Rhythmic Stability and Musicality
Piano music often involves expressive tempo changes – ritardandos, rubato, etc. Ironically, using a metronome can help you execute these musical tempo fluctuations more effectively. How? By strengthening your underlying sense of steady pulse. When you practice a piece with a consistent beat, you learn where the true tempo is, making any intentional slowdowns or speed-ups more controlled. Pianists who practice everything freely without ever using a metronome sometimes develop erratic timing. By contrast, if you’ve trained with a click, you can bend the tempo deliberately and artistically, rather than accidentally breaking it. As one educator notes, if you can’t play something in perfect time, it’s hard to do a convincing rubato or ritardando. So even for expressive classical pieces, practicing with a metronome in the early stages can lay the groundwork for tasteful musicality later.