Metronome

How an online metronome keeps you in time

A metronome is the most useful practice tool a musician owns. It marks a steady pulse so you can train your internal clock, lock in with a band, and gradually build speed without rushing. This metronome lets you set any tempo from 30 to 300 beats per minute (BPM) using the slider, or you can simply tap the tempo in real time and let the tool calculate the matching BPM for you. The large number always shows the current setting so there is no guesswork.

Choosing a time signature changes how the beats are grouped. In 4/4 there are four beats per bar, in 3/4 there are three, and so on. The first beat of every bar — the downbeat — is accented with a higher, louder click and a brighter dot, which helps you feel where each measure begins. Watching the row of dots light up in sequence reinforces the pulse visually as well as audibly.

Why timing accuracy matters

Many simple web metronomes drift because they trigger sound from JavaScript timers, which the browser can delay when a tab is busy. This tool instead uses the Web Audio API's high-resolution audio clock. A short lookahead routine schedules each upcoming click at an exact moment on that clock, so the spacing between beats stays consistent to the millisecond. The result is a click you can trust even during long practice sessions or on a loaded laptop.

Tips for practising with a metronome

Start slow. Set the tempo low enough that you can play a passage cleanly, then raise it a few BPM at a time once it feels easy. Use tap tempo to quickly match a recording you are learning, then fine-tune with the slider. Practising scales, arpeggios and tricky transitions against a steady click trains both your hands and your sense of time. Because everything runs locally in your browser, you can keep the metronome open offline and use it as often as you like — no signup, no uploads and no microphone access required.