 is. I try and get around this by counting a bar or two with them first so they can feel the beat.

Try counting along with the (hidden) metronome with her, and get her to say with you first. Then you count and she claps, then vice versa. Next, she can play while you count or clap. Lastly she believes the metronome can keep her in time just as well as another person can and does it alone!

Maybe

Try one of the modern electronic metronomes. You can set an accent on beat 1, however many beats there are in a bar.

Ann

Can she just clap or walk (exaggeratedly) in time to it without worrying about counting? Or how about finding a piece of music with a strong beat (like Radetsky's March) and getting her to clap along to it (clap with her to start with) then finding the speed on a metronome and getting the metronome to 'play' with the music, still clapping along, and then try dropping the music? Just an idea........then again if you just clap and count along with her and the metrnome on its own maybe she'll get the hang of it after a while and you can drop out. The metronome is a very bare sound so that's why I was wondering if she could clap along in time to music first.....

I've tried using my electronic metronome with a few pupils recently, both adults and children, without any success whatsover. I think it's because I'm there - metronomes are reallyfor solitary practice. They just don't seem to be able to listen to the metronome, read the music and play the right notes in time with the metronome all at the same time while being observed - it's just too much for their brains.

Violinia