The 10 Best Metronomes

Expressive forms of art are not necessarily meant to be structured or quantified. When learning how to paint, for example, an apprentice learns about the different styles of canvas, brushes, brushstrokes, and paint consistencies needed to create the most lifelike images. But at the end of the day, an artist's desires, personality, and time allow him to infuse his creation with his own views of culture and history without obsessing over the mechanics of what's involved in the process.

Professional singers or musicians are not always obsessed with the structural nature of their music or the notes they see on a page. Following the adaptation to a musical composition and the way it should be played, these professionals learn how to personalize the art form and make it their own in order to convey feeling to an audience. That is one of music's ultimate goals, but in order to get there the fundamentals still need to be taught, learned, and practiced. For the student or professional musician learning a new piece, a metronome can be an excellent tool to help keep them in time as they play and become accustomed to the nature of the composition.

A metronome is a device that produces audible and metrical beats or ticks per minute in order to keep a musician in proper time. The device is most useful as a training tool for students or any musician learning how to keep the right tempo (speed and pace of the notes played). Depending on the passage of music, it may require an increase or decrease in tempo. The device also encourages further development of one's internal sense of tempo. This means that a musician learns to recognize the appropriate moments to play fast or slow without having to depend on the metronome indefinitely.

While it is a great training tool, a common criticism for the device is that it also removes personality from the music being played. This defeats the point of conveying the feeling of music to an audience in the first place. We're not here to bash the metronome by any means, but it's important to recognize it as a tool for developing one's individual sense of musical instinct and not as an object of permanent dependence.

The three major types of metronome include mechanical, electronic, and software. Mechanical metronomes leverage an adjustable weight on the end of an inverted pendulum rod, which swings back and forth to keep the tempo consistent. When the weight is raised along the rod, the tempo will decrease. When the weight is lowered, the tempo will increase. These devices also have an internal component that produces a clicking noise as the pendulum swings to each beat. The visual cue of the pendulum swinging back and forth can be a significant advantage for a student who's just learning to play an instrument, as they can learn to anticipate the pendulum's movements.

The electronic metronome is typically battery-operated with a digital display that uses quartz crystal to maintain its accuracy. Many electronic metronomes have built-in dials or buttons to control the tempo, while others can produce several distinct sounds to represent different beats. Software metronomes can be an element of a larger musical sequencing system or they can exist as standalone programs. Practical applications for software metronomes include film scoring and digital music production.