Guide
How to practice guitar with a metronome
A metronome clicks at a steady rate so you can hear the beat. Play along with it and you'll hear right away where your timing wobbles. This guide covers how to pick a starting tempo, a simple routine, and what to do when you drift off the beat.
Do you really need a metronome?
Yes, but not for every minute you play. A metronome helps most when you're learning a new part, building speed, or catching yourself speeding up and slowing down. On your own, a wobbly beat is easy to miss. Next to a click, you hear it at once.
On the other hand, playing only with a click can leave your timing accurate but stiff. Once you've learned a part with the metronome, turn it off and play along with songs you like. Switching between the two works well.
Start with the free web metronome
The metronome on this site runs in your browser with no signup. Set the BPM with a slider or one step at a time, and choose 2 to 7 beats per bar and an accent on beat one (a louder first click). You can split each beat into two, three, or four clicks, and pick from four click sounds. If you don't know a song's tempo, use tap tempo (tap a button in time to find the speed). The space bar starts and stops it.
Open the free metronomeHow to pick a starting BPM
BPM means beats per minute. At 60, one beat lands every second. Your starting tempo should be slow enough that you can play the part cleanly and without tensing up. Boringly slow is fine.
For a new part, try 60 to 80 BPM, and drop to 40 or 50 if you still miss notes. If you know the song's real tempo, starting at about half of it also works.
A simple metronome routine
- 1
Set the beats and the tempo
Choose the number of beats per bar for the song (many songs use 4) and turn on the accent for beat one. Set the slow BPM you picked above.
- 2
Count out loud
Before you play, count 'one, two, three, four' out loud with the click for a bar or two. For eighth notes, which split each beat in half, count the in-between too: 'one-and, two-and'. Counting aloud keeps you from losing your place in the bar.
- 3
Play right on the click
Aim for each note to land at the same moment as the click. When you're right on it, the click seems to disappear under your note. If you can hear it separately, you're a little early or late.
- 4
Three clean runs, then add 5 BPM
When you can play the part three times in a row without a mistake, raise the tempo by 5 BPM. If you keep missing at the new speed, drop back 5 and earn your three clean runs again. Climb one step at a time.
- 5
Keep sessions short
Metronome work takes a lot of focus, so try short blocks of 10 to 15 minutes. Write down the last tempo you played cleanly, and start the next day a little below it to warm up.
- 6
Turn it off and play along with a song
Finish by turning the metronome off and playing the part along with a song. This checks that you can hold the beat without the click.
Once it's easy, put the click on 2 and 4
With a click on every beat, it's easy to lean on the metronome. Once a part feels solid, try hearing the click only on beats 2 and 4. That's where the snare drum hits in many songs, so it builds a feel for the groove.
Here's how. Set the metronome to half your tempo and turn off the beat-one accent. Hear each click as beat 2 or beat 4, and count beats 1 and 3 yourself. For a song at 100 BPM, set it to 50.
When you drift off the beat
Getting ahead of the click is called rushing; falling behind it is dragging. Everyone does both. Here's how to get back on track.
Stop, listen, come back in
When you feel it slip, don't scramble to catch up. Stop, count along with the click for one bar, and come back in on the next beat one.
Drop 5 to 10 BPM
If you keep slipping at the same spot, the tempo is still too fast for now. Drop 5 to 10 BPM and repeat until it's clean.
Loop just the hard part
Drift often happens at chord changes or bursts of fast notes. Loop just those one or two bars slowly, then join them back to the bars before and after.
Record yourself
It's hard to hear while you play. Record yourself with the click on your phone and listen back to find where you speed up or slow down.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I practice with a metronome on?
- Yes, especially for new parts and when you're building speed. You don't need it on the whole time, though. Learn a part with the click, then turn it off and play it along with a song. That way you build steady timing and musical feel together.
- What BPM should I start at?
- Start at a tempo where you can play the part three times in a row without a mistake. For a new part, try 60 to 80 BPM, and go down to 40 or 50 if that's still hard.
- Is it useful to just play along with a metronome, nothing else?
- Yes, it's solid timing practice. Lay your fretting hand lightly across the strings so they don't ring (muting), and strum steady quarter notes with the click, then eighth notes. Once that's easy, move the click to beats 2 and 4 and do the same.
- Why do I keep speeding up or slowing down?
- Usually it means the tempo is still a bit fast. Drop 5 to 10 BPM and count out loud as you play. When you slip, stop, listen for one bar, and come back in on the next beat one. Recording yourself makes the shaky spots easy to find.
The metronome inside EG Tone
If you practice with an amp sound on your computer, EG Tone has a metronome built in too. EG Tone is an electric guitar amp and effects plugin for beginners.
- Use the metronome in the same window as your amp sound. It covers 40 to 240 BPM, with 8 click sounds, time signatures, and accents.
- As a plugin in a DAW, it can follow the DAW's tempo (host sync).
- A tuner is built in too, so you can tune up in the same program before you practice.
- Every knob and button has help text, and a guided tour walks you through the real screen, one part at a time.
- It runs as a VST3 plugin and a standalone app on macOS and Windows, and as an AU plugin on macOS.
EG Tone is a one-time purchase, not a subscription.
Explore EG ToneThe metronome, tuner, and chord library on this site are free to use, with no signup.