Accelerating Tempo - Gradually Faster or Slower

Bounce Metronome Feature:
Pro and Basic version

Youtube Video

Gradually changing tempo

What happens?

The metronome gets gradually faster or slower over any desired number of measures or time in minutes or seconds. 

What is it for?

Great for practising smooth and steady tempo changes.

It's also great for speed drills and practising a passage at a gradually faster tempo.

Note: the Basic version of Bounce Metronome is simpler, without the stepping progression or the scripting or unlimited numbers of tempo zones - all of which are in the Pro version only.

Videos

Where do I find it in Bounce Metronome:

After you install the program, use any of these windows in the Tempo drop down menu

  • SPEED DRILLS . Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 280 simple set up for increasing tempo one step at a time automatically, for speed drills
  • Simpler automatic TEMPO and RHYTHM changes . Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 245  change tempi in any sequence, any number of measures for each tempo and also change time signatures as well if needs be. For instance you can program in all the tempo and rhythm changes in a piece of music - but each section must be a steady tempo,
  • Advanced auto tempo changes with ACCELERATING TEMPI . Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 42. For gradually accelerating or decelerating tempo chanages
  • Advanced auto tempo changes with ADVANCED RHYTHM CHANGES . Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 264. Ullimate in flexibility. Progresses through zones which can be set up to play any rhythm, with accents, mixed note sizes, instrument changes and so on and each can be a steady tempo or a gradually increasing or decreasing tempo

 

Back to tabs menu

Features

You can set the dial to vary the tempo gradually over a number of seconds or minutes. As you play you will see the pointer on the dial gradually move up or down as the tempo changes automatically to play faster or slower as desired, so you can see what tempo you have reached at any time.

You can vary the tempo over a number of measures instead of over a time period, e.g. faster for 8 measures, slower for 8.

You can set any number of tempo zones (changing gradually through any number of different tempi one after another).

If you use the scripting feature you can set up a script with all the tempi and time signatures for an entire piece of music.

Back to tabs menu

Stepping Progression

What this is for

This feature is used for speed drill practices when you are close to what you think is your limit in speed, and then want to go faster.

It helps overcome any "ceiling" to the speed you think you can play. This is a Pro feature. Not in  Bounce Metronome Lite.

How it works

Starting at a comfortable tempo for your piece, the metronome automatically goes gradually faster until you are faster by 2 bpm (say) - then goes back gradually again by 1 bpm. Then gradually forward by 2 again, gradually back by 1, and so on. Sort of 2 steps up 1 step down type approach.

Benefits

In this way as you practise the same section over and over, first you gradually get faster, then you relax from that faster tempo then speed up again and almost imperceptibly you may well find you are playing it faster than you ever thought possible.

You may get a surprise when you look at the dial after a few minutes of stepping progressions.

Back to tabs menu

How does it help?

Speed Drills

This will help you to increase your maximum playing speed by playing along with the gradually increasing tempo near the limits of your capabilities.

Play at any tempo you like, not "locked in"

Playing along with a gradually changing tempo prepares you for playing at any tempo - useful if you have a tendency to get "locked in" to a few fixed tempi for all your pieces.

As well as trying out exercises this way, you could also use it with one of your set pieces to help get out of any tempo "rut" that you might be in.

Professionally smooth gradual tempo changes

It will also help you when you want to practise professionally smooth slow and gradual tempo changes (shown in scores as Ritardando and Accelerando). One of the things that marks out a professional player is that when you want to change tempo gradually, you can do it in a regular way with the utmost smoothness.

Smooth here means that you go through all the in-between tempi on your way to the new faster or slower tempo.

To give a bit of variety there's an option to use a wave type transition (i.e. change tempo imperceptibly at first and also reach the final tempo imperceptibly as well) instead of just a steady increase or decrease in tempo.

Trying out these different methods within Bounce Metronome will help to give you more flexibility as a musician, so that you avoid an accelerando "rut" where each tempo change is approached in an identical way.

Back to tabs menu