Free Online METRONOME

best metronome online developed with music teachers

with different rhythm patterns, syncopes and 2 against 3

How to Use this Free Online Metronome:

  1. Click on the Play icon or on the metronome needle to start the metronome. Click the same button to pause the metronome.
  2. Select the speed. You can slide the bar on the needle (or pendulum) up and down or your can type in the number above BPM. BPM means beats per minute. By default the metronome is set to 80 BPM.
  3. With the bell icon you can switch the bell on each first beat on or off. By default it’s on.
  4. Click on the number below beats to select the number of beats per measure. In a 4/4 measure, there are 4 beats per bar. As a default the metronome is set to 4.
  5. Click on the note icon below rhythm to select subdivisions. By default you’ll hear quarter notes. With the rhythm selector you can let the metronome play different rhythmic patterns.
  6. You can go back to default settings anytime by clicking the arrow icon above rhythm.

The tempo markings of the free online metronome you find above are:

The number refers to the BPM range to use for this tempo.

Largo — 40-60
Larghetto — 61-66
Adagio — 67-76
Andante — 77-108
Moderato — 109-120
Allegro — 121-168
Presto — 169-200
Prestissimo — 200 and over

You can find more information on tempo marketings, different measures and how this all connects to BPM and the music you play in the text below.

This free online metronome app can play 11 different rhythm patterns

Practice effectively with subdivisions. This online metronome is the one with most rhythm patterns. It’s the only metronome with which you can really practice difficult rhythms, such as dotted rhythms, syncopes and two against three (hi, pianists!),

This online metronome can play the following subdivisions:

Click on the note icon below rhythm on the metronome to select.

  • Quarter notes
  • Eighth notes
  • Sixteenth notes
  • Eighth-note triplets
  • Quarter and eighth note triplets
  • Eighth and quarter note triplets
  • Dotted eighth and sixteenth note (dotted rhythm)
  • Dotted sixteenth and eighth note (reversed dotted rhythm)
  • Syncopated half notes (yes, finally a metronome with which you can effectively practice nasty syncopation)
  • Alternating quarter notes and quarter note triplets. With this you can practice transitions between normal notes and triplets back and forth. Do you want eighth notes? Just double the BPM.

Use this Free Metronome as an App on your iPhone or Android device

My online metronome is made to be used on laptops, desktops and any brand of smartphone and tablet. You’ll need a metronome every day as you practice, so make sure to add this metronome as an app on your smartphone or tablet. When you’re on this page in your favorite browser, click on the share icon as if you’d share the link with someone. Then you’ll see a button ‘Add to Home Screen’. Next you’ll be prompted to type in a name. I’d suggest ‘metronome’. Voila! The link is pasted to your home screen and you can open it just as you can open any app on your smartphone.

VIDEO: Violin teacher shows how to use this free online metronome

As a violin teacher I made this metronome for my students and myself. There were things I missed in all types of metronomes. I think I’ve tried about all in my career teaching music for over 15 years!

I had this metronome developed together with other music teachers, to include all the functionalities I was missing: a nice beat, different rhythm patterns, a clearly visible needle and the possibility to practice difficult rhythms.

Video time stamps

0:32 What is a metronome?
1:43 Why practice with a metronome
2:22 ‘but I can’t express myself playing with a metronome’
4:15 When to practice with a metronome (and when NOT)
6:21 What if you can’t hear the metronome while playing
8:22 Should I practice with a metronome as a beginner violinist
10:09 How to practice with the metronome as a beginner violinist
14:04 How to practice a dotted rhythm with a metronome
20:37 What if you can’t keep up with the metronome
21:50 How to practice difficult rhythms with the metronome
22:23 How to practice triplets with a metronome
22:25 How to practice chances in note values
24:57 How to practice syncopation with a metronome
26:54 How to practice violin vibrato with a metronome

“Practice with a metronome!”

If you are a violinist at ANY stage of learning, I can almost guarantee this is something that you’ve heard many times before. Using a metronome is a great practice technique if used in the correct way. If used improperly, it’s just a frustrating clicky sound that will haunt your dreams. Kidding! Kind of.

