Your Friend, the Metronome (Guitar Lesson)
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Your Friend, the Metronome
Jim Deeming discusses how to use a metronome for practice, skill building, and speed building.
Taught by Jim Deeming in Basic Guitar with Jim seriesLength: 24:02Difficulty: 1.0 of 5
Video Subtitles / Captions
Supplemental Learning Material
Basic Guitar with Jim
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsFingerstyle master Jim Deeming teaches you the basics of guitar playing. With over 30 years of experience teaching and playing, Jim will definitely start you in the right direction. This is a great series for beginners and guitarists looking to refresh their knowledge.
Lesson 1
Introduction Lesson
In this short lesson, Jim Deeming will introduce himself and talk about his upcoming lessons.
Length: 6:12 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Choosing a Guitar
Jim gives his thoughts on purchasing your first guitar.
Length: 7:09 Difficulty: 0.5 Members OnlyLesson 3
Goal Setting
Jim discusses the importance of setting goals. He provides some tips that will help steer your practicing in the right direction.
Length: 11:00 Difficulty: 0.5 FREE
Changing the Strings
Jim Deeming walks you through the process of changing your strings. He gives some excellent tips on this important process.
Length: 41:09 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Meet Your New Guitar
Jim introduces proper playing technique. Then, he explains how to play your first chord.
Length: 52:24 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Learning More Chords
Jim teaches you the 3 primary chords in G major. He also explains how chords relate to specific keys. A great lesson!
Length: 39:15 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Right Hand Revisited
Jim discusses a plethora of right hand techniques that are essential to guitar playing.
Length: 35:19 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
New Chords and Keys
This lesson provides additional information about chords and keys.
Length: 19:08 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Let's Play
This lesson is all about playing. Jim will start you off playing a song. You will have the opportunity to play along with him.
Length: 20:10 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Alternating Bass and Chords
Jim teaches you a few more commonly used chords. Then, he discusses a technique known as the alternating bass line.
Length: 40:54 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
A Shape Chords
Jim covers all possible fingering options pertaining to the basic open A chord shape.
Length: 17:42 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Basic Guitar Checkup
Jim talks about the future of his Phase 1 guitar series and where to go from here.
Length: 4:18 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Notes, Scales and Theory
Jim delves into basic music theory. He starts from square one in this lesson.
Length: 29:00 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Chord Fiesta
Jim Deeming invites you to a veritable chord fiesta. He demonstrates common dominant and minor chord shapes.
Length: 43:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Movable Chords
This lesson is all about movable chords. Learn the importance of barre chords and other movable shapes.
Length: 40:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Proper Practicing
Jim Deeming explains how to create a productive practice routine. Make sure you aren't wasting needless time!
Length: 30:00 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
The Pinky Anchor
Many guitarists use their pinky as an anchor. Jim explains the pros and cons of this technique.
Length: 9:00 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Palm Muting
Jim discusses an important technique--palm muting. He explains how palm muting is used by flatpickers and fingerstyle players.
Length: 7:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Reading Tablature
Jim Deeming covers the basics of reading guitar tablature. Knowledge of tablature will help with JamPlay lessons as well as learning your favorite songs.
Length: 21:12 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Tuning Extravaganza
Jim explains various tuning methods. He provides useful tips and tricks that will ensure that your guitar is sounding its best.
Length: 31:45 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Let's Play: "Red River Valley"
Jim is back with another "let's play" style lesson. He teaches the classic song "Red River Valley" and encourages you to play along.
Length: 52:38 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Drop D Tuning
Jim Deeming introduces drop D tuning. Drop D is a popular alternate tuning used in many styles of music including rock, fingerstyle and blues.
Length: 25:25 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Let's Play: "Wayfaring Stranger"
Jim Deeming breaks down the song sections to the classic tune "Wayfaring Stranger".
Length: 29:20 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
More On Drop D
Jim Deeming takes another, more focused look at drop D tuning.
Length: 6:27 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Your Friend, the Metronome
Jim Deeming discusses how to use a metronome for practice, skill building, and speed building.
Length: 24:02 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
About Jim Deeming
View Full Biography
Jim Deeming got his first guitar when he was only six years old. His Dad was taking fingerpicking lessons, and Jim wanted to be just like him. The Mel Bay books didn't last very long before he strapped on a thumb pick and added the Chet part to Red River Valley so it sounded better.
