Online Metronome

Get started in three steps

1. Set the tempo with the slider, the ±1 and ±5 buttons, or by tapping the beat on the “Tap tempo” button.
2. Select the time signature (4/4, 3/4, 6/8…) and, if needed, a subdivision.
3. Start the metronome; tap a beat to change its accent: strong, accent, normal or muted.

Find a tempo with tap tempo

Listening to a song and want to know how fast it is? Tap the beat four to eight times on the button. The metronome averages the last intervals and ignores outlier taps, such as a double tap or a hesitation. The result is shown in BPM, beats per minute.

In stage mode, the whole screen becomes a tap area: handy when the device is sitting on a music stand and you need to hit it quickly between songs.

Italian tempo markings

Sheet music often indicates tempo with an Italian word rather than a number. The metronome shows the name that matches the chosen tempo, as a guide only: the ranges vary by period, edition and the character of the piece.

• Largo, Lento: very slow, around 40 to 60 BPM.
• Adagio: slow, around 66 to 76 BPM.
• Andante: at a walking pace, around 76 to 108 BPM.
• Moderato: moderate, around 108 to 120 BPM.
• Allegro: fast and bright, around 120 to 156 BPM.
• Vivace, Presto: lively to very fast, above 160 BPM.

Simple and compound meters

The top number of a time signature gives the number of beats, the bottom number the note value. In 4/4 you count four quarter notes; in 3/4, three quarter notes, as in a waltz. The metronome offers time signatures from 1/4 to 12/8.

6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 are treated as compound meters: the felt pulse is the dotted quarter note, divided into three eighth notes. So 6/8 is counted “one-two” with two accents, not as six equal beats. That is what gives jigs, barcarolles and many ballads their lilt.

Accents can be customized beat by beat. For example, you can accent 2 and 4 to practice the backbeat in jazz or pop, or mute the downbeat to check that you can place it on your own.

Subdivisions, sounds and visual cues

Subdivisions add quieter clicks between the beats: eighth notes, triplets or sixteenth notes. They help steady slow passages, where the gap between beats is long, and even out fast runs.

Four sounds are available: wood click, beep, bell, and a synthesized voice that counts the beats, with approximate pronunciation. A full-screen flash and vibration let you follow the pulse without hearing it, for example with a very loud instrument; the flash is limited to three per second and is not recommended if you have photosensitive epilepsy.

Timing relies on the browser's audio engine: clicks are scheduled ahead of time and do not drift, even when the screen is busy.

Improve with the tempo trainer

The classic method is to play a passage slowly, then speed up in small steps. The trainer automates this: it adds N BPM every M bars, up to the ceiling you set. For example, from 80 to 120 BPM, adding 4 BPM every 4 bars.

Muted bars silence the click for a few bars and then bring it back: if you land right on the click, your internal tempo is steady. The 3 against 2 and 4 against 3 polyrhythms play two layered pulses, useful for triplets against eighth notes or for African and Latin music.

• Start at a tempo where the passage is clean and relaxed.
• Aim for small steps rather than one big jump.
• Save your practice tempos so you can pick them up at your next session.

A limitation to know about on iPhone

On iPhone and iPad, the system may cut the sound when the screen locks or the browser goes to the background. Keep the screen on while you play, or temporarily turn off Auto-Lock.