In this article, I will dive into what exactly a metronome is and how to use it to enhance your practice sessions.

What is a metronome?

A metronome is a device (either mechanical, electronic, or online) that produces a steady pulse, using both aural and visual cues. The pulse is measured in BPM (Beats per Minute). For example, 60 BPM is essentially one beat per second, while 120 BPM is two beats per second.

Mechanical vs Electronic vs Online Metronome

There are three basic types of metronomes: mechanical, electronic, and online.

mechanical metronome

Mechanical Metronome

Mechanical metronomes have a pyramid-like shape with a swinging pendulum down the middle. The pendulum swings left to right, and the metronome emits a clicking sound each time the pendulum reaches each side. These metronomes are more old-school and sometimes require the user to wind them up before use.

Pros

  • Clear pendulum
  • Nice click
  • Decorative

Cons

  • Winding
  • Expensive
  • Limitied functionality
electronic metronome

Electronic metronome

Electronic metronomes are hand-held digital devices. You can set the BPM with a wheel or with buttons. Most of them have lights that light up with the corresponding click. Some of them even have a display with a pendulum. They are more compact than mechanical metronomes.

Pros

  • Compact compared to mechanical
  • No winding

Cons

  • Batteries
  • Expensive
  • Often no visible pendulum
  • Limitied functionality
free online metronome app

Online Metronome or Metronome App

Online metronomes come in a wide variety, but the one above this page most resembles a more traditional, mechanical metronome. The advantage is that they generally have more functionalities like subdivisions for different rhythms. It’s free (at least mine is) and you always have it with you. 

What are time signatures?

In order to effectively use the metronome for practice, you must first understand time signatures. Time signatures are made up of two numbers. The top number indicates how many beats are in each measure and the bottom number indicates which note is equivalent to a beat. For example, in the time signature ¾, the top number 3 tells us there are 3 beats in the measure, and the bottom number 4 tells us the quarter note gets the beat. If you were to see a 2 on the bottom, that indicates the half note gets the beat, an 8 indicates that the eighth note gets the beat, and a 16 indicates that the sixteenth note gets the beat. You can think of the beat as one metronome click.

The standard rhythm is 4/4. If you see a big e in front of the music where the measure usually is, the measure is 4/4. A waltz is usually a 3/4 measure. A tango is often a 2/4 measure.

How does the time signature relate to the metronome?

Metronomes emit a higher-pitched click on the first beat of each measure, which is why it is important to set them to the time signature of the piece you’re practicing. Accenting the first beat of each measure is helpful because it makes it very easy to tell if you are with the metronome or not. Say you were in the middle of a measure and hear the higher-pitched click indicating beat one; you will immediately know that your tempo is off. It is up to you to determine if you were playing too fast or too slow, and adjust your tempo accordingly.

Note Values

Rhythms let us know when a note should be played and how long a note should be held for. Here are some of the most common rhythms and how many beats they get in a 4/4 measure.

A whole note gets four beats.
A half note gets two beats.
A quarter note gets one beat.
An eighth note gets half a beat. (Two eighth notes equal one beat).
A sixteenth note gets one-quarter of a beat. (Four sixteenth notes equal one beat).

Dotted Rhythms

Whenever you see a dot next to a note (directly next to it, not under or over it as that means something else entirely), it tells us to add half of that note’s value to that note. Let’s use a dotted half note as an example. A half note gets two beats- half of two is one, so I add one beat to the note getting a total duration of three beats.

rhythm notation music chart
dotted rhythm chart
note value chart

What BPM should I use?

This totally depends on the piece! The BPM is not defined by the time signature, but instead by the tempo marking. The tempo marking is most often an Italian term notated at the beginning of the piece. In longer pieces, you may also find that the tempo changes and new tempo markings are given at the beginning of certain sections. Additionally, some pieces may indicate the BPM at the beginning of the piece in which case, you can easily see exactly what speed to use!

If there is no speed or tempo marking indicated, listen to recordings to get a general feel for the tempo. You can use your metronome to click along to the recording and adjust until you find a BPM that is relatively close to what you hear.

