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Mechanical metronome

A metronome is any device that produces a regulated aural, visual or tactile pulse to establish a steady tempo in the performance of music. It is a useful practice tool for musicians that dates back to the early 19th century.

Etymology

The word metronome first appeared in English c.1815^{citation needed} and is Greek in origin:

metron = measure, nomos = regulating

History

A mechanical wind-up metronome in motion

According to Lynn Townsend White, Jr., the Andalusian inventor, Abbas Ibn Firnas (810-887), made the earliest attempt at creating some sort of metronome.¹

The mechanical metronome was invented by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel in Amsterdam in 1812. Johann Mälzel copied several of Winkel's construction ideas and received the patent for the portable metronome in 1816. Ludwig van Beethoven was the first notable composer to indicate specific metronome markings in his music, in 1817.²

Usage

Metronomes may be used by musicians when practicing in order to maintain a constant tempo; by adjusting the metronome, facility can be achieved at varying tempi. Even in pieces that do not require a strictly constant tempo (such as in the case of rubato), a metronome "marking" is sometimes given by the composer to give an indication of the general tempo intended, found in the score at the beginning of a piece or movement thereof.

Tempo is always measured in beats per minute (BPM); metronomes can be set to variable tempi, usually ranging from 40 to 208 BPM.

Types of metronomes

Mechanical metronomes

One common type of metronome is the mechanical metronome which uses an adjustable weight on the end of a pendulum (also known as a double-weighted pendulum) rod to control the tempo: The weight is slid up the pendulum rod to decrease tempo, or down to increase tempo. The pendulum swings back and forth in tempo, while a mechanism inside the metronome produce a clicking sound with each oscillation.

Electronic metronomes

Electronic metronome, Wittner model

Most modern metronomes are electronic and use a quartz crystal to maintain accuracy, comparable to those used in wristwatches. The simplest electronic metronomes have a dial or buttons to control the tempo; some also produce tuning notes, usually around the range of A440 (440 hertz). Sophisticated metronomes can produce two or more distinct sounds. Tones can differ in pitch, volume, and/or timbre to demarcate downbeats from other beats, as well as compound and complex time signatures.

Many electronic musical keyboards have built-in metronome functions.

Software metronomes

Metronomes now exist in software form, either as stand alone applications or often in music sequencing and audio multitrack software packages. In recording studio applications, such as film scoring, a software metronome is often used to generate a click track to synchronize musicians.

Use of the metronome as an instrument

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (July 2008)

Criticism of metronome use

While the metronome is a useful tool for musicians, it does have its limitations. In many cases, the notation of music is only one part of the method of communication between musicians, the other being oral tradition.³ Thus, the metronome markings in a score may not accurately communicate the pulse, swing, or groove of music, which is not necessarily regular.⁴

A style of performance that is unfailingly regular rhythmically may be criticized as being "metronomic." Many notable composers, including Felix Mendelssohn, Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi and Johannes Brahms, have weighed in on the use of the metronome:⁵

100 according to Maelzel, but this must be held applicable to only the first measures, for feeling also has its tempo and this cannot entirely be expressed in this figure.^{6verification needed}

—Ludvig van Beethoven

I do not mean to say that it is necessary to imitate the mathematical regularity of the metronome, which would give the music thus executed an icy frigidity; I even doubt whether it would be possible to maintain this rigid uniformity for more than a few bars.^{7page # needed}

—Hector Berlioz

A metronomical performance is certainly tiresome and nonsensical; time and rhythm must be adapted to and identified with the melody, the harmony, the accent and the poetry…^{8citation needed}

—Franz Liszt

From a performance perspective:

Another thing that becomes clear [...], is how much the listener's perception of rhythm differs from the reality of the metronome. While Feuermann's performances seemed to provide the clearest 'feel' of the beat -meaning that to a listener, the rhythm and tempo seemed the most clear and compelling- when trying to set a metronome, one found a slightly changing tempo throughout almost every measure -a constant rhythmic 'push and pull'- making metronome indications sometimes recordable only as a range between two or three adjacent markings or as an average. At the same time, other performers [...] whose performances did not yield to the ear as strong a sense of tempo or rhythm, fit more easily within a specific metronome marking. From