At 60 BPM each beat lasts exactly one second, which makes it the classic slow-practice tempo. It sits at the gentle end of adagio, the pace of a slow ballad or a hymn, and leaves time to place every note: scales, tricky chord changes, new rhythms and anything you are learning for the first time.
This page opens the online metronome already at 60 BPM. The clicks are scheduled on the browser's audio clock instead of a screen timer, so they stay steady on a phone, and you can add eighth notes, triplets or sixteenths.
How to use it
- Press Play or the space bar: the clicks start at 60 BPM.
- Pick the meter: 4/4 for most music, 3/4 for waltzes, 6/8 for a lilting feel. The first beat of each bar is accented.
- Add a subdivision to hear 2, 3 or 4 clicks per beat while you practice fast passages slowly.
- Use +1 or +5 to speed up once a passage is clean.
How to practice at 60 BPM
Play the passage at 60 until you get it right three times in a row without tension, then add 2 to 5 BPM and repeat. At 60, sixteenth notes are four notes per second, a useful benchmark for scales on any instrument. And because one beat equals one second, 60 BPM is handy for timing long tones, breathing exercises and holds: count clicks instead of watching a clock.
Tips
- Set the subdivision to 2 if 60 feels too slow to follow: the extra clicks fill the gaps.
- Switch the sound to Woodblock or Beep if the click hides under your instrument.
- Write the date and tempo in your practice notes to see progress week by week.
Frequently asked questions
How fast is 60 BPM?
One beat per second, sixty per minute. It is a slow tempo, around adagio.
Is 60 BPM good for practicing?
Yes. It is slow enough to play cleanly and listen closely, and many method books start new material around 60.
How do I set 60 BPM in 3/4?
Keep the tempo at 60 and choose 3/4. Each bar then lasts three seconds, with the accent on beat one.
Can I hear eighth notes at 60 BPM?
Yes: choose subdivision 2 for eighths, 3 for triplets or 4 for sixteenths.
Does it keep playing when the screen is off?
The page keeps the screen awake while it plays. If the phone locks, some browsers pause background audio, so keep the page open in front.