A free online metronome for practice on any instrument, for singing, dancing or exercise. Set the tempo with the slider, the buttons, by typing it or by tapping along, choose the time signature, and press Start. The first beat of each bar is accented, and you can tap any beat to make it louder, lighter or silent. Clicks between the beats (eighths, triplets or sixteenths) help with steady subdivision, and the speed trainer raises the tempo by itself as you practise.
The timing is exact: every click is placed in advance on your device's audio clock, to the sample, rather than fired by a timer that can drift when the computer is busy. The clicks are made by the page itself, so there is nothing to download, and it runs in your browser with no account and no adverts in the way.
- Is this metronome accurate?
- Yes. Rather than playing each click when a timer goes off, which can be late by several milliseconds when the computer is busy, the page places each click a fraction of a second ahead on the sound card's own clock, at an exact sample. The clicks therefore keep perfect time even while you change other settings. The beat display is lined up with the sound, allowing for the delay of your speakers or Bluetooth headphones where the browser reports it.
- Does it keep going if I switch tabs or lock my phone?
- In another tab, yes: the page queues the clicks further ahead while it is hidden, and browsers let a tab that is playing sound keep running. Locking a phone is different: iPhones and many Android phones pause the page's sound when the screen locks, so the page asks to keep the screen on while it plays. Leave the metronome page open in front if you can.
- Why can't I hear it on my iPhone?
- Check the ring/silent switch (or the Action button's silent mode) and the volume. iOS can mute sound from web pages in silent mode; the page asks iOS to treat the metronome as media playback, which recent versions play even in silent mode, but older versions need the switch set to ring. Turn the volume up with the side buttons while it is playing, as ringer and media volume are separate.
- How do I find the BPM of a song?
- Play the song and tap the Tap tempo button (or press T) on each beat, four times or more. The tempo is the average of your last eight taps, and a pause of two seconds starts a fresh count. To change the speed of a recording rather than play along, use the BPM Changer, which also estimates a song's tempo.
- How does 6/8 work here?
- The tempo counts the beat note of the time signature, so 6/8 at 120 plays six eighth notes per bar at 120 a minute, with an accent on 1 and a lighter one on 4. If you prefer to count 6/8 in two (dotted quarters), choose 2/4 with Triplets: each beat then has three clicks, and the BPM is the dotted-quarter pulse.
- How does the speed trainer work?
- Tick Speed trainer, then set how many BPM to add, after how many bars, and the tempo to stop at. Start at a speed you can play cleanly; the metronome steps up at a bar line every time, so you build speed gradually. The count-in bar is not counted, and when you stop, the tempo stays at the speed you reached so you can carry on later.
- Do I need to install anything or allow anything?
- No. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer, needs no microphone or other permission, and keeps working offline once the page has loaded. Your settings are remembered in this browser only.