Free online metronome for steady practice

A two-minute rhythm exercise at 60 BPM

Select 4/4, 60 BPM, and the single-click subdivision (♩). Each click is one quarter-note beat, one second apart. Start with clapping, then use a comfortable open string.

1. Listen for one full bar. Count “1, 2, 3, 4,” with 1 on the accented click.
2. For four bars, clap once per click. For the next four bars, clap on 1 and 3 while still counting every beat.
3. For four bars, clap eighth notes and count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and.” The numbers align with clicks; each “and” is halfway between. Select the two-click subdivision (♫) if you need to hear those halfway points.
4. Return to one click per beat. On your instrument, play four even open-string quarter notes, then eight eighth notes. Repeat slowly without squeezing or using more bow than you can control.
5. Stop the metronome, count one bar alone, then restart and compare your pulse. Stay at 60 until the pattern feels settled; speed is optional.

What to listen for

Do the eighth notes become faster near a string crossing? Is the gap before a difficult note longer? Isolate that transition for two bars. Adding subdivisions should clarify spacing, not double the written tempo: at 60 BPM in 4/4, the two-click setting sounds 120 clicks per minute while the quarter-note beat remains 60.

Review time signatures and tempo markings, or combine this exercise with bow-hold practice.

Four ways to use it that are not just “play along”

• Build tempo in increments

  Find the fastest tempo where a passage is genuinely clean, play it correctly three times running, then raise the click by four beats per minute. Drop back whenever accuracy slips. Keep a record of the clean tempo; progress depends on the passage and the player.

• Click on two and four

  Set the metronome to half your beat, switch off the downbeat accent, and hear the clicks as beats two and four rather than one and three. You have to carry the pulse yourself, which exposes unsteadiness a click on every beat would hide.

• One click per bar

  For a passage at quarter note = 120 in 4/4, set 30 BPM with one click per pulse and switch off the downbeat accent. Count four quarter notes between clicks. The tool has no 1/4 setting; ignoring its bar numbering lets each click act as one bar of your passage.

• Subdivide a stubborn rhythm

  When a dotted figure or a syncopation keeps collapsing, switch the click to eighths or triplets until the relationship is obvious, then remove the subdivision.

Tempo markings and their speeds

These ranges are rough orientation, not fixed rules. Follow the score’s note-value marking and musical character; the same BPM number means a different pace for quarter notes and dotted quarters.

Metronome questions

Is this metronome accurate?

Clicks are scheduled ahead on the browser's audio clock to reduce timing variation. Keep the tab active: device sleep, heavy system load, or browser audio restrictions can still interrupt playback. Start again if you hear a gap.

What tempo should I practise at?

The fastest tempo at which the passage is genuinely clean, every note in tune, every bow change smooth. Play it correctly three times in a row, raise the metronome by about four beats per minute, and drop back whenever accuracy fails.

What do the Italian tempo markings mean?

Largo is broad, around 40–60 BPM; Adagio slow, 66–76; Andante a walking pace, 76–108; Moderato 108–120; Allegro fast and cheerful, 120–168; Presto very fast above that. They describe character as much as speed, which is why modern scores usually give a metronome marking too.

Should I always practise with a metronome?

No. Use it to diagnose where you rush or drag and to raise tempo in controlled steps, then turn it off and play musically. Musical time breathes, and a player who can only play to a click struggles with rubato and with following a conductor.

How do I practise in 6/8?

In this tool, 6/8 produces six numbered pulses per bar. Choose the single-click subdivision (♩), count ONE two three FOUR five six, and give counts 1 and 4 a sense of emphasis yourself; the tool accents only count 1. For dotted quarter = 60, set 180 BPM to hear the six eighth-note pulses.