Metronome  -  A metronome for musicians

by Steve Hunt


Metronome will help those budding musicians among you keep accurate timing when playing or singing. It is an electronic version of the traditional mechanical metronome, with some additional features. It will stress the first beat in the bar for a number of common time signatures, and by clicking the mouse in time to music you are playing, it can compute the number of crotchets per minute.

Using Metronome
To run Metronome, double-click on its icon in the Filer window or click on its icon in the RISC User Menu System. Once installed, clicking on its icon bar icon will open the main Metronome window.

You can select the speed of the metronome either by entering a new number in the writeable icon, or by incrementing and decrementing the default value of 120 (the units are "crotchets per minute" - the usual convention in music). You can start the metronome by clicking Select over the Start icon, and stop it by clicking Select over the Stop icon. Metronome will only allow you to enter values in the range 40 to 300 crotchets per minute.

Clicking Menu over the main window allows you to select one of three volume levels and to specify whether or not one of keyboard LEDs flashes in time with the metronome. The Beat option allows you to select one of a number of common time signatures, in which case the first beat in the bar will be emphasised.

A useful additional feature of Metronome is its ability to measure the speed of the music you are playing. To do this, click Select over the Time icon in time with the music - Metronome will update the writeable icon to show the speed. Unless you have perfect timing you will find that the value varies from beat to beat. Alternatively, by clicking Adjust over the Time icon, Metronome will display the average speed of the five most recent beats. If the metronome is playing when you click over Time, it will be stopped automatically.

 Copyright RISC User Magazine 1997
