Metronome FAQ

The questions musicians actually ask about tempo, answered in one place.

What does BPM mean?

Beats per minute — the number of beats (clicks, quarter notes) in sixty seconds. At 60 BPM each beat is exactly one second; at 120 BPM each beat is 500 milliseconds. The BPM to milliseconds converter turns any tempo into beat lengths and delay times.

What is a "normal" tempo?

There isn't one, but there are centres of gravity: a resting heart is 60–70 BPM, walking pace is roughly 90–110, and the largest cluster of commercial pop sits between 100 and 130. The Italian words for the ranges are on the tempo markings page, and modern styles are mapped on the genre BPM guide.

Why do some online metronomes drift or stutter?

Because they play each click from a page timer, and browsers delay timers when a tab is busy or backgrounded. MetronomeHQ schedules clicks ahead of time on the Web Audio clock — the same mechanism audio software uses — so the click times are fixed by arithmetic, not by when the page happens to wake up. At 120 BPM the clicks are placed at exactly 0, 500, 1000, 1500 ms and so on.

How accurate is tap tempo?

After five or six taps, usually within ±1–2 BPM. The tool averages the gaps between taps (a single early tap is cancelled by a late one), and a pause of more than two seconds resets the measurement. Try the tap tempo tool.

What tempo should I practise at?

The fastest tempo at which you can play the passage with no mistakes — then a little below it, to build. Speed is added in small earned steps; the practice trainer automates those steps. Method, in full: how to practise with a metronome.

What is a subdivision, and when should I use one?

A subdivision splits each beat into equal smaller clicks: 2 for eighth notes, 3 for triplets, 4 for sixteenths. Use them when the tempo is too fast to judge the beat directly, or so slow that your timing wanders between clicks. At 120 BPM in 4/4 with sixteenth subdivisions, the metronome plays 16 clicks per bar.

How is 6/8 counted?

Six eighth-note beats per bar, felt as two groups of three — two big beats. On this metronome you get six clicks and six dots per bar; count "ONE-two-three, FOUR-five-six" and put your weight on one and four. All the signatures are explained in time signatures, explained.

Can I use this metronome for running or workouts?

Yes — cadence training uses the same numbers. Many runners aim for a step cadence around 170–180 steps per minute; set the metronome to that BPM and match one step per click. It runs in the browser on your phone, and the settings are remembered between visits.

Does the metronome store or upload anything?

No. The sound is generated in your tab, nothing is recorded, and your settings live only in this browser's local storage. Details: privacy.

Why does the first click on my phone need a tap?

Mobile browsers block audio that starts without a user gesture, as an anti-annoyance rule. Pressing Start is the gesture that unlocks sound; after that, the metronome can also keep playing while the screen is used for other things on desktop.