Advanced metronome: polyrhythms, odd time signatures, speed trainer
Four independent voices inside one bar, each with its own subdivision count. Set a practice plan that raises the tempo by bar, by time or across a fixed session, up to 1200 BPM.
Sequencer
Tap a step to switch it on. Give a voice a different step count and the two pulses form a polyrhythm.
Presets
Practice routines
Ready-made sessions: a pattern plus a full tempo plan. Load to look it over, Start to play it now.
Tempo control 88 → 132
Six even steps on a plain 4/4 click. Lock the pulse before anything else moves.
Intermediate6 min88–132 bpmSixteenth gears ♩ = 60 → 100
A rock pattern on a sixteenth grid, stepping up every sixteen bars. Watch the hand, not the number.
Intermediate7 min240–400 bpmCompound feel 6/8
Two dotted-quarter groups of three, one small tempo bump a minute. Count in twos, play in threes.
Intermediate7 min150–240 bpm5/4 groove lock
Eight steps in 3+2. Stop counting by bar four — the accent should carry it.
Intermediate9 min92–132 bpm7/8 at speed ♩ = 80 → 140
Long-short-short, forty bars a step. The last group is where it falls apart.
Advanced9 min160–280 bpmPolyrhythm 3:4 lock
Three against four, rising slowly. Switch which pulse you hear as the downbeat each step.
Advanced8 min80–120 bpmMetric modulation gym
Four against three on a twelve-step grid, 100 seconds a step. Re-hear the triplet as the new pulse.
Advanced12 min300–420 bpmCross rhythm 3:4:5
Three conflicting pulses in one bar. Mute a voice, find your anchor, bring it back.
Advanced14 min72–108 bpmLadder to 1200
Twelve steps up to 1200 and back down. A subdivision grid, not a pulse — double-kick and tremolo territory.
Advanced15 min300–1200 bpm
Bar clock
- Ring 1Up4
- Ring 2Up4
- Ring 3Down4
- Ring 4Tap4
Rings run outside in, one per voice. A ring with its own step count is a second pulse against the bar.
Speed trainer
One fixed tempo, no plan. Switch to By bar, By time or Set time to build a speed-trainer plan.
Metric modulation
Re-hear one subdivision as another; the note speed stays identical while the written tempo changes.
What the advanced view adds
The basic metronome plays one pulse. This one plays four at once: every voice has its own row of steps, and a row's length is independent of the bar's. Three steps against a four-step bar is 3 over 4 (a polyrhythm, not a subdivision), and the bar clock draws both rings so you can see which pulse you're hearing as the downbeat.
On top of that sits a speed trainer. Give it a BPM range and it builds a plan: raise the tempo every N bars, every N seconds, or spread the whole range evenly across a session of fixed length. Nine ready-made routines pair a pattern with a plan, from a six-minute 4/4 tempo-control drill to a twelve-step ladder that runs to 1200 BPM and back down.
Odd time signatures load with their groupings already accented: 5/4 as 3+2, 7/8 as 3+2+2, 9/8, 11/8 as 3+3+3+2 and 13/8. The bar goes up to 24 steps if you need something stranger. Swap the kit (a plain click, two drum kits, a Yamaha RX5 or tabla) and the same grid plays drum grooves, son clave, rumba or bossa nova.
Everything you set travels in the page address. Press Share and the link opens the same pattern, tempo and plan on another device, which is the quickest way to hand a polyrhythm drill to a student or a bandmate. It's free, there's no account, and it runs in the browser.
Questions
How do I set up a polyrhythm?
Give one voice a different number of steps from the bar. With the bar on four steps, set voice two to three with the − and + buttons beside it: three evenly spaced hits across the same bar is 3 over 4. The Polyrhythms preset group has 3:4, 4:3, 5:4, 7:4, 3:2 and a stacked 3:4:5 cross rhythm ready to load.
How do I practise in 7/8 or another odd time signature?
Open Presets and pick Odd meters. 7/8 loads as 3+2+2, with the downbeat on the first voice and the group accents on steps 4 and 6 on the second; 5/4, 5/8, 6/8, 9/8, 11/8 and 13/8 are there too. For a grouping that isn't listed, set the bar steps with − and + (up to 24) and tap the steps you want accented.
What is the difference between By bar, By time and Set time?
By bar raises the tempo one step every N bars, so the step length follows the tempo. By time raises it every N seconds regardless of tempo. Set time takes the whole BPM range and spreads it evenly across a session of fixed length. Pick 40 minutes and 12 steps and each step lasts a little over three minutes.
How does the metric modulation calculator work?
Pick the subdivision you are playing now and the one it becomes. The notes keep their real speed; only the written tempo changes. An eighth-note triplet re-heard as an eighth note turns 120 BPM into 180. Set tempo applies the result to the transport.
Can I save my own patterns?
Yes. Save current stores the pattern, kit, tempo and plan in this browser under Saved, with no account. Export writes them to a JSON file, and Import reads that file back, which is how you move a pattern between a phone and a desktop.
Can I send a pattern to a student or a bandmate?
Yes. The pattern, kit, tempo and trainer plan are written into the page address as you change them. Share copies that link, and whoever opens it gets the same setup, ready to press Start.
Why does a drum pattern sit at 400 BPM?
BPM counts clicks of the grid, not quarter notes. A sixteen-step bar at 400 BPM is 100 BPM in quarter notes, which is why the pattern presets look fast. The transport shows the quarter-note equivalent beside the big number whenever one step is not a quarter.