Online Metronome
Pick a tempo and time signature and press Start. Tap along to a song to find its BPM.
How to use the online metronome
- Set the tempo from 40 to 240 BPM with the slider or −/+, or tap “Tap tempo” along with a song.
- Pick 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 or 6/8. The first beat of each bar plays higher unless you turn the accent off.
- Press Start. The sound starts only after you tap, and stops when you switch tabs.
Tempo markings and BPM
Italian tempo words are rough guides, not fixed numbers; Wikipedia's list overlaps and books disagree. This metronome shows the name in the last column so that every BPM maps to one word.
| Marking | Meaning | Wikipedia | Shown here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Largo | Very slow, broad | 40–66 | 40–59 |
| Larghetto | Rather slow | 44–66 | 60–65 |
| Adagio | Slow | 44–66 | 66–75 |
| Andante | Walking pace | 56–108 | 76–107 |
| Moderato | Moderate | 108–120 | 108–119 |
| Allegro | Fast | 120–156 | 120–155 |
| Vivace | Lively | 156–176 | 156–175 |
| Presto | Very fast | 168–200 | 176–199 |
| Prestissimo | As fast as possible | 200+ | 200–240 |
BPM and beat length
60 BPM is one beat per second; 120 BPM is two beats per second.
| BPM | One beat | One 4/4 bar |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1.5 s | 6 s |
| 60 | 1 s | 4 s |
| 80 | 0.75 s | 3 s |
| 100 | 0.6 s | 2.4 s |
| 120 | 0.5 s | 2 s |
| 160 | 0.375 s | 1.5 s |
| 200 | 0.3 s | 1.2 s |
| 240 | 0.25 s | 1 s |
Time signatures
| Meter | Accents (S strong, M medium) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 2/4 | S·w | Marches, polkas |
| 3/4 | S·w·w | Waltz |
| 4/4 | S·w·w·w | Most pop music |
| 6/8 | S·w·w·M·w·w | Two groups of three |
In 6/8 each dot is an eighth note, so BPM counts eighth notes; for a dotted-quarter pulse of 60, set 180.
Why the click stays steady
Browser timers can be late by tens of milliseconds. Instead of playing on the timer, this metronome wakes every 25 ms and books the clicks for the next 0.1 seconds on the Web Audio clock, so the sound lands on time even when the page is busy.
Sources
FAQ
What does BPM mean?
Beats per minute. 60 BPM is one beat per second.
What BPM is Allegro?
Roughly 120–156 BPM according to Wikipedia; sources vary.
Why is there no sound on my phone?
Sound starts only after you press Start, and silent mode may mute it.