Tap tempo · accents · subdivisions
Online metronome
Steady time for practice, set by your browser's audio clock so it never drifts. Set the tempo, the beats in a bar and the subdivision, and accent or silence any beat. Free, with no account.
How to use it
- Set the tempo with minus and plus, the slider, or Tap: tap the beat a few times and it follows you. Then press Start, or the space bar.
- Set the time and the subdivision in the row above Start, and tap a beat's bar to accent or mute it.
Tempo markings in BPM
The Italian words for speed, with the tempos this metronome files under each. The ranges are a convention, not a rule: books differ by a few BPM, and the music decides as much as the number does.
Tap the marking under the number to jump to the middle of its range: Andante goes to 92, Allegro to 138.
| Marking | BPM | Roughly means |
|---|---|---|
| Grave | Below 40 | Very slow, solemn |
| Largo | 40 to 59 | Broad and slow |
| Larghetto | 60 to 65 | A little less slow than Largo |
| Adagio | 66 to 75 | Slow, at ease |
| Andante | 76 to 107 | At a walking pace |
| Moderato | 108 to 119 | Moderate |
| Allegro | 120 to 155 | Quick and bright |
| Vivace | 156 to 175 | Lively |
| Presto | 176 to 199 | Very fast |
| Prestissimo | 200 and up | As fast as possible |
Time signatures and how to count them
The top number is how many beats a bar has, and the bottom one says which note gets the beat: 4 for a quarter note, 8 for an eighth.
4/4 is counted 1 2 3 4, strongest on 1 and a little strong on 3. 3/4 is 1 2 3, the time of a waltz and of many hymns. 2/4 is 1 2, a march.
6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 group eighth notes in threes: two groups a bar in 6/8, three in 9/8 and four in 12/8. Odd metres like 5/8 and 7/8 mix twos and threes; pick 7/8 and Grouping, in More, lets you choose 2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2.
How to practise with a metronome
Start slow enough to play or sing it right, then add a few BPM each time it's clean. Starting each session a little below yesterday's tempo is normal.
To feel a groove, put the click on beats 2 and 4: in 4/4, tap the dots for beats 1 and 3 until they're silent, and supply the strong beats yourself.
Once you're steady, try Silent bars: three bars of click and one muted, say, then check you land back on beat one with it. The keys help with your hands busy: the space bar starts and stops, T taps, and the arrow keys nudge the tempo by 1, or by 5 with Shift.
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Questions
How do I use a metronome?
Set a tempo, press Start, and play or sing so your notes land with the clicks. The first click of each bar is accented, so you always know where beat one is. Start slower than you think you need: the click is there to show you where you rush or drag.
What tempo should I practise at?
The fastest tempo at which you get it right, cleanly, a few times in a row, which is often well below the one you're aiming for. When it's clean, add a few BPM and go again. The Speed trainer in More does this for you: it adds a set number of BPM every few bars, up to a tempo you choose.
What do Largo, Andante and Allegro mean in BPM?
They're Italian tempo markings, and the word under the number is the one usually given for that speed. The ranges are a convention, and one composer's Andante isn't another's. Tap the word to pick a marking and jump to its tempo; the table below lists them all.
How does it count 6/8?
Pick 6/8 under Beats and it clicks six eighth notes a bar, the first accented and the fourth a little stronger, so you hear the two groups of three. The tempo then counts eighth notes. To feel a quick 6/8 in two, pick 2/4 with Triplets instead and set the tempo to the dotted quarter note.
What is a subdivision, and when should I turn it on?
Quieter clicks between the beats: Eighths split each beat in two, Triplets in three and Sixteenths in four. Turn them on at slow tempos, where a long gap between beats makes it easy to rush, and for runs of short notes. Each kind of click has its own volume in More.
How do I find the tempo of a song?
Tap the Tap button, or press T, along with the beat. The tempo shows after three taps and settles over about six; stop for two seconds and it starts over.
Will it drift?
No. Every click is scheduled on the browser's audio clock, not a timer, so it stays steady at any tempo, and a change lands on the next beat.
Does it keep going when my screen locks or I switch tabs?
On a computer or Android it keeps playing in a background tab. On an iPhone, keep the screen on: the click stops if your iPhone locks, because an iPhone stops a web page's sound when the screen locks. The metronome asks the screen to stay awake while it plays.
How do singers practise with a metronome?
Turn on a one or two bar Count-in, so you hear the tempo and take a breath before you come in. Count rests and long notes against the click instead of guessing, and learn a tricky passage slowly before speeding up. Silent bars, in More, mutes the click for a bar or more, so you find out whether you kept the beat on your own.
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