Metronome App

What is a metronome?

• This free and interactive metronome app doubles as a speed trainer and was designed by musicians. Metronome Beats claims it's the world's most downloaded metronome app for Android with over five million downloads. The app was designed to be user friendly and has accurate control for increasing or decreasing tempo in small increments with one touch.
• The online metronome is a virtual app that produces a short sound that repeats continously. Each sound is called a beat. The metronome is very useful to play music and study because it helps us to keep a steady rhythm. This free metronome is the perfect tool in your pocket, it works great on mobile devices, including tablets, iPads, smartphones.

Compared to other apps, all the features of the Metronome app is free! No distracting ads either. No distracting ads either. Soundbrenner has also created wearables dedicated to rhythms – check out the world’s first vibrating metronome Soundbrenner Pulse and the ultimate watch for musicians Soundbrenner Core.

Metronome Beats works like a traditional metronome, playing a regular beat in time to a given tempo. Tempo is measured in terms of Beats per Minute (BPM).

Although this metronome has primarily been designed to help musicians keep time when practising and playing, you can also use it for other activities including:

1. Running - Improve your stride technique by running in time to the metronome

2. Golf - Use Metronome Beats in your practice sessions to ensure you have an even golf swing

3. Practicing breathing techniques

Metronome Settings

Are you a musician? To use a metronome you need to know three things about your piece of music:

1. How many beats per minute (BPM) are there?

2. What does each beat represent?

3. How many beats are there per bar?

Simple time signatures

A lot of music is written in a time signature where each beat represents a crotchet (also known as a quarter note). For example:

Example A: 4/4 time signature, =80

The 4/4 time signature means that there are four crotchet beats per bar, and the tempo indication means that there are 80 beats per minute and that each beat represents one crotchet (quarter note). So you would input 80 BPM and 4 beats per bar into the metronome. If you want to hear the metronome play crotchets then you would input a beat subdivision of 1, for quavers (eighth notes) you input 2, and semiquavers (sixteenth notes) input 4.

More complex time signatures

Music doesn’t always have a nice and simple 4/4 time signature with each beat representing a crotchet (quarter note). Say we have two pieces of music in 6/8 with different speeds:

Example B: 6/8 and =80 (80 quaver/eighth note beats per minute)

Example C: 6/8 and =80 (80 dotted crotchet beats per minute)

Both of these examples have a tempo of 80 beats per minute. So for both of these you would need to input 80 BPM into the metronome.

But what does each beat represent? In Example B the beats are quavers (eighth notes). It has a 6/8 time signature, which means that there are six quavers per bar. So Example B has six quaver beats per bar, and you need to set the beats per bar to 6 in Metronome Beats.

In Example C the beats are dotted crotchets. It also has a 6/8 time signature (so six quavers per bar). A dotted crotchet lasts for three quavers, so there are two dotted crotchet beats in each bar of 6/8. So in this case you need to set the beats per bar to 2 in Metronome Beats.

What about beat subdivisions? If you want Metronome Beats to play quavers (eighth notes), you would put a beat subdivision of 1 for Example B (as the beat is already a quaver in example B) and 3 for Example C (as there are three quavers in each dotted crotchet beat). For semiquavers (sixteenth notes) the beat subdivisions would be 2 and 6.

Hopefully this makes sense and should be applicable to any metronome. Confusion can sometimes arise when it is assumed that the beats are always crotchets/quarter notes. With Metronome Beats we haven’t made any assumption on this so that you can put in virtually any time signature/beat combination that you want.

Are you looking for a new digital metronome app for the piano? Below, we’ll list the 10 best digital metronome apps for expert and beginner piano players.

Metronomes are great for developing a strong internal beat and testing yourself on how accurately you play music. Traditional metronomes, however, can be bulky and a pain to carry around. Luckily, there are digital metronome apps that you can download right onto your smartphone or tablet.

Digital metronome apps provide many benefits that regular metronomes simply don’t. For example, once you download a digital metronome app onto your phone, you’ll always have it with you. If you need a quick tempo adjustment, all you have to do is open the app!

