Category: General

It’s astounding when I look back at my wish list for the Korg KDM-3 metronome and discovered that I wrote it more than 13 years ago! Korg eventually released the KDM-3 in January 2018, and needless to say, I bought one as soon as I could. I’m proud to say that at present I own two of these bad boys—one in my studio and one at home. I’ve been very happy with Korg as they fulfilled some of the things I wrote about. For the benefit of newcomers, here’s my previous wish list for the KDM-3, with additional comments in bold. You can also read my review of the KDM-3 here.

• Backlit LCD display—unfortunately, this wasn’t implemented on the KDM-3.
• A push-button number pad AND a rotary dial for inputting speeds. Korg did put a rotary dial on the KDM-3, and you know what, that’s good enough for me. I realized that adding a number pad would have made the metronome even bigger and more cumbersome. Anyway, I prefer the rotary dial.
• A real metronome and bell sound. Done!
• A female and/or male voice to count out the beats (Note: some people might see this as a gimmick but I think it’s a nice touch. Moreover it has been featured in Yamaha’s latest Clavinovas) The KDM-3 does include a female voice. However, it sounds very robotic and jarring to my ears. Perhaps they could improve on it for the KDM-4.
• A choice of colors—black is always in fashion, but how about red, gold, brown, etc? A digital metronome could be the next fashion statement! Korg currently has the KDM-3 in black, white, and brown. Some additional colors would be nice for the KDM-4.
• A more powerful speaker system compared to the KDM-2. Don’t get me wrong, the KDM-2 is pretty loud, but…oh well. The volume for the KDM-3 is great.
• The ability to use rechargeable batteries would be nice. Done!
• A soft carrying pouch or case. The KDM-3 did not come with a soft pouch or case. 

Here’s my personal wish list for the KDM-4:

• A backlit LCD display, with the option to turn off if the user prefers.
• A built-in battery with USB-C charging capability. This would be more convenient than using AAA batteries. I really don’t mind if it adds a bit more weight and/or cost to the metronome.
• Improve on the female voice. The one on the KDM-3 is, quite frankly, very robotic and cheesy, and hardly any of my students like it.
• A soft pouch or carrying case. Come on, Korg. You can do this.

Go ahead and learn the piano if…

• You like a challenge. And you have a “never give up” attitude.
• You are willing to commit some time (preferably daily) to practicing.
• You accept that learning the piano properly takes a lot of time, effort, and patience.
• You understand that you will have good days and bad days. Tip: practice more on good days, and practice less on the bad.
• You already have an instrument to practice on. If not, you are willing to purchase a decent piano, whether acoustic or digital.
• You can find a good and sympathetic teacher who will guide you on this piano learning journey. Such a teacher will be a valuable asset to you and he or she will be able to motivate and inspire you. Tip: read my reviews.

Don’t learn the piano if…

• You dislike and are scared of challenges. And you give up easily.
• You are not willing to allot time for practice. “I’m too busy” is the most-often heard excuse. Your ship will never sail out of the harbour!
• You’re an impatient person. And you expect things to always be easy.
• You’re a procrastinator. Many students keep putting off practicing. I hate to tell you this, but there are no shortcuts to playing the piano well. You have to practice!
• You don’t want to get a decent instrument to practice on. Forget about learning the piano if you think you can just go to your friend’s house to practice occasionally. You definitely need your own piano!
• You want to find a teacher who charges the cheapest rates (and probably lives nearby to you) Experienced teachers come at a premium but like everything else, you get what you pay for. It’s usually inexperienced teachers who charge cheap rates to entice would-be students.

Updated on March 1, 2022

Just as my Korg KDM-2 was giving up the ghost (after using it for more than 10 years) I was browsing for another replacement KDM-2 when lo and behold, I read about the new KDM-3 metronome! Talk about serendipity. Needless to say, I ordered one straightaway.

In a previous post, I talked about the KDM-2, while in this post I postulated about what I would like to see in the KDM-3. Needless to say, part of my wish list has been fulfilled:

• The KDM-3 now has an authentic metronome and bell sound, plus 7 other sounds. There is also a female voice which counts the beats.
• It’s available in black, white or a front wooden finish. Take your pick.
• I read online that its sound is even louder than that of the KDM-2. I can’t verify this until I get my own unit. EDIT: Yes, the sound is just as loud, if not louder, than the KDM-2.
• The KDM-3 requires 4 AAA batteries to function. Rechargeable batteries (such as Eneloops) can be used. When the batteries are nearly depleted, a flashing battery icon is displayed on the top left of the LCD display.
• New in the KDM-3 is a Timer mode. You can program the metronome to stop after a length of time. Useful if you want to start practicing with it but have it stop at a predetermined time.
• The KDM-3 auto powers off if the unit is not used in 20 minutes. This is great if you forget to power off the unit.
• Unfortunately, there is still no back-lit display. I also wish Korg would include a pouch or case for it.

You can get further details of the KDM-3 at Korg’s USA website. I will update this post when I receive mine. Stay tuned.

EDIT: I received my KDM-3 today and am amazed that it’s so small and cute. It’s certainly less bulky than the KDM-2 and yes, it’s more aesthetically pleasing to look at. The thing I like best in this new KDM-3 is the authentic metronome and bell sound…although the electronic pulse sound from the KDM-2 is included too.