Below we’ll go a bit deeper into common tempo markings you find in violin sheet music.

Common Tempo Markings in Music

When you embarked on your violin journey, did you know you’d have to learn a bit of Italian too?! Tempo markings are generally (but not always) in Italian, simply because the majority of the 17th-century composers were Italian, which was the time when tempo markings were first extensively used and codified.

Here is a comprehensive list of Italian tempo markings and their corresponding BPMs:

Slow Tempo Markings

Tempo Marking

Larghissimo
Grave
Lento
Lentissimo
Largo
Larghetto/Adagissimo
Adagio
Adagietto
Tranquillo
Andante moderato

Translation

Very, very slow
Slow and solemn
Slowly
At a very slow tempo
Broadly
Rather broadly
At ease, slow and stately
Rather slow
Tranquil, calmly, or peaceful
A bit slower than Andante

Beats per Minute (BPM)

20 bpm or slower
20 - 40 bpm
40 - 60 bpm
48 bpm or slower
40 - 60 bpm
60 - 66 bpm
66 - 76 bpm
70 - 80 bpm
80 bpm
69 - 84 bpm

Moderate Tempo Markings

Tempo Marking

Andante
Andantino
Allegretto
Moderato
Allegro moderato

Translation

At a walking pace, moderately slow
Slighlty faster and more light-hearted than Andante
Moderately fast, but less than allegro
Moderately
Moderately quick, almost Allegro

Beats per Minute (BPM)

77 - 108 bpm
90 - 112 bpm
98 - 115 bpm
108 - 120 bpm
116 - 120 bpm

Fast Tempo Markings

Tempo Marking

Allegro
Vivace
Vivacissimo
Allegrissimo or Allegro vivace
Allegro assai
Presto
Prestissimo
Veloce

Translation

Fast, quickly and bright
Briskly, Lively and fast
Very fast and lively, faster than Vivace
Very Fast
Very, very fast
Very fast, hastily
Faster than Presto
Lightning Ling Ling fast

Beats per Minute (BPM)

120 - 138 bpm
144 - 160 bpm
160 - 172 bpm
172 - 180 bpm
178 - 190 bpm
185 - 200 bpm
200 - 208 bpm
210+ bpm

What are the benefits of practicing with a metronome?

There are several things that practicing with a metronome can help with. They include but are not limited to:

  • Keeping a steady pulse. When I first started to practice with a metronome, I swore to my teacher that it was the one changing speeds, not me! It’s only natural to speed up when things are easy and to slow down when things are hard. The metronome helps you identify this and work to correct it.
  • Understanding complex rhythms. Not all music is made up of quarters and half notes (if only it were that easy!). The best way for practicing and understanding complex rhythms is subdividing, which we will cover later in this article.
  • Improving difficult runs. There are some runs (which are simply a long string of fast notes) that just seem impossible! Practicing with a metronome will greatly improve your chances for success (covered more in detail below).
  • Getting a piece up to performance tempo. Say you can comfortably play a piece at 60 BPM, but it’s marked at 100 BPM. How are you going to make up that difference? Well, by using the metronome, of course!

When to practice with a metronome?

When practicing, it is important to use the right practice techniques for the problem you’re looking to solve. Practicing with a metronome is not going to help you with intonation, but it can help if you’re having the following issues:

  • Maintaining an even tempo throughout the piece.
  • Struggling with accurate rhythm.
  • Having issues getting the piece to “flow”.
  • Not able to play certain passages up to speed.
  • Wanting to generally increase the speed at which you can play.

How to practice with a metronome

How you use the metronome in practice will depend on your skill level

Beginning players need to first get comfortable playing simple rhythms with the metronome. If you’ve never used the metronome before (or are struggling to get started) here are some steps to follow.

  1. Place your metronome on at 60 BPM.
  2. Practice clapping with the metronome on various simple rhythms. Start with quarter notes (one clap per click), then half notes (one clap per two clicks), and then eighth notes (two claps per click).
  3. Practice playing these simple rhythms on open strings.
  4. Practice scales in these simple rhythms.

