Gear / practice tools
Best metronomes for practice
A metronome is the cheapest piece of equipment that will measurably improve your playing. Almost any of them will do the job, so the question is really which type suits how you practise.
Before spending anything: the free metronome in your phone is genuinely adequate for most practice. Buy a dedicated one when you hit a specific limitation, and the limitations are predictable.
The four types
| Type | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Phone app | Free, subdivisions, programmable, always with you | Notifications interrupt; quiet through a phone speaker |
| Clip-on / wearable | Silent haptic pulse; works in ensembles and with headphones | Costs more; another thing to charge |
| Digital handheld | Loud, tuner built in, no distractions, cheap | Another object to carry |
| Mechanical wind-up | No batteries, visible swing, pleasant to use | No subdivisions; needs levelling; least accurate |
What actually matters when choosing
- Audible over your instrument. The commonest reason people abandon a metronome. Drummers and loud electric players need something substantially louder than a phone, or a haptic device.
- Subdivision control. Being able to click eighths or triplets under a quarter-note pulse is the feature you will use most after basic tempo.
- Accent and time signature. Accenting beat one, or clicking only on 2 and 4, is where real timing work happens. See metronome practice for guitar.
- Tap tempo. Far quicker than dialling a number when you are matching a recording.
- A tuner in the same box. For string and wind players this halves what is on the music stand.
Recommendations by situation
If you practise quietly at home
Use a phone app and spend nothing. Pro Metronome and the Soundbrenner app both offer subdivisions, accent patterns, and complex time signatures in their free tiers. Put the phone in aeroplane mode so notifications do not interrupt.
If you want a physical device on the stand
The Korg MA-2 is the long-standing default: cheap, loud enough for acoustic practice, clear subdivision options, and it runs for a very long time on two AAA cells. For string and wind players, the Korg TM-series combines the same metronome with a chromatic tuner and a contact-mic input.
If you are a drummer or play amplified
You need real volume. The Boss DB-90 (Dr. Beat) is the standard choice: genuinely loud, with rhythm-coach functions, a headphone output, and a trigger input. It is considerably more expensive than the alternatives and worth it if volume is your constraint.
If you play in an ensemble or with headphones
A wearable such as the Soundbrenner Pulse delivers the beat as a vibration on the wrist or ankle. Silent to everyone else, impossible to lose under a loud band, and surprisingly effective once you adjust.
If you want something pleasant to own
A mechanical Wittner in the Taktell or Maelzel range needs no power, and the visible swinging pendulum gives you a spatial as well as auditory cue that some players find easier to lock onto. Accept that you get no subdivisions and that it must sit on a level surface.
What not to pay for
- Bluetooth-only devices that need a phone anyway. That is two things to fail instead of one.
- Extremely wide BPM ranges. You will use roughly 40–208, which everything covers.
- Built-in drum grooves, unless you specifically want a practice backing. They encourage following rather than internalising the pulse.
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