4/4 Metronome
A free online metronome in 4/4 — play it in your browser or download the click as a WAV file.
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How 4/4 works
Four quarter-note beats per measure — the default meter of pop, rock, hip hop, and electronic music, so universal that scores shorthand it with a "C" for common time.
Counting and accent groupings
A strong ONE with a secondary accent on three — or, in most popular styles, the backbeat: snare cracking on two and four while the downbeat anchors the bar.
Music in 4/4
- The overwhelming majority of pop, rock, hip hop, and EDM
- Twelve-bar blues and four-to-the-bar swing
- Marches and four-on-the-floor dance grooves
Practicing 4/4
Even in the world's most familiar meter, the click only tells half the story — the groove lives in where you place notes against it. Keep the space between beats honest with the subdivision metronome, or chain tempo steps with the multi-section click track tool. One honest limitation: this free tool accents only the downbeat. To hear the backbeat on 2 and 4 accented instead, Subdivide for iOS supports custom accent patterns per measure.
Other time signatures
3/4 metronome · 5/4 metronome · 6/8 metronome · 7/8 metronome · 9/8 metronome · 12/8 metronome — or see every time signature.
Frequently asked questions
What does 4/4 mean in music?
Four beats per measure (the top number), with the quarter note getting the beat (the bottom number). Count ONE-two-three-four, strongest accent on one.
Why is 4/4 called common time?
Because it is by far the most used meter in Western music — so common that scores shorthand it with a "C" instead of stacked numbers. The C actually descends from medieval mensural notation rather than the word "common," but the name stuck.
What is a backbeat?
The accent on beats two and four of a 4/4 bar — usually the snare drum. It is the engine of rock, pop, and R&B; clap along to almost any record and you are clapping the backbeat.