I emailed Art Verdi (world's fastest drummer record holder WFD) and got good advice.

[hank parks]

Art Verdi gave me some good advice on practicing with a metronome and playing relaxed. He said get a metronome with a tap button and get your tempo without seeing the metronome screen(cover it with tape) this way you won't force a faster tempo than you can play at a relaxed speed. It really works for me. Sometimes i'm embarresed to see the slow speed i'm at.

[Mark Jennings]

That's good advice from Verdi. Does anyone know if they have tap buttons on metrophones? I would buy a more expensive head phone with a tap button. The Tama watch has one.

[mR.dnA]

Metronome with a tap button? (yes, I'm a n00b) Please clarify!