Really well done advice, Mike. These two stick out to me as I have learned these again and again - and this is actively something I practice.
Keeping with Red Haired Boy, I've woodshedded that tune multiple times and have it smooth and clear even as the metronome breaks 120 bpm. After practicing my `clean version' at speed, I'll often drop the metronome to 80-90 bpm to practice variations, improv, and alterations to my usual. I'll play through any ideas multiple times, trying not to change too much all at once [too easy to lose the melody if you replace whole bars of notes] and going through successful ideas multiple times. Provided those ideas work with the melody and aren't just trying to cram excessive amounts of notes in the spaces, I'll increase speed on the metronome slowly to work them up to `usual speed'.
I've worked towards playing phrases and not notes, but once the speed of a song clicks up too high IMO there's not a lot of meaningful improvised composition happening - sure, I can throw a lot of notes out there but the `improv' that people applaud and make my band mates look up in wonder is just about always something I worked up in practice, often over weeks.
I work on timing multiple ways and feel each has a lot to offer.
You summarize the negatives of a metronome well. I do find there's a clarity to working with a metronome in that it's easiest method to identify imperfect timing which is it's strength.
In terms of working improvisations [and fiddle tunes] up to speed I've grown to love the website Strum Machine, which provides simple bass/guitar backup but whose strength lies in the ability to have it increase BPM every repetition of the song by a user-defined amount. In working Jerusalem Ridge up to speed I can start it slower that needed to pick perfectly clean and work it up to the point where I start making mistakes. Really useful for working up songs they play too fast for me at the jam.
I've started using a drum machine with my practice and it's done a lot of good. Being able to accent certain beats helps me move away from the robotic metronomic playing as well as think more about phrases that lead into the next chord as I can put a cowbell/etc to help me locate when to start those phrases. Combined with a looper fpr on the fly bass/guitar backup tracks, I find myself able to `play the changes' so much more. I also find using a drum machine +/or looper will get me back to the practice room a second time on weekends - maybe just to fool around, yet another hour or two of mandolin playing every week is never a negative.
I'll be revisiting your advice Mike, really great post. Also, I'm going to mine that video of Clinch Mountain Backstep for all it's worth, some brilliant ideas there!
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