Metronome

What This Online Metronome Does

A metronome produces a steady click at a chosen tempo so you can hear, not guess, whether your timing is even. This one synthesizes its clicks with the Web Audio API, which means the sound is generated by your device's audio hardware with low latency instead of being played from an audio file. Set any tempo from 20 to 300 BPM, choose a time signature, and the first beat of every measure gets a higher, accented click so you always know where the bar starts.

The tempo and time signature are stored in the page URL, so you can bookmark your practice tempo or share it with a student. A visual beat indicator flashes along with the sound, which helps in noisy rooms or when you practice with the click very low.

How to Use It

1. Set the tempo. Type an exact BPM, drag the slider, or pick one of the quick presets from 60 to 180.
2. Choose a time signature such as 4/4, 3/4, or 6/8. The beat row above the Start button grows or shrinks to match.
3. Press Start. The accented beat marks the start of each measure and the dots flash in time with the click.
4. If you are not sure of a song's tempo, press Tap Tempo along with the music. After a few taps the BPM field updates to your tapping speed.

Press Stop to pause, and Reset to return to 120 BPM in 4/4. The metronome repeats indefinitely while it plays and stops immediately when you leave the page.

Understanding BPM and Tempo Markings

BPM stands for beats per minute, the number of clicks you hear in sixty seconds. The traditional Italian tempo markings map onto ranges: Largo for very slow, solemn music around 40 to 60 BPM, Adagio around 66 to 76, Andante around 76 to 108 for a walking pace, Moderato around 108 to 120, Allegro around 120 to 156, and Presto up to roughly 200 for very fast passages. The display above the BPM number shows which marking your current tempo falls into, which is handy when a score says Allegro and you want a concrete number to practice with.

Time Signatures Explained

A time signature tells you how beats group into measures. In 4/4, the most common signature, four quarter note beats form a measure, and the first is accented. In 3/4, heard in waltzes, the cycle is three beats. Compound signatures like 6/8 group six eighth notes into two pulses of three, which is why music in 6/8 feels like it rocks instead of marches. Odd signatures such as 5/4 and 7/8 appear throughout progressive and folk music; setting the accent correctly is half the battle in learning them.

How to Practice With a Metronome

The classic method is to find the fastest tempo at which you can play a passage cleanly, then drop the metronome 10 to 20 BPM below that number and practice there until it feels easy. Increase by 5 BPM only when a step is completely comfortable. This builds speed from accuracy instead of practicing mistakes quickly. For tricky bars, set the tempo so slow that the passage feels trivial, then climb back up one click at a time.

Also practice with the click on different beats. Hearing the metronome on beats two and four, or on off-beats, sharpens your internal pulse. The accent on the downbeat is your anchor for knowing where the bar line falls, especially in odd signatures.

How Tap Tempo Works

Tap Tempo measures the gaps between your taps and converts the average interval into BPM. Two taps give a rough estimate and each additional tap improves the accuracy; the most recent intervals are weighted by using the last five. Taps older than about two and a half seconds reset the count, so you can start a fresh estimate at any time. It is the fastest way to capture the tempo of a recording before setting the metronome to match.

Related Tools

To work out tempo relationships such as double time or half time, the BPM Calculator converts between BPM, note values, and delay times, and BPM Tap Tempo focuses purely on detecting a song's tempo. Musicians also pair this metronome with the Guitar Tuner before practice, the Tone Generator for ear training, and the Music Key Transposer when transposing a passage to a comfortable key.