How to Use a Metronome (Beginner Guide)
If you want to know how to use a metronome, open the Metronome, set a slow tempo, press Start, and count along with the click before you play a note. Once you can play the passage cleanly at that speed, raise the tempo in small steps.
What you'll need
- An instrument, or just your hands for clapping.
- A phone, tablet, or laptop with a speaker or headphones.
There is no app to install and no account to create. The tool is free and runs entirely in your browser, where it generates its own click. It never asks for the microphone and it doesn't take a file, so there is nothing to upload.
What a metronome does in music
A metronome plays a steady click at a tempo you choose, so you have something fixed to measure your own timing against. Music tempo is counted in beats per minute, or BPM: at 60 BPM there is one click every second, and at 120 BPM there are two. The background is in What Is BPM? Tempo Explained + BPM Finder.
Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel built the mechanism in Amsterdam in 1814, and Johann Maelzel patented his metronome in 1815. The "M.M." you sometimes see beside a tempo marking on sheet music stands for Maelzel's Metronome.
How to use a metronome online, step by step
- Set the tempo. The big number at the top is the BPM, and it starts at 120. Press the − and + buttons on either side to move it 1 BPM at a time, or drag the slider underneath for bigger jumps. The range is 20 to 300 BPM. The label under the number shows the BPM with an Italian tempo name, such as "BPM · Allegro".
- Set "Beats per bar". This slider goes from 1 to 12 and starts at 4. The row of beat lights under the tempo slider changes to match, one light per beat.
- Decide on the accent. "Accent the first beat" is ticked by default. With it on, beat one is a higher-pitched click and its light turns amber, so you can always tell where the bar starts. Untick it if you want every beat to sound the same.
- Set the "Volume" slider so the click is clear over your instrument.
- Leave "Subdivision" on Quarter for now. The other chips, Eighths, Triplets and Sixteenths, add quieter, lower clicks between the main beats.
- Press the amber "Start" button. The click begins, the lights step along with the beat, and the button changes to "Stop".
- Adjust while it runs. Changes to the tempo, beats per bar, accent, volume and subdivision apply while the metronome is playing, so you don't need to stop and restart to nudge the speed.
- Press "Stop" when you're done.
The metronome keeps time if you switch to another tab, which helps when your chord chart is open in the same browser. A phone that locks its screen can still pause the sound, so keep the screen awake while you practise.
Count along before you play
Don't play straight away. Let the metronome beat run for a few bars and count "1 2 3 4" aloud with it, landing "1" on the accented click. Then clap on each click. Then pick up the instrument. That way you learn the pulse before you have to find notes as well.
What beats per bar means
Beats per bar is how many clicks pass before the count returns to "1". It is the top number of a time signature.
- Set 4 for most pop and rock, which is in 4/4.
- Set 3 for waltz time, 3/4, and count "1 2 3".
- For 6/8, set 6 and treat each click as an eighth note. Only click 1 is accented, so count "1 2 3 4 5 6" and feel the second pulse on 4 yourself.
When to use subdivisions
A subdivision splits each beat into smaller, equal parts and adds a softer click on each one.
- Eighths: two clicks per beat. Count "1-and 2-and".
- Triplets: three clicks per beat. Count "1-trip-let 2-trip-let".
- Sixteenths: four clicks per beat. Count "1-e-and-a 2-e-and-a".
They are most useful at slow tempos. When the clicks are far apart it is easy to arrive early or late, and eighths give you a checkpoint halfway through every beat. The beat lights still show the main beats only.
Start slow, then raise the tempo in small steps
Pick a tempo where you can play the passage cleanly, with no mistakes and no tension. That is your starting tempo, however slow it is. Many beginners land somewhere around 60 to 80 BPM for new material, but treat that as a common starting range and not a rule.
When you can play it cleanly a few times in a row, raise the tempo a little. Many teachers suggest steps of roughly 2 to 5 BPM. The + button moves 1 BPM per press, so a few presses is one step. Play it again at the new speed.