Playing with the metronome is going to take a lot of brainpower at first, and that’s okay!

I always recommend for beginners only focus on staying with the metronome when learning how to use it. If you’re trying to stay with the metronome, plus working on your intonation, trying to make sure your bow is straight, and trying to keep your fingers close to the string, there are way too many things to think about and something is bound to fall by the wayside! These things are obviously important but should be addressed away from the metronome.

If you’re faced with challenging rhythms that you can’t quite decipher, the best practice technique is going to be subdividing.

Subdividing is essentially dividing up each note into the smallest common denominator, thus making it easier to keep track of and count. Follow these steps to practice subdividing.

  1. Identify the smallest common denominator of the passage (ie the smallest note value).
  2. Change the setting on your metronome to correspond with that note value.
  3. Determine how many of each of those note values go into larger note values. For example, if you determine that your smallest common denominator is 16th notes, figure out how many 16th notes go into each of the larger note values (this also includes ties).
  4. Play the written rhythm while the metronome is clicking the subdivisions. It should be much easier to count.

If you’re looking to increase your general speed of a piece, here are the steps you need to follow to gradually work it up with the metronome.

  1. Pick a section of the piece (not the whole thing!)
  2. Identify a tempo where you can play it comfortably, no matter how slow. All notes, rhythms, and dynamics should be accurate.
  3. Play that section at least 3 times with the metronome with no mistakes.
  4. Move the metronome up slightly, by no more than 5 clicks, and repeat.
  5. Aim to increase the speed by 5-15 clicks per day.

But I just can’t play any faster! What do I do?

First, recognize that gradually increasing your speed takes time. Depending on the difficulty of the piece, give it at least a few months before declaring that you’ve reached a plateau.

If you really can’t go any faster, increase the speed by 10-20 BPM. I know it sounds crazy, but stay with me for a second. Play the section a few times at this new faster speed. It doesn’t have to be perfect but aim to get through it. Then increase the speed again and repeat the process. Now, go back to the original, desired speed. It should seem much slower and more manageable.

Rhythmical Variations

The best way to increase your speed in runs is to practice rhythmical variations. The aim of this practice technique is to practice just a few notes at a time, but at a very quick speed, which will increase the overall speed at which you’re able to play the run. Here are the steps to follow to practice in rhythmical variations:

  1. Play two notes as fast as possible. Take out all bowings and play each note separately.
  2. Stop for as long as necessary to mentally prepare for the next two notes.
  3. Repeat for the remaining length of the run.
  4. Now, practice in opposite pairs. To do this, start out with a single note, and then resume playing in pairs. You should be playing different pairs than before.
  5. Repeat the process with groups of three, four, six, and eight.

Using a metronome to practice violin vibrato

Did you know that you can use a metronome to practice vibrato!? Yes, it’s possible and extremely effective! Practicing vibrato with the metronome is a great way to practice the vibrato motion and make sure your vibrato is even. Follow these steps to practice vibrato with the metronome.

  1. Place your metronome on 60 BPM.
  2. Practice your vibrato in quarter notes (one movement per click. I also call this “pizza”).
  3. Practice your vibrato in eighth notes (two movements per click. I call this “pepperoni”).
  4. Practice your vibrato in sixteenth notes (four movements per click. I call this “I would like a slice of pizza.”
  5. Gradually increase the speed of the metronome as you feel comfortable.

Difficult rhythms to practice with a metronome

Dotted rhythms (dotted quarters, dotted eighths followed by sixteenths, etc) 

These rhythms are challenging because you have to play off of the beat (meaning that you are not going to be playing right with the click of the metronome.) However, when practicing along with this online metronome, you can simply choose these rhythms in the bottom right-hand corner and play exactly with the beats.

Triplets (especially when in combinations of eighths and quarters)

The most common tendency when practicing triplets is to rush. I like to call triplets “the lazy rhythm” to help remind students to evenly spread the three notes out over the beat. When faced with triplets in combinations of eighths and quarters, I recommend subdividing the triplet in your head.

