Speeding up step by step: from slow to full tempo
Playing a phrase slowly and cleanly, then a little faster, is one of the most reliable ways to get it up to speed. This article explains the idea, how far to slow down, and how to let Loop Trainer raise the tempo for you.
Why speed up gradually
When you try a phrase at full speed before your hands know it, you repeat mistakes as often as the right notes. Played slowly, every repetition is clean. Raising the tempo in small steps keeps it clean while the speed comes up. A step of a few percent is small enough that each pass feels almost the same as the last one.
What tempo you hear at each speed
The speed in Loop Trainer is a percentage of the original. To know the tempo you are actually playing at, multiply the song's BPM by the speed:
| Song BPM | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 63 | 70 |
| 90 | 45 | 54 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 90 |
| 100 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 |
| 120 | 60 | 72 | 84 | 96 | 108 | 120 |
| 140 | 70 | 84 | 98 | 112 | 126 | 140 |
| 160 | 80 | 96 | 112 | 128 | 144 | 160 |
| 180 | 90 | 108 | 126 | 144 | 162 | 180 |
The BPM you hear at each speed (rounded). The count-in clicks at this tempo too, and the app shows it next to the time (♩ ≈ 84 (original 120) at 70%).
If you practise with a metronome as well, this is the number to set. A good place to start is the speed where you can play the phrase three times in a row without a mistake.
Letting the app speed up on every loop
Turn on Speed up on every loop and set three numbers:
- Start at – the speed of the first pass (for example 70%).
- Each loop – how much faster each pass is (for example +2%).
- Up to – where it stops (for example 100%). After that, the loop keeps playing at that speed.
Each time you play from the start of the loop, it starts again from the first speed. With a 4-bar loop at 120 BPM (8 seconds at 100%), going from 70% to 100% takes:
| Each loop | Passes to 100% | Time | Speed of each pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1% | 31 | 4:55 | 70, 71, 72, 73, … 100% |
| +2% | 16 | 2:32 | 70, 72, 74, 76, … 100% |
| +3% | 11 | 1:45 | 70, 73, 76, 79, … 100% |
| +5% | 7 | 1:07 | 70, 75, 80, 85, … 100% |
Times are for the passes only, without a count-in.
+2% is a good default: it reaches full speed in 16 passes, about 2:32, short enough to repeat a few times in one practice session. Use +1% for a phrase that is still shaky, and +5% to warm up on a phrase you already know.
Turn on the count-in as well when you play along: the clicks before each pass follow the new speed, so you always know the tempo of the next pass.
A practice plan
- Loop one or two bars. Find the speed where you can play it cleanly (often 70% or less; the lowest is 50%).
- Set Start at to that speed, Each loop to +2%, and Up to to 100%. Play along until you reach the top.
- If you start making mistakes, stop, and set Up to to the speed where it was still clean. Next time, start from there.
- When it is clean at 100%, try Up to 105% or 110% for a few passes. Afterwards the real tempo feels easy.
- Join it with the next phrase and repeat with a longer loop.