The 10 Best Digital Metronome Apps for Piano Players

Metronome App #1: Pro Metronome (Free)

This metronome app has more options than you’ll ever have time to use, including 13 time-keeping options, a visual pendulum, dynamics for accented beats, and tap-in tempo.

While the app is free, you can pay for upgrades, which include vibrate and flash modes, polyrhythms, subdivisions, as well as programmable and shareable playlists.

The price for all the upgrades can add up, and most of the upgrades are more than the typical user will need. Check it out here.

Metronome App #2: Tempo ($2.99)

This app also has tons of helpful features for piano players. For example, the app has 35 time signatures (including compound and complex meters), 9 different rhythm patterns, and accented beats.

What’s more, the metronome app has the ability to turn specific beats off, and the widest range of tempo speeds out there: from 10 to 800.

A free version called “Tempo Lite” has a pared down option set that is better for beginner students. Check it out here.

Metronome App #3: Dr. Betotte ($9.99)

Fans of Dr. Beat metronomes will feel at home with this app that specializes in different ways to subdivide the beat.

With both straight and swing feels, dedicated volume sliders for each subdivision of the beat, multi-beat mode and coach functions (gradual tempo changes), this digital metronome app will get you locked into the beat.

However, this is one of the more expensive options out there, and is probably more specialized than most users typically need. Check it out here.

Metronome App #4: Metro Timer (Free)

This is a great basic metronome app for beginner piano students. It has 8 different metronome sounds as well as a visual indicator and a flashing beat option.

It has enough settings to be very useful, but not too many to overwhelm newer players. Check it out here.

Metronome App #5: Steinway Metronome (Free)

From the makers of Steinway pianos, this free metronome app is aesthetically pleasing with 8 different wood finished themes.

It works in both portrait and landscape modes and has an on-screen click wheel for fast tempo adjustments. What’s more, the app has tap-in tempo.

This is a metronome for users with a love for the visual aesthetics of the piano, but it doesn’t have as many useful features as the other apps listed. Check it out here.

Metronome App #6: Real Metronome (Free)

If you’re looking for real simplicity, then this free metronome app is for you. The app can be used with a modern digital interface, or with an old-school pendulum animation.

It has standard time signature settings and 9 different sound options. This metronome has the basics covered, but more advanced players will want more features. Check it out here.

Metronome App For Apple Watch

Metronome App #7: Metronome+ (Free)

This is a powerful practice app with tons of metronome features, plus the ability to record music, save set lists, and play tuning pitches.

The app’s metronome practice mode can automatically increase the tempo as you work on difficult passages.

Be aware, however, that in-app purchases can add up quickly if you want to use all the bells and whistles available. Check it out here.

Metronome App #8: The Metronome by Soundbrenner (Free)

This is a regular metronome app at first glance; however, the makers of this app have also designed a vibrating watch that links to the app via bluetooth.

You can use the app to control the watch, and link up to 10 other watches to the same device so that all the members of your band feel exactly the same pulse.

I wouldn’t recommend downloading the app if you don’t have the watch, as it’s best used in conjunction. Check it out here.

Metronome App #9: Practice+ (Free)

This app is way more than just a digital metronome. In addition to a large set of metronome options – such as customized meters, beat subdivision, multiple sound options, and accented beats – the app has just about anything you could want when practicing the piano.

The free metronome app includes a tuner, recorder, archival set lists, and a looping mode for difficult passages. Check it out here.

Metronome App #10: Time Guru ($1.99)

This metronome app can play in odd time meters and has options for a human or robot voice counting in different languages. You can also program sequences of time signatures.

Metronome App For Running

The app also has a randomized beat dropping setting that lets you set the percentage of beats that you want to be left out, which is great for testing your internal sense of the beat. Check it out here.

Choosing a Metronome App For Yourself

There are tons of digital metronome apps available, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the options. If you’re not sure where to start, pick a simple app and see which features you use the most. Remember, the metronome app you choose is supposed to help you in your practicing, not distract you from it!

Metronome App Online