Online Metronome
Free online metronome with tap tempo, multiple time signatures, subdivisions and a speed trainer. Visual pendulum, precise Web Audio timing and tempo presets.
Time
Subdivision
Sound
Preset
Picking the Right BPM for the Music
Tempo in music is measured in beats per minute (BPM). The tool runs from 20 to 300 BPM, which covers everything from the slowest funeral march to the fastest speed metal. Standard descriptive markings: Largo sits between 40 and 66 BPM, Adagio between 66 and 76, Andante 76 to 108, Moderato 108 to 120, Allegro 120 to 168, Presto 168 to 200, Prestissimo above 200. Pop and rock songs cluster between 100 and 130 BPM; ballads sit at 60 to 80; dance and house music hovers around 120 to 130; drum and bass lives in the 160 to 180 zone.
When practising, set the BPM at the slowest speed you can play the passage cleanly, not the speed you wish you could play it. A common mistake is starting at 110 BPM because the song is at 110 BPM, then making mistakes for an hour. Drop to 80, play the passage perfectly five times in a row, then jump up by 4 BPM. Repeat. This is how the speed trainer feature works automatically; you set a start tempo, an end tempo, and a duration, and the metronome ramps gradually so your hands learn the muscle memory at every intermediate speed.
Time Signatures and Subdivisions
4/4 (four crotchet beats to the bar) is the most common time signature in Western popular music; you can play roughly 80% of pop, rock, country and dance music in 4/4 without ever leaving it. 3/4 is waltz time, used in ballads and country waltzes. 6/8 has a rolling triplet feel and turns up in shuffles, ballads and Celtic music. 5/4 (Take Five, Mission Impossible theme) and 7/8 (most progressive rock) feel deliberately off-balance because the brain expects an even count. The metronome accents beat 1 of each bar at a higher pitch so your ear can latch onto the start of every cycle.
Subdivisions split each beat into smaller pulses. Eighth notes (8ths) play two ticks per beat, triplets play three, sixteenth notes play four. Practising scales with sixteenth-note subdivisions on at slow tempo trains absolute rhythmic precision; the moment your fingers drift from the metronome you hear it. Drummers in particular benefit from a metronome with multiple subdivision options because each drum part typically sits on a different one. The [tap tempo](/tap-tempo) tool reads the BPM of any song you tap along with, which pairs well: tap to find the tempo, then run the metronome at that tempo to practise.
Tempo Markings and Typical BPM Ranges
| Italian Term | BPM Range | Common In |
|---|---|---|
| Largo | 40 - 66 | Funeral marches, lament |
| Adagio | 66 - 76 | Slow ballads, classical |
| Andante | 76 - 108 | Walking pace, folk songs |
| Moderato | 108 - 120 | Pop ballads, mid-tempo |
| Allegro | 120 - 168 | Pop, rock, classical fast movements |
| Presto | 168 - 200 | Bluegrass, fast classical |
Tap Tempo and Speed Trainer in Practice
The tap tempo button measures the milliseconds between your taps and converts to BPM. Tap four times along with a song and the display lands within 1 to 2 BPM of the actual tempo. Useful when you have a recording and want to set the metronome to match, or when learning a song from a YouTube video without a published BPM. Tap evenly; uneven tapping produces averaged numbers that swing wildly, which is why the readout stabilises after about eight steady taps.
The speed trainer ramps tempo automatically over a duration you choose. Set start at 80 BPM, end at 160 BPM, duration 5 minutes, and the metronome creeps from 80 to 160 over those five minutes, increasing by roughly 16 BPM per minute. This is the closest single tool gets to replicating the way classical conservatoire teachers train scales: slow first, fast last, no plateau, no chance to stop and rest at the speed you find easy. For sight-reading practice, the opposite approach works better: set a single fixed BPM, play through the piece, repeat at the same tempo until it is clean, then move on. Use the practice tracker if you want to log how many minutes you spent at each BPM across a session.
Frequently Asked Questions
What BPM should I practise at as a beginner?
Start at the BPM where you can play the passage cleanly with no mistakes, even if that is 50 BPM for a piece that is supposed to be 140. Speed without accuracy is a habit you have to unlearn later, which costs more time than starting slow does. Most beginner scale and chord exercises sit comfortably at 60 to 80 BPM. Once you can play five repetitions in a row with no errors, increase the tempo by 4 to 6 BPM and repeat.
Why does the click track sound 'off' compared to the music?
Almost always because the BPM is slightly wrong, the time signature is wrong, or the song has a swing/shuffle feel that a straight-eighth metronome cannot capture. Try the tap tempo first to get the BPM exactly right. If the song has a triplet feel (most blues, some jazz) switch the subdivision to triplets and the click will sit naturally where it should. Songs with fluctuating tempo (rubato, intentional speed changes, live recordings without a click track) can never be perfectly matched to a fixed metronome.
Can I use this metronome with a band?
Yes, especially for rehearsing tight arrangements where everyone needs to lock to the same tempo. Send the click into a small speaker so the drummer hears it, or pipe it into in-ear monitors if you have them. Most professional touring bands now play to a click track for at least the songs that need precise tempo (anything with backing tracks or video sync). The Web Audio implementation here is sample-accurate, meaning the click does not drift over the course of a long song the way some browser-based timers can.
What is the difference between BPM and tempo?
Tempo is the general concept of speed in music; BPM is the specific numerical measurement. Tempo can also be described qualitatively (Allegro, Andante, etc.) where BPM is always a number. They are related but not identical: a piece marked Allegro could be anywhere from 120 to 168 BPM depending on the composer's intent and the performer's interpretation. Numerical BPM became standard with the invention of Maelzel's metronome in the 1810s, before which composers relied on Italian tempo terms alone.
Why does my metronome sound different at high tempos?
At very high BPMs (above 200), the click sounds tend to merge into a near-continuous drone because each beat is shorter than the natural decay of the click sound. The tool uses short, sharp click and woodblock sounds specifically to keep individual beats distinct at high speeds. If you find the high-tempo clicks blurry, try the woodblock sound instead of the default click; its sharper attack stays defined up to 280 BPM.
Related Tools
Tap Tempo BPM Counter
Tap a button in rhythm to find the BPM (beats per minute) of any song. Uses a running average of your last taps for accuracy.
Music Practice Tracker
Log your daily music practice sessions and track your progress. See weekly and monthly stats, maintain your streak and break down practice by category.
Song Structure Builder
Plan your song arrangement with a visual section builder. Add verses, choruses, bridges and more, set bar counts and see a colour-coded timeline of your song.