Using the online metronome
Set a tempo between 30 and 240 BPM with the slider, the ±5 buttons, or by tapping the rhythm with Tap Tempo — tap steadily four or five times and the metronome averages your interval. Choose how many beats per bar (2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7) and the first beat is accented so you can hear where each bar starts.
Practice tips
- Start slow: practice a passage at 60–70 BPM with zero mistakes, then raise by 5 BPM.
- Use accents: the heavier first click helps keep your place in 3/4 and 6/8 pieces.
- Tap tempo: hear a song, tap along, and get its exact BPM.
The click is synthesized with the Web Audio API in your browser — no audio files, no latency from downloads.
Frequently asked questions
What does BPM mean, and what tempo should I practise at?
BPM is beats per minute: 60 BPM is one beat per second and 120 BPM is two. Start at roughly 60 to 70 percent of your target tempo, play it cleanly, then work upwards.
How many seconds is one beat at 60 BPM?
One second. The conversion is 60 divided by the BPM value, so 120 BPM gives 0.5 seconds per beat, 90 BPM gives about 0.67 seconds, and 240 BPM gives 0.25 seconds.
What is Tap Tempo and how do I use it?
Tap the button in time with a song or with your own pulse, four or five taps in a row. The metronome averages the gap between your taps and sets that tempo; pausing for more than two seconds clears the taps, so start again if you lose the beat.
Which beats-per-bar setting should I choose?
Use 4 for most pop, rock and classical practice, 3 for waltzes, 2 for marches and 6 for compound metres such as 6/8. The accent marks the first beat, which is how you hear where each bar begins.
How much should I raise the tempo when practising?
Only after you can play the passage three times in a row without a mistake, then add 4 to 8 BPM. Bigger jumps usually just relocate the mistakes instead of removing them.
Why is the first click louder, and does the tempo drift?
That is the accent: beat one is a sharper 1650 Hz tone against 1000 Hz for the other beats, and it can be switched off. The clicks are scheduled on the Web Audio clock rather than a JavaScript timer, so they do not drift while playing; Bluetooth headphones, however, add their own audible delay, which wired headphones avoid.