Metronome
A steady beat for practice, from Largo to Prestissimo.
100 BPM, Tempo: Andante
Nothing leaves your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you type, play or record here stays on your device: nothing is uploaded or saved on a server.
Example
Example: working a piece up from 80 to 120 BPM, with eighth notes
A piano étude marked Allegro, ♩ = 120, still too fast to play cleanly. The plan: start at 80 with eighth notes, so every half beat is clicked, and move up a step each time a run is clean.
- Set 80 with the number, the slider or − and +, 4 beats per bar, Eighth notes: a loud click on beat 1, normal clicks on 2, 3 and 4, and a quieter click between each.
- A bar of 4/4 lasts 3 seconds at 80 and 2 seconds at 120. A new tempo starts from the next beat, so you can change it without stopping.
- For a waltz choose 3 beats; for 6/8 counted in two, 2 beats with Triplets.
| Tempo | Name shown | Between beats | Between eighths | Between sixteenths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 BPM | Andante | 750 ms | 375 ms | 187.5 ms |
| 92 BPM | Andante | 652 ms | 326 ms | 163 ms |
| 100 BPM | Andante | 600 ms | 300 ms | 150 ms |
| 120 BPM | Allegro | 500 ms | 250 ms | 125 ms |
| 160 BPM | Vivace | 375 ms | 187.5 ms | 93.8 ms |
At 120 the clicks are exactly half a second apart, scheduled on the sound card’s clock. Don’t know a recording’s tempo? Tap along: taps 0.52 seconds apart set 115 BPM.
How it works
- Set the tempo with the number, the slider or the − and + buttons — or tap the tempo on the button (or the T key).
- Choose the beats per bar (4 for 4/4, 3 for a waltz, 6 for 6/8), a subdivision and a sound.
- Press Start or the space bar; the lit dot follows the beat you hear.
Frequently asked questions
- Is an online metronome accurate?
- This one is: every click is scheduled ahead on the sound card’s own clock, not on the page’s timers, so it does not drift or stutter when the computer is busy. Tempo changes take effect from the next beat.
- How do I set 6/8 or 3/4?
- Choose 3 beats for 3/4 and 6 for 6/8 (or 2 beats with triplets, if you count 6/8 in two). The first beat of each bar is accented unless you switch the accent off.
- How do subdivisions work?
- Eighth notes click twice a beat, triplets three times and sixteenths four times. The in-between clicks are quieter than the beat, and the first beat of the bar is the loudest unless you switch the accent off. At 100 BPM, sixteenths are 150 ms apart.
- What does tap tempo do?
- Tap the button (or press T) along with a song or a beat in your head: after two taps the tempo is set to the average of your last taps. Pause two seconds to start over.
- What do Andante, Allegro and Presto mean?
- They are the traditional Italian tempo marks: roughly Adagio 66–75 BPM, Andante 76–107, Moderato 108–119, Allegro 120–155, Presto 176–199. The metronome shows the name for the tempo you set.
- What tempos can it play?
- 20 to 300 BPM. A number outside that is brought back to the nearest end, and a decimal is rounded to a whole beat. The space bar starts and stops it, and T taps the tempo.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. It runs in your browser; nothing is recorded or uploaded.