Free Online Metronome
Set the tempo, stay in time.
A simplified preview of what the Tunable app does. Get the full app
How to use this metronome
Use the slider or + / − buttons to set your tempo from 20 to 300 BPM. The number updates in real time so you can dial in the exact speed you need.
Tap the Tap Tempo button in rhythm to set the BPM automatically. The metronome averages your last several taps to calculate the tempo, useful for matching a recording or finding a comfortable practice speed.
Choose your time signature from the dropdown. Simple meters (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4) accent beat one; compound meters (6/8, 9/8, 12/8) group beats in threes with a stronger accent on the first of each group.
Subdivisions add clicks between the main beats. Quarter notes give you the basic pulse. Eighth notes double it. Triplets divide each beat into three. Sixteenth notes divide each beat into four, useful for building speed gradually.
A metronome is the single most important practice tool a musician can use. It provides a steady, audible pulse at a specific tempo, measured in beats per minute (BPM), so you can develop consistent timing and internalize rhythmic patterns. This browser-based metronome uses the Web Audio API for sample-accurate scheduling, meaning clicks land exactly on time without the drift that plagues timer-based approaches. You can set any tempo from 20 to 300 BPM, choose from common time signatures including compound meters like 6/8 and 12/8, and add subdivisions to practice eighth notes, triplets, or sixteenth notes at any speed. Tap tempo lets you match the tempo of a recording or ensemble by tapping the button in rhythm. Whether you’re woodshedding scales, drilling etudes, or preparing for a performance, a metronome keeps you honest about where the beat actually is, not where you think it is.
How to use this metronome
No account, no download, no plugin. Set a tempo, pick a meter, press Start. Here is what each control does and when you would reach for it.
Set the tempo
Drag the slider or press + and − to move one beat per minute at a time; hold either button to scroll quickly through the range. The metronome covers 20 to 300 BPM, from a funeral march to a double-time bebop head. Arrive from one of our BPM or tempo reference pages and the tempo is already filled in, just press Start.
Find a tempo by ear with tap tempo
When you know how a passage should feel but not what number it is, press Tap Tempo in time with the music. The metronome averages your most recent taps and converts them into BPM, so four or five even taps are usually enough to lock on. Stop tapping for two seconds and the average resets, letting you start a fresh measurement without reloading the page.
Choose a time signature and follow the accents
The dropdown covers simple meters (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4) and compound meters (6/8, 7/8, 9/8, 12/8). The row of dots redraws to match, one per beat, and the first beat of every measure gets a higher-pitched accent click so you always know where the downbeat is. In compound meters that accent falls on the first of each group of three, which is what makes 6/8 feel like two big pulses rather than six small ones.
Add subdivisions
The four subdivision buttons insert extra clicks between the main beats: quarter notes give the plain pulse, eighth notes double it, triplets split each beat into three, sixteenths into four. Subdivisions are the fastest fix for rushed or lazy inner rhythms, because they show exactly where the middle of the beat belongs.
Keyboard shortcuts
Press Space to start and stop, and T to tap the tempo, so you can restart the click between repetitions without putting the instrument down.
Tempo markings and BPM
Italian tempo markings are the traditional way scores describe speed, and each maps to a rough BPM band rather than a single number. Editors and conductors disagree at the edges, so treat these ranges as common practice rather than rule. If a score says Allegro and the passage still feels frantic at 152, work at 120 until the notes are clean.
| Marking | BPM | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Larghissimo | 1–24 | Extremely slow |
| Grave | 25–45 | Very slow, solemn |
| Largo | 40–60 | Very slow, broadly |
| Larghetto | 60–66 | Rather slow, slightly faster than largo |
| Adagio | 66–76 | Slow, at ease |
| Adagietto | 72–76 | Slightly faster than adagio |
| Andante | 76–108 | At a walking pace |
| Andantino | 80–108 | Slightly faster than andante |
| Moderato | 108–120 | At a moderate speed |
| Allegretto | 112–120 | Moderately fast, slightly slower than allegro |
| Allegro | 120–156 | Fast, lively, and bright |
| Vivace | 156–176 | Lively and fast |
| Presto | 168–200 | Very fast |
| Prestissimo | 200–300 | Extremely fast |
Each marking links to a fuller reference page with example repertoire, practice advice and neighbouring tempos. Our BPM reference covers individual tempo values one number at a time, and the tempo marking index lists every marking we cover.
Metronome presets by BPM
Need a specific tempo? Each preset opens a looping metronome at that speed with the tempo markings, genres, and songs that live there.
All values are in beats per minute. See the full BPM reference.
