Metronome helps; but why?
SO the past couple days while doing my warmup exercises i used a metronome for my Travis picking thumb warm-up. I do 100 each at 180bpm using 1/4 notes beginning on the 6th string then 5th string and then 4th string. I found that when i use the metronome i make way fewer mistakes vs when i count each measure to 100. Not sure why. I’m not really focusing more; in fact. I may be focusing less and letting my mind wander since I’m not having to keep track of how many I’ve done since the metronome has a bar counter.
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Hmmmm... Interesting @David Lieder. Seems like I've heard of things like this addressed in "The Inner Game of Music" book that I'm always talking about. After we've been practicing something for a long time, focusing on a different aspect (in this case timing) can do something to free things up in our brain. For example, say I've been practicing on alternate picking technique for a long time and I feel like I've hit a brick wall. If I start focusing on timing instead of technique, the technique seems to go on autopilot and get even better.
I usually use that kind of trick when I'm playing live. If I've practices as much as I can, I can sometimes throw caution to the wind with technique and parts and just focus on timing or groove. I find that if I've put in the practice, this can make executing stuff live way better. Probably because I'm not obsessing about the things I normally do when playing whatever song I'm on.