Syncopated rhythms

Syncopations are difficult because you have to play off of the beat of the metronome (similar to dotted rhythms). Along with subdividing and using the built-in syncopation rhythms in this online metronome, I recommend listening to the piece as much as possible to internalize the rhythm.

Why is practicing with a metronome so difficult?!

In short, it is one more thing to add to the long list of things to worry about during practice. A metronome shows no mercy, which can make it an incredibly difficult practice partner. Overall, the metronome is a practice tool that should enhance your practice, not leave you miserable. If you can get through the initial challenges of learning how to most effectively use it, then the metronome truly can become a great tool to add to your practice toolkit.

How do you practice with the metronome?

Share it in the comments below!

17 Comments

  1. I love your lessons holding the violin upright! I am older with arthritis, and this helps keep me learning. Thank you for sharing this way. I like your tune choices. I’m looking for a better tonal violin than my intermediate one.

    This is a great metronome for playing my violin, and now learning cello, but always back to violin! You are a great teacher! You are caring and sharing your knowledge with students! You don’t give us on all either. You are an amazing teacher! How do you do this with 3 children!! You persevere, and keep going through it all.

    Reply
    • Zlata

      Aw, so sweet, thanks so much!

      Reply
  2. I love your lessons holding the violin upright! I am older with arthritis, and this helps keep me learning. Thank you for sharing this way. I like your tune choices. I’m looking for a better tonal violin than my intermediate one.

    This is a great metronome for playing my violin, and now learning cello, but always back to violin! You are a great teacher! You are caring and sharing your knowledge with students! You are an amazing teacher! How do you do this with 3 children!! You persevere, and keep going through it all. You haven’t given up on me! Thank you

    Reply
  3. beatrice stanley

    Hello Zlata

    I have been teaching violin for over 50 years (at the beginning I had no idea how to go about it but now am creating good musicians). You have some very sensible and creative ideas for teaching. Thank you for sharing them to us in the violin world. I am trying to download the metronome onto my desk top but cannot find the share link?

    Reply
    • Zlata

      Dear Beatrice, thank you for your compliment as an experienced colleague. The metronome can’t be downloaded as such, but you can place a link on your desktop. For Mac you can copy the URL and paste it on your desktop. For Windows and other systems I wouldn’t know.

      Reply
    • Napoleon APOSTLEMUSIC

      This is great. I really enjoy this enlightening explanations on using the metronome. Thanks a lot my online teacher and mentor

      Reply
      • Zlata

        You’re so welcome!

  4. Terry Armstrong

    I’m looking at the Holstein Nicola Amati or Holstein Guarneri Plockton for my new violin. Both have a warmer, darker sound that I like. These are at Fiddlerman Holstein violin workshop in Florida, USA for.less than $1,600. On Spring sale. I haven’t bought any yet. I like the sound of your violin! Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Zlata

      Hi Terry, I haven’t tried those myself, but I do know Fiddlershop to be a helpful and reliable family business, so I can warmly recommend them. I believe they also send sound samples of instruments to customers before buying, so perhaps you can ask them. I can also recommend to have Evah Pirazzi Gold strings put on them.

      Reply
  5. yona

    Hi Zlata,

    life without a pulse would be impossible.

    Music without a pulse would be the opposite of life .

    Thanks for making a tool that trains us the right pulse, to bring life to our music. Now he have a warm heart:)

    Reply
    • Zlata

      Thanks for the beautiful words!

      Reply
  6. George Kasnic Jr.

    Good idea!

    Reply
    • Zlata

      Glad you like it!

      Reply
  7. Anna

    Metronome doesn’t work on iPhone pro 15

    Reply
    • Zlata

      I just tried on an iPhone Pro 15 and it works. Perhaps the issue is with your browser or your internet connection. Could you try Chrome or Safari?

      Reply
      • Anna

        I found the issue. When the phone is in silent mode or do not disturb there’s no sound coming out. It would be good not having to change that setting. But yeah there’s a workaround :).
        Thank you for looking into it

      • Zlata

        Ah, ok, thanks for sharing!

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