Online metronome: keep time at your tempo
Free, no sign-up, nothing to install. Once this page has loaded, it needs no connection to keep time.
Stopped.
120BPM
Quarter note = 120
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How the online metronome works
Press Start and your browser builds four clicks right on the page: a high, loud one for strong beats, a medium one, a plain one, and a soft one for the clicks in between. There's no sound file to download and nothing goes over the network.
Then it books each click a little ahead of time on your device's audio clock, the same clock that plays the sound. The page's own timers only top up the list, a tenth of a second ahead. That matters on a busy phone: a timer can run late, but a click that's already booked plays on time. If something stalls the page long enough that a click's moment passes, we skip that click and never play it late. Two late clicks would come out on top of each other, and a steady count with one gap is easier to play against than a stumble.
What you see is what plays. Each box counts one note, marked Strong, Medium, Normal or Silent in words and bars, and tapping it changes what you hear when that box comes round again. The top number sets how many boxes there are; the bottom number names the note we count. So 3/4 and 3/8 at the same BPM give exactly the same clicks, labeled "Quarter note = 90" or "Eighth note = 90". In 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8, we count the eighth notes in groups of three. Each group is one dotted-quarter musical beat, with the medium accents on boxes 4, 7 and 10 where the measure has them. For 6/8 felt in two, 2/4 with triplets at the dotted-quarter tempo clicks at the same moments, with quieter clicks in between.
While it plays, we ask your phone to keep the screen on, and the line under Start says whether it agreed. If a call, another app or a locked screen stops the sound anyway, the page shows Stopped and tells you why. It won't start again until you press Start.
The light is small on purpose: 36-pixel lamps, never red and never the whole screen. We keep the flashing area under the WCAG general flash threshold at the fastest setting.
Who this is for
A parent sitting next to a young pianist whose teacher wrote "72, then 80 when it's clean" in the notebook. A student with a waltz, a march or a jig to learn and a time signature that isn't 4/4. An adult a few months into guitar who wants eighth-note clicks to keep the strumming even, or who wants to know the tempo of a song before playing along. And a drummer or band student whose phone is propped on a music stand with nobody else in the room.
Beginner questions about metronomes, BPM and time signatures
How do I use an online metronome?
Set the tempo, pick the time signature and press Start. The first click of each measure is the loudest, so count along for a measure before you play and come in on the next beat 1. Don't know the tempo? Press Tap tempo in time with the music a few times and the number appears. You can change anything while it plays, and it keeps going without starting over.
What does BPM mean in music?
Beats per minute. At 60 BPM the note we count comes once a second; at 120 it comes twice. Here the bottom number names that note: a quarter in 4/4, an eighth in 6/8. In compound 6/8, three eighths make one dotted-quarter musical beat, so we show both tempos. Dotted quarter = 60 means setting the eighth-note number to 180.
What does the bottom number in a time signature mean?
It names a note value: 2 is a half note, 4 a quarter note, 8 an eighth note. In simple meters that's the beat; in compound 6/8 it's one third of a dotted-quarter beat. Here the BPM always counts the named note. Set 3/4 and 3/8 to the same BPM and the clicks match. In 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 we also group the eighths in threes.
Is 6/8 the same as 3/4?
No, even though a measure of either holds six eighth notes. 3/4 is three beats with the accent on the first. 6/8 is two groups of three, so here it plays a strong click on 1 and a medium one on 4. With beats-only clicks and the same number set here, the quarter-note clicks in 3/4 land at the same moments as the eighth-note clicks in 6/8. The first click of each three-click group is strong in 3/4; in 6/8 those group starts alternate strong and medium.
How do I set a metronome for 6/8 time?
Pick 6/8 and set the BPM to the speed of the eighth notes. If your music says dotted quarter = 60, that's 180, and the card shows both numbers. You'll hear six clicks a measure, the loudest on 1 and a medium one on 4. If 180 feels too busy, try 2/4 with Triplets at 60: the clicks fall at the same moments, and the four in-between ones are quieter.
What is cut time?
Cut time is 2/2: two beats a measure, and each beat is a half note. It's often printed as a C with a line through it. Here, choose Custom, set 2 beats and pick 2 as the beat note. The BPM then counts half notes, so a march marked half note = 120 is 120 here.
How do I find the BPM of a song by tapping?
Play the song and press Tap tempo on each beat. After two taps you'll see a number, and it settles as you keep going, because we average your last 8 taps. The line under the button says how many taps the reading is based on. Stop for more than 3 seconds and it starts fresh. Tapping doesn't start the metronome, so press Start when you're ready to play along.
How should I practice with a metronome?
Start where you can play the passage cleanly, even if that's well under the tempo on the page. The number your teacher wrote down is a good place to begin. Once it's clean a few times in a row, we'd move up a few BPM, and drop back if it falls apart. At slow tempos, eighth-note clicks fill the long gaps between beats.
Will it keep going if my phone's screen turns off?
We ask your phone to keep the screen on while it plays, and the line under Start tells you whether it agreed. Low battery or power-saving mode can make it say no. If the screen locks or a call comes in, the sound may stop. When that happens the page shows Stopped and waits for you, instead of starting again on its own.
Does the online metronome work offline?
Once the page has loaded, yes. The clicks are made in your browser, so pressing Start doesn't fetch anything, and losing the connection mid-practice won't stop it. It can't be installed, though, and we can't promise it will open with no connection at all. Load it while you're online and keep the tab open.
Why can't I hear the metronome?
Check the volume slider here and your device's own volume. On an iPhone, the ring/silent switch may mute it. Bluetooth headphones can make the sound trail the lights a little, though the tempo doesn't change. If the sound stops by itself, look at the line under Start: a call, another app or a locked screen can stop it, and the page says so.
Are online metronomes accurate?
This one books clicks ahead on your device's audio clock, so a busy page doesn't push an already booked click late. A long stall can still leave a gap: we skip clicks whose moment has passed rather than bunch them together. Your speaker or Bluetooth headset can add a delay after that, which the metronome can't fully measure.
Online metronome for piano, guitar and drum practice
For piano, start with the time signature on the first line of the music and the tempo your teacher wrote down. A waltz is in 3/4 and a jig in 6/8. Pick the one your piece uses, and the beat row shows you where the accents fall before you play a note. Practice hands separately at the slower number before you put them together.
For guitar, eighth notes are the click to strum against: down on the beat, up on the "and". If you're learning a song, tap its tempo first, then set the metronome a little slower until the chord changes come on time.
For drums, sixteenth notes give you every subdivision of a basic groove. Set beats 2 and 4 to Strong and 1 and 3 to Normal, and the accents land on the backbeat. Set a beat to Silent and you'll have to keep that one yourself.
Sources and last checked
- Click timing: Chris Wilson, "A tale of two clocks" (web.dev), for booking clicks ahead on the audio clock; W3C Web Audio API 1.1 (Working Draft, September 22, 2026).
- Keeping the screen on: W3C Screen Wake Lock API (Working Draft, September 29, 2026).
- Background tabs: MDN Web Docs, setTimeout(), "Timeouts in inactive tabs".
- Flash safety: W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2, success criterion 2.3.1.
- Time signatures and note names: Open Music Theory, "Simple Meter and Time Signatures" and "Compound Meter and Time Signatures"; meter presets version 2026-10-07.
- Last checked: October 7, 2026.
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A teacher sets the tempo you practice at and tells you when to move it up. Find piano instructors, guitar classes, drum instructors or violin teachers near you.
Practicing most days? Bookmark this page. It opens at 120 BPM in 4/4 every time and keeps nothing about you. To come back to today's tempo, press Copy settings and paste the line into your practice notes.