Online Metronome

The metronome runs from 20 to 300 beats per minute with adjustable time signatures and an accented first beat. The Italian tempo markings in printed music map roughly onto these ranges:

Set the time signature so the accent falls on the first beat of the bar (4/4 for most music, 3/4 for waltzes, 6/8 for compound time), or turn the accent off for a plain click.

1. Start slower than feels necessary. Pick a tempo at which you can play the passage perfectly, even if it is half the final speed. Accuracy at a slow tempo is what gets learned; mistakes at a fast one get learned too.
2. Increase in small steps. Raise the tempo by 3–5 BPM once you have played the passage cleanly three times in a row. Big jumps reintroduce errors.
3. Subdivide when it is hard. Set the click to eighth notes (double the BPM) for tricky rhythms, then go back to quarter notes when they are secure.
4. Move the click. Advanced players set the metronome to click only on beats 2 and 4, or once per bar, which forces internal timekeeping rather than following.
5. Record yourself. Playing "with" the click and playing exactly on it are different; a recording shows which you are doing.

Dancers use a metronome for footwork drills, runners use 170–180 BPM as a cadence target (one click per footfall), and speech therapists and public speakers use slow tempos to pace delivery. The click is generated by the browser's audio engine with sub-millisecond scheduling, so it does not drift the way a JavaScript interval would. For a beat that is meant to end after a set time, run the timer alongside; for tempo-free timed practice, the stopwatch records how long you actually practised.