Online metronome with tap tempo

This online metronome gives you a steady reference beat while you practice piano or another instrument. Set a tempo from 20 to 240 beats per minute, press Start, and count along before you play. The first beat of a bar has a higher click, while the numbered lights show your place. You can adjust the pace during playback, tap a tempo by hand, or switch the sound off and follow the lights.

Start with a tempo you can keep

Choose a short passage you already understand. Try a pace at which you can play its notes and rhythm without rushing to reach the next beat. A setting such as 60 BPM gives you one main click each second, but the right practice speed depends on the passage: a bar of sixteenth notes needs more movements than a bar of quarter notes at the same BPM.

Count a full bar before starting. In 4/4, say “one, two, three, four” with the clicks, then begin on the next “one.” If you lose your place, stop, work out the difficult movement, and try that small section again. The click is a reference for checking your timing; it cannot decide whether you played the right note.

Once a passage feels steady, raise the tempo a little with the + button. You can also type the exact marking printed on your score. Return to a slower setting if accuracy falls away. Our first-song lesson gives a short melody with note names and counting to try.

Understand beats and subdivisions

The BPM number controls the main beat. The Subdivisions menu adds evenly spaced clicks inside that beat:

With quarter notes as your main beat, 60 BPM and eighth-note subdivisions produce two clicks per second. The main beat is still 60 BPM. The quieter, lower subdivision clicks help you place notes between beats without confusing them with the start of a new beat.

Try subdivisions when a rhythm feels uneven, then switch back to one click per beat to check whether you can maintain those smaller divisions yourself. For the relationship between note values and time signatures, see reading piano sheet music.

Choose the bar accent

Beats per bar controls when the stronger click returns. Use four to count a typical 4/4 passage and three for a waltz in 3/4. The one-beat setting gives every main click the same sound, which is useful when you want a steady pulse without a bar marker.

The number in this menu is a count of main beats, so compound time needs a choice about how you are counting. A 6/8 passage often has two main beats, each divided into three. Two beats with triplets expresses that feel. Counting all six eighth notes separately is another option, using six beats and a correspondingly faster BPM. Follow the note value beside a printed metronome marking.

Find a tempo by tapping

Press Tap tempo several times with the beat you hear. The number updates from your recent taps. Keep tapping the main pulse instead of every note in the melody: faster notes may be subdivisions of a much slower beat. A pause of more than four seconds starts a new estimate.

Tap tempo is a way to estimate a pace. It does not listen to a recording or analyze audio. Your microphone stays unused, and your tapping accuracy affects the result.

Practice scales with a steady pulse

Choose a scale from the piano scales guide, then play one note per click. Pay attention to the thumb crossing: it should not interrupt the beat. Try the other hand separately before combining both hands. When that is comfortable, keep the same BPM and play two notes per beat with eighth-note subdivisions.

For a melody, the song library also has Listen at 50%, 75% or full speed, plus a Practice mode that waits for each correct key. Use Listen to learn its rhythm, Practice to find the notes, and the metronome beside your physical keyboard when you are ready to keep the pulse yourself.