Most of Jim's early learning was by ear. With unlimited access to his Dad's collection of Chet Atkins albums, he spent countless hours decoding his favorite songs. They were never "right" until they sounded just like Chet. Around the age of 12, Jim heard Jerry Reed for the first time and just knew he had to be able to make that "Alabama Wild Man" sound. The styles of Chet & Jerry always have been a big influence on his playing.
More recently he has pursued arrangements by Tommy Emmanuel and Doyle Dykes, in addition to creating some of his own and writing originals.
Jim has performed in front of a variety of audiences, including concerts, competitions, weddings and the like, but playing at church has always been a mainstay. Whether playing in worship bands or guitar solos, gospel music is deep in his roots and is also the driving theme behind his debut CD release, titled "First Fruits".
Jim has been playing for about 38 years. He also has taught private lessons in the past but believes JamPlay.com is an exciting and better venue with many advantages over the traditional method of weekly 30 minute sessions.
Jim lives in Berthoud, Colorado with his wife, Linda, and their four children. Although he still has a "day job", he is actively performing and is already back in the studio working on the next CD. If you wonder how he finds time, look no further than the back seat of his truck where he keeps a "travel guitar" to take advantage of any practice or song-writing opportunities he can get.
The opening song you hear in Jim's introductory JamPlay video is called, "A Pick In My Pocket". It's an original tune, written in memory of Jim's father who told him early on he should always keep a pick in his pocket in case he ever met Chet Atkins and got the chance to play for him. That song is slated to be the title track for his next CD, which will feature several more originals plus some of his favorite covers of Chet and Jerry arrangements.
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Just wanted to say thank you for the beginner course Jim.. I'm sure I'll need to go back through one or two things and make sure I have it all down, but I'm officially a graduate. Great course Jim.. THANK YOU!!
thanks Jim for the lessons . its been a great beginner cores
I don't want to be too negative, but lesson 25 and we're just learning how to use a metronome?! Seems like this should have been lesson 3?
Boiling frogs in a pot?! You're sick Jim! I need to get an even tempo, I didn't realize how off I was until I watched this lesson. Thanks for the awesome teaching...and don't worry, I think frogs are tasty, too!
Great lesson. Thanks.
Nice easy laid back lesson stressing the importance of a Metronome. Thanks Jim love your style when putting it across.
You are a great teacher Jim, I love your lessons
excellent excellent lots of really good stuff with founation work like this you could not help to improve Thanks!!
where can i learn to play my favourite song?
how to use metronome 4/4 count use full coards c f g ect? how do i do that?
Couldnt get supplemental music
For fingerstyle guitar a metronome is all well and good but if you are a solo performer unless you use a visual metronome using a metronome is a great tool for practice but live you will change time unless you have a beat in the background constantly watch Tommy Emmanuel or the old Jerry Reed stuff and they change temps all the time.. for practice good for live you need a visual metronome
do you use the metronome at the same time you are playing a song?if so how do you hear both?
When printing the Supplement Content it comes out so small it's hard to read.
"...that could kill you, playing at that speed..." lol! I love Jim.
Really good lesson, thanks Jim
i love the lesson on metronome thank
Thank you so much for posting this lesson! It was very informative!
Thanks for another great lesson Jim. In defence of mechanical metronomes, they often do have a big metal bell inside which makes a loud CLANG, tick, tick, tick, in 2/4 3/4 4/4 etc. Much easier to hear than the electronics, and the big arm is also a bigger visual cue. They rock!
Thank you for explaining.
Love your lessons but can't find the sheet music you were talking about
Click the "supplemental content" tab below the video.
Hi Jim, just started your course, excellent. What are the cord progression in Lesson 25 @ 20:05 min, the funky part? Thanks a lot
There is no sheet music in the Supplemental as indicated in the lesson, thank you.
Excellent lesson Jim. I didn't realize I needed a refresher on how to properly use this most useful tool. No sheet music in the Supplemental, just chords.
Great lesson Jim
Thanks Jim This will help greatly
Thanks Jim.
You are cool and make things clear. Thanks!