Time signatures
A time signature tells you how many beats fill a measure and which note value gets the beat: the top number is the count, the bottom names the unit, 4 for a quarter note, 8 for an eighth. Simple meters divide each beat into two, compound meters into three, and irregular meters such as 5/4 and 7/8 mix groups of two and three inside one bar. The metronome handles all of them, and the accent pattern is the practical difference: what you hear as the shape of a bar is really just where the strong click lands.
- 2/4 , two beats per bar, marches and polkas
- 3/4 , three beats per bar, waltzes and minuets
- 4/4 , the default meter for most popular music
- 5/4 , irregular, felt as 3+2 or 2+3
- 6/4 , six slow beats, often two groups of three
- 7/4 , irregular, common in progressive rock
- 6/8 , compound duple, two pulses of three
- 7/8 , irregular, a staple of Balkan dance music
- 9/8 , compound triple, three pulses of three
- 12/8 , compound quadruple, shuffle and slow blues
- Cut Time (crossed C) , two half-note beats, written as a crossed C
- Common Time (C) , four quarter-note beats, written as C
If a meter above is unfamiliar, its reference page explains how it is counted, which styles use it, and how to feel the grouping before you try to play it.
Practice methods
A metronome only helps if you give it a job. These are the methods that reliably move a passage from unsteady to dependable; our metronome practice guide walks through each one in more detail.
Slow it down until it is boring
Pick the fastest tempo at which you can play the passage perfectly twice in a row, usually far slower than you expect. Accuracy at a slow tempo is a skill you can speed up later; sloppiness at a fast tempo is a habit you have to unlearn first.
Move up in small steps
Raise the tempo by four or five BPM only after two clean repetitions, and drop back ten if a repetition fails. Small increments keep the physical motion the same instead of forcing a new, tenser technique the moment things get quick.
Subdivide the bar that keeps breaking
Turn on eighths or sixteenths for the bar that keeps collapsing. Extra clicks show you whether you are rushing the second half of the beat or arriving late after a rest, which is information a plain quarter-note click cannot give you.
Click on beats 2 and 4 only
Halve the tempo and treat the clicks as the backbeat instead of the downbeat. With half the reference points removed you have to hold the pulse yourself between clicks, which is exactly the skill ensemble playing demands.
Drop the click out
Play four bars with the metronome and four without, then listen to where you land when it returns. Any drift you hear is the gap between your internal pulse and the real one, and hearing it is what closes it.
Fifteen focused minutes with one of these methods beats an hour of playing along at performance tempo and hoping it settles.
Metronome vs the Tunable app
This browser metronome is free and always will be. The Tunable app is a paid download, $7.99 on iOS and $6.99 on Android, and it exists for the parts of practice a web page cannot reach.
Use the web metronome when you are at a computer and want a click in two seconds: it needs no install, runs in any modern browser, and schedules its audio precisely enough for serious practice. It is also the right tool for sharing an exact tempo with someone else, because the tempo travels in the link.
The app adds what a browser tab cannot: over thirty metronome sounds, haptic feedback for noisy stages, multi-device sync over Ableton Link, an Apple Watch companion, session recording, practice scoring, and a chromatic tuner on the same screen. If practice is a daily habit rather than an occasional session. That is what the paid app buys you.
Frequently asked questions
What BPM is Allegro, Andante or Largo?
Allegro sits around 120–156 BPM, Andante around 76–108 BPM, and Largo around 40–60 BPM. These are conventional ranges rather than exact values, and editions differ, the tempo marking table above lists the common bands and links to a fuller page for each marking.
How do I find the BPM of a song?
Play the track and press the Tap Tempo button on each beat you hear, usually the backbeat or the kick drum. After four or five taps the display settles on the average tempo. Round to the nearest whole number and you have the song tempo close enough to practice against.
Does this metronome work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The page is built mobile first and works in Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android with no install. Mobile browsers require a tap before they will play audio, so press Start once and the click begins. Keep the tab in the foreground, the metronome stops when the page is hidden so it never plays behind your back.
Can it play 7/8, 5/4 or other odd meters?
Yes. The time signature menu includes 5/4, 6/4, 7/4 and 7/8 alongside the common simple and compound meters, and the beat dots and accent click follow whichever you choose. For odd meters, count the internal grouping out loud once or twice before you play, 7/8 as 2+2+3, for instance.
How accurate is a browser metronome?
Accurate enough to practise against. This one uses the Web Audio API and schedules each click a fraction of a second ahead of time against the audio clock, rather than relying on JavaScript timers that drift whenever the browser is busy. The result is a steady pulse without the wobble naive timer-based metronomes produce.
Want the complete experience?
The Tunable app adds 30+ metronome sounds, multi-device sync via Ableton Link, practice scoring, session recording, and more, all on your phone.
