A metronome is a useful tool for all kinds of instrumentalists and can work wonders for your sense of rhythm. As with any tool, you have to learn how to use it correctly. Even guitarists who have been playing for years can have trouble getting the hang of metronome practice.
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Always know where the beats are in the music you’re playing. If it’s not intuitive, write them in. Sometimes it helps to draw a light pencil line through the TAB or notation where each beat intersects with a note (or tie, or rest)
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If the rhythm of a particular passage is giving you trouble, write in not just the beats, but the subdivisions (that is, & for eighth notes, &a for triplets, e&a for 16th notes)
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Speak aloud or tap the rhythm to that passage before you learn to play it.
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Start playing a difficult rhythm at a very slow tempo so that you really understand the subdivisions. Work up to the ideal tempo little by little, and learn to play the rhythm at various speeds. If you can only play a rhythm at one tempo, you don’t really understand it.
If you’re just starting to use a metronome to help develop your sense of rhythm, try these tips.
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Start simply. Even if you’ve been playing for years and have advanced technique, you may need to play very basic, easy songs when learning to use a metronome. Many self-taught guitarists who play mostly by themselves are in the habit of approximating rhythms, rather than playing them exactly. Metronomes demand precision, which takes patience to develop.
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Start with rhythms that only have you playing on the beats, not in between. Set the metronome on the quarter note and work at strumming (or playing) notes of various durations (whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, dotted-half notes).
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When you start learning to subdivide beats (eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes), use the metronome to help you subdivide at first. Then, without increasing the speed, take away the metronome’s subdivisions and learn to subdivide yourself.
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Remember that if any rhythm gives you trouble, always go back to saying it aloud or tapping it first, and then worry about playing it.
I have several students who have made great strides in their rhythmic understanding in the last couple years. A few have found their own outside resources to help them, and one even worked through a 'Metronome 101' course he found online.
Can you share your experiences in improving your sense of rhythm and/or learning how to work with a metronome? What has helped? What resources do you recommend? Has any particular exercise or series of studies really helped things click? Any words of encouragement for students who are frustrated with the beginning stages of metronome work?