When mistakes start to appear, drop back to the last tempo that was clean and stay there for a while. Going back down is part of the method. None of these numbers is a formula. They are teaching convention, and the idea underneath is simple: practise music with a metronome at a speed you can control, and the speed comes later.
Tempo names the metronome shows
As you change the tempo, the label under the BPM number switches between Italian tempo names. These are the boundaries this tool uses:
| BPM | Name shown |
|---|---|
| Below 40 | Grave |
| 40–59 | Largo |
| 60–75 | Adagio |
| 76–107 | Andante |
| 108–119 | Moderato |
| 120–155 | Allegro |
| 156–175 | Vivace |
| 176–199 | Presto |
| 200 and above | Prestissimo |
Italian tempo terms are approximate. The BPM ranges published for them differ from source to source, so treat the name as a rough guide and the number as what you practise to.
Setting the tempo from a song
If you want the click to match a song you are learning, use the "Tap tempo" button. Tap it in time with the music and the metronome sets the BPM from your taps. It needs at least two taps, it averages your recent ones (up to the last six), and a pause of more than two seconds starts a fresh count.
For the tapping technique itself, see Tap Tempo BPM Finder: How to Tap Out a Song. If you have the song as an audio file, the BPM Finder reads the tempo from it automatically. For a typical tempo by style, see BPM Ranges by Genre: A BPM Finder Guide.
Common mistakes and fixes
You can't hear the click
Check the "Volume" slider in the tool first, then your device's own volume and mute setting. On a phone, check the silent switch as well.
The click seems to speed up or slow down
The click is steady. What you are hearing is your own playing drifting against it, which happens to everyone at first. Lower the tempo until you can stay with it.
You keep getting ahead of the beat
Rushing is a common habit. Go back to counting aloud, and turn on Eighths so there is a click to wait for between beats.
There is too much space between clicks
At slow tempos the gap is hard to judge. Choose a subdivision so the gap is filled, or count the subdivision aloud yourself.
The lights and the sound feel out of step
Bluetooth headphones and speakers can add a noticeable delay to the sound. The lights run on the tool's own clock and don't wait for that delay, so the two can look mismatched. Follow the sound, or use wired headphones or the device speaker.
You can only play it with the click on
For musicians, a metronome is a way to measure your timing. It isn't meant to be a permanent backing track. Practise some passes without it, then switch it back on to check whether your tempo held.
Related practice tools
If you are learning a song from a recording and it is too fast to follow, see How to Slow Down Music to Practice an Instrument. Guitarists should tune before they start: How to Tune a Guitar With an Online Tuner. More step-by-step walkthroughs are in the Audio How-To Guides.
Frequently asked questions
What BPM should a beginner start at?
Start at whatever tempo lets you play the passage cleanly with no mistakes. For many beginners that is somewhere around 60 to 80 BPM on new material, but it is a common starting range, not a rule. If you are still making errors, go slower.
How much should I raise the tempo each time?
Raise it in small steps once you can play the passage cleanly several times in a row. Many teachers suggest roughly 2 to 5 BPM at a time. The + button on the Vocal Cut Metronome moves 1 BPM per press. If mistakes appear at the new tempo, drop back to the last clean one.
Should I always practise with a metronome?
No. Use a metronome to check and build your timing, then practise some passes without it. If you only ever play with a click, you can end up relying on it instead of developing your own sense of pulse. Try a passage with the click, then without, then with it again to see whether your tempo drifted.
What does beats per bar mean on a metronome?
Beats per bar is the number of clicks before the count returns to one. It matches the top number of the time signature: 4 for 4/4, which covers most pop and rock, and 3 for waltz time. With the accent switched on, the first beat of each bar is a higher-pitched click, so you can hear where every bar begins.
Is the online metronome free, and does it need the microphone?
Yes, it is a free online metronome, and no, it does not use the microphone. The Vocal Cut Metronome runs in your browser with no account and no app to install. It generates its click on your device and only plays sound out, so it never asks for microphone permission and you do not upload a file to use it.