Timing that does not drift
Every click is scheduled on the audio clock instead of a timer, so the pulse stays steady at 300 BPM with sixteenths and when the tab is in the background.
Online Metronome with Tap Tempo
A free metronome in your browser. Any tempo from 20 to 300 BPM, tap tempo, accents and a tempo trainer.
Keep time in three steps
No setup and no signup. The metronome is ready the moment the page loads.
- 01
Set the tempo
Drag the slider, use the minus and plus buttons or pick a quick tempo. Not sure of the tempo? Tap along to the song and the metronome measures it.
- 02
Choose the time signature
Pick 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/8 or 7/8 and add eighth notes, triplets or sixteenths. Click any beat to accent or mute it.
- 03
Press Start and play
The first beat of every bar sounds higher, so you always know where one is. Space starts and stops, and the arrow keys change the tempo while it runs.
A metronome built for practice
The controls of a practice app, with timing you can trust at any tempo.
Tap tempo
Tap the button or the T key along with a song. The metronome averages your last taps, the fastest way to find the BPM of a track.
Accents, subdivisions and four sounds
Accent or mute any beat, add eighths, triplets or sixteenths, and switch between a click, a woodblock, a beep and a kick with hi-hat.
Tempo trainer
Let the metronome speed up by 1, 2, 5 or 10 BPM every few bars. Start where the passage is clean and let it push you towards full tempo.
A free metronome that keeps real time
A metronome has one job: a steady, reliable pulse. In a browser that is harder than it sounds. Timers fire late, background tabs get slowed down, and a click that lands 20 milliseconds early or late is enough to teach you the wrong feel. This metronome schedules every click on the audio hardware clock a fraction of a second ahead and tops up the schedule from a background worker.
The result behaves like a hardware metronome on your music stand, with nothing to install. Open the page, press Start and play: on a laptop in the practice room, a school computer or a phone leaning on the piano.
How to practise with a metronome
Start slow. Find the tempo at which you can play a passage perfectly, with every note clean and every rhythm exact, and practise there first. Then raise the tempo in small steps of 2 to 5 BPM. Speed built on accuracy lasts. The tempo trainer does exactly this: set a step and a number of bars, and keep playing while it speeds up.
Once a passage sits, let the metronome do less. Mute beats 2 and 4 so it only clicks on 1 and 3, or mute a whole beat and check whether you are still in time when the click returns. Jazz and funk players often go the other way and accent only 2 and 4, which puts the click on the backbeat where the snare would be.
Common tempos and how they feel
60 BPM is one click per second, the tempo of a slow ballad and a good starting point for new pieces. Hip-hop, R&B and many pop ballads sit between 80 and 100 BPM. 120 BPM is the classic tempo of pop and dance music, and house runs a little faster at 120 to 128. Trap is usually written around 140 BPM but felt at half that, and drum and bass runs at 170 and up.
The word next to the number is the matching Italian tempo marking from the top of sheet music. Largo and Adagio are slow, Andante is a walking pace, Moderato is moderate, Allegro is fast and lively, and Presto is very fast. When a score says Allegro, set the metronome between 120 and 167 BPM and let the music decide.
| Marking | Tempo | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Grave | 20-39 BPM | very slow and solemn |
| Largo | 40-59 BPM | slow and broad |
| Larghetto | 60-65 BPM | fairly slow |
| Adagio | 66-75 BPM | slow and calm |
| Andante | 76-107 BPM | walking pace |
| Moderato | 108-119 BPM | moderate |
| Allegro | 120-167 BPM | fast and lively |
| Presto | 168-199 BPM | very fast |
| Prestissimo | 200-300 BPM | as fast as possible |
From click track to beat
A tempo is also the first decision of every beat. When you have found yours, the button above the metronome opens the beat maker with a drum groove already playing at that BPM. Add a bassline, chords and a melody, or invite friends to build the track with you in real time.
The beat maker runs from 60 to 160 BPM, so faster or slower tempos are handed over at half or double time. 180 BPM arrives as a 90 BPM groove with the same pulse.
For music teachers
Use it in class, then let your students make music
The metronome runs on the classroom screen without a login. When your class is ready to make its own music, Make a Beat gives you a whole classroom: students join with a code and their name, no email addresses, and you set assignments, listen to what they hand in and grade it. GDPR, FERPA and COPPA ready, servers in Germany, and every school licence starts with a free trial.
Questions about the online metronome
Is this online metronome free?
Yes. The metronome is completely free, with no account, no trial and no download. Every feature works from the first visit: tap tempo, time signatures, accents, subdivisions, the four sounds and the tempo trainer.
How do I find the BPM of a song?
Play the song and press Tap tempo, or the T key, on every beat. After two taps the metronome shows a tempo and keeps averaging your last taps, so the number settles after a few more. Pause for two seconds to start a fresh measurement.
What does BPM mean?
BPM stands for beats per minute. At 60 BPM the metronome clicks once per second, at 120 BPM twice per second. The Italian marking under the number, such as Adagio, Andante, Moderato, Allegro or Presto, tells you which classical tempo range you are in.
What BPM is Allegro, Andante or Adagio?
On this metronome Allegro, fast and lively, runs from 120 to 167 BPM. Andante, a walking pace, covers 76 to 107 BPM, Adagio 66 to 75 BPM and Presto 168 to 199 BPM. Composers use these words as a guide rather than an exact number, so pick a tempo inside the range that suits the piece.
What tempo should I practise at?
Start at a tempo where you can play the passage without a single mistake, often 60 to 70 percent of the target speed, and raise it in steps of 2 to 5 BPM. The tempo trainer does the raising for you: it adds a few BPM every few bars while you keep playing.
How does 6/8 work on this metronome?
In 6/8 every click is an eighth note, with accents on beats 1 and 4 so you hear the two groups of three. Set the BPM as eighth notes per minute. If you would rather feel 6/8 in two, choose 2/4 with triplets: the same rhythm with one click per dotted quarter.
Can I accent or mute individual beats?
Yes. Click any of the numbered beat circles to switch it between accent, normal and muted. Muting beats is a classic test of your inner time: the metronome goes quiet for a beat or two, and you find out whether you are still with it when it comes back.
Does the metronome keep time when I switch tabs?
Yes. Clicks are scheduled on the audio clock and topped up from a background worker, so they stay steady while you read sheet music in another tab. On phones some browsers pause audio when the screen locks, so keep the screen on while you practise.
Can I use it on my phone or tablet?
Yes, in any current browser. The tap tempo button reacts the moment your finger touches it rather than when you lift it, so tapping along on a touchscreen is as accurate as on a keyboard.
Turn your tempo into a beat
Open the beat maker with a drum groove already running at your tempo, then add bass, chords and melody in your browser.