Online metronome
Tap a beat to change it: accent → soft accent → normal → silent.
A free online metronome that keeps steady time right in your browser. Set the BPM or tap it in, pick a time signature from 2/4 to 12/8, add eighth-note, triplet or sixteenth-note subdivisions, and use the speed trainer to push your tempo up a few BPM every few bars.
How to practise with a metronome
- Start slow enough to play it perfectly. If you can't play a passage clean three times in a row, the tempo is too fast.
- Go up in small steps, 2 to 5 BPM at a time. The speed trainer does this for you.
- Turn on subdivisions for fast or tricky rhythms. Hearing the eighths or sixteenths between beats stops you rushing.
- Put the click on 2 and 4 for a swing or backbeat feel: in 4/4, silence beats 1 and 3 and accent 2 and 4. It feels strange at first and makes your time much stronger.
- Drop it out sometimes. Silence one beat a bar, then two, and check you land back in time when the click returns.
Tempo markings in BPM
| Marking | BPM | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Grave | below 40 | very slow, solemn |
| Largo | 40–60 | broad, slow |
| Larghetto | 60–66 | a little less slow |
| Adagio | 66–76 | slow, at ease |
| Andante | 76–108 | walking pace |
| Moderato | 108–120 | moderate |
| Allegro | 120–156 | fast, bright |
| Vivace | 156–176 | lively |
| Presto | 168–200 | very fast |
| Prestissimo | above 200 | as fast as possible |
Typical BPM by genre
| Genre | BPM |
|---|---|
| Doom and drone | often under 80, sometimes far under |
| Lo-fi hip hop | about 70–90 |
| Hip hop | about 85–100 |
| Reggaeton | about 88–100 |
| Shoegaze and dream pop | anywhere; often 90–130 |
| Pop | about 95–125 |
| House | about 120–130 |
| Techno | about 125–140 |
| Punk | about 160–200+ |
| Drum and bass | about 160–180 |
Need a delay or reverb that matches the tempo you just found? The delay time calculator and reverb pre-delay calculator turn BPM into milliseconds.
Time signatures, quickly
- 4/4: four beats a bar. Most rock, pop and hip hop.
- 3/4: three beats a bar. Waltzes, a lot of folk.
- 6/8: six eighth notes felt as two big beats of three. Set the BPM to the eighth notes, and the accents land on 1 and 4.
- 5/4 and 7/8: odd meters. This metronome groups 5/4 as 3+2 and 7/8 as 2+2+3; tap the beats to regroup them.
- 12/8: four beats of three. Slow blues and a lot of soul.
Cafecito keeps time on your tracks.
A free plugin that sits on any DAW track: a Pomodoro timer, how long you have worked on the song, notes, to-dos, a chromatic tuner and a circle of fifths, saved with the session.
Get Cafecito, free →Quick answers
How do I use an online metronome?
Set the tempo in BPM, or tap it in with the Tap tempo button, pick your time signature, and press Start (or the space bar). The first beat of each bar is accented so you always know where 1 is.
What BPM should I practise at?
Slow enough to play the passage perfectly three times in a row. Then raise it by 2 to 5 BPM at a time. The speed trainer can do this automatically, for example adding 4 BPM every 4 bars up to your target.
Does this metronome work in the background?
Yes. Clicks are scheduled on the audio clock and timed from a background worker, so it keeps steady time if you switch tabs or open another app on your computer. On phones, keep the browser in front.
How do I set a metronome for 6/8?
Choose 6/8 and set the BPM to the speed of the eighth notes. The accents fall on beats 1 and 4, which are the two main pulses you feel in 6/8.
What tempo is Allegro?
Allegro is fast and bright, roughly 120 to 156 BPM. Andante, a walking pace, is about 76 to 108 BPM, and Adagio about 66 to 76 BPM.
How do I practise with the metronome on 2 and 4?
In 4/4, tap beats 1 and 3 until they go silent and leave 2 and 4 accented. You now hear only the backbeat, which is how jazz and a lot of funk and soul players practise.
Is this metronome free?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no app, account or download.
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