Online Metronome

Metronome Instructions

Metronomes are useful tools for practicing with a steady tempo. To use this free metronome, start by finding the tempo of the piece you want to play. This might be written as a tempo marking like Allegro or in beats-per-minute, like quarter = 120.

Change Tempos

You can use the plus/minus signs or the slider to adjust the tempo. Using the plus, or moving the slider to the right, will make the metronome tempo faster. Using the minus, or moving the slider to the left, will make the tempo slower. Using this, you can create a steady pulse from tempos of 20 bpm all the way to 200 bpm.

Subdivisions

Practicing with subdivisions is important for developing a sense of timing and precision. You can change the metronome's subdivision to quarter notes, eighth notes, triplets, or sixteenth notes by clicking on the respective note icon.

Changing Time Signatures

This metronome will automatically emphasize every 4th beat as if there were four beats per measure. You can adjust the number of beats per measure using the "beat emphasis." This is an easy way to practice music with time signatures that aren't 4/4.

What Is A Metronome Used For?

Musicians use metronomes to find the tempo of a piece of music and to bring structure to practice sessions.

Imagine that you are looking at a piece that you have never heard before. In order to practice it, you need to be able to hear it in your mind. To hear it correctly, you need to know how fast (or slow) the melody is played. A metronome will help you hear the speed at which a piece should be played.

A metronome will also help establish a more disciplined practice. It is a smart practice habit to take a small section of music that you're struggling with and slow it down. Slowing the tempo down will make the passage easier and allow you to focus on playing with perfect technique. Once you can repeatedly perform the section perfectly, you can begin to speed up the tempo and bring the good habits with you.

Tips For Practicing With The Online Metronome.

A general rule is to practice small sections of music. Yes, it is important to run through the entire piece to make sure you have the endurance, but when you are fixing problems you should only practice a few measures at a time. Here is a sample process for how to practice with a metronome:

1. Find the problem area you want to practice. This should be no more than 20 measures of music.
2. Slow the tempo down. If you play at a speed where you mistakes, then you are just practicing mistakes. Find a tempo where you can play every single note perfectly. This means that the note is played with a good tone, in tune, at the right dynamic, with the correct articulation, and in the right rhythm. If it is missing any one of these elements, it isn't perfect.
3. Play the section perfectly at least 3 times in a row. Too many musicians will repeat a passage many times with mistakes, play it correctly once, and then speed up the tempo. If you want to make perfect playing a habit, then you need to play it correctly more times than you play it incorrectly. Did you play it ten times with a mistake? Then you need to play it at least eleven times perfectly before you speed up the tempo.
4. Gradually speed up the tempo. Try to increase in increments of 2 to 4 beats per minute (bpm). A common mistake is trying to perform a section at performance tempo too soon. Be patient. Slow and steady will get you to perfection much faster.
5. Continue this process until you can perform the selected measures at performance tempo.
6. Write down any problems you cannot figure out or lessons you have learned in your practice journal. This will help you remember how to solve this problem in the future.

Avoid overuse of the metronome or you might find live performances or playing with others difficult. Musical time is fluid. It is important to only use the metronome to work on specific issues, but then to turn it off and rely on your internal sense of time.

Tempo Markings

Tempo markings let musicians know the speed or tempo of the music. They can be written in two ways: a word or a number.

Composers will sometimes instruct tempo with a word or phrase like "Allegro." These are typically in Italian, French, German, or English if it is a modern composition. Here is a list of common tempo markings and their beats per minute.

• Largo - between 40 and 60 beats per minute
• Adagio - between 66 and 76 beats per minute
• Andante - between 76 and 108 beats per minute
• Moderato - between 108 and 120 beats per minute
• Allegro - between 120 and 156 beats per minute
• Vivace - between 156 and 176 beats per minute

The Online Metronome will show you a common tempo marking when you adjust the tempo. It isn't the only tempo marking,

Time Signatures

A time signature lets a musician know how many beats are in a measure and which note will receive the beat.

When you look at a time signature, you will see two numbers. The top number tells you how many beats are in a measure. The bottom number lets you know which note will get the beat. Think of the time signature of 4/4. The top number is 4, meaning there will be 4 beats in the measure. The bottom number is also 4, which means the quarter note will get the beat.

The most common time signatures have 1, 2, 4, or 8 as the bottom number.

1 = Whole note gets the beat (Change the emphasis to read 1) 2 = Half note gets the beat 4 = Quarter note gets the beat 8 = Eighth note gets the beat

You can learn more about reading time signatures here.

Common Rhythms

Rhythms lets musicians know when a note should be played and how long a note should be played for. Here are some of the most common rhythms musicians see and how many beats they get (note duration).

• A whole note receives four beats.
• A half note gets two beats.
• A quarter note receives one beat.
• An eighth note gets half of a beat.
• A sixteenth note gets one-fourth of a beat.

This will be true for all simple meters (where notes are divided into two). They will be divided slightly differently in compound meter (where notes are divided into three). You can learn more about how to read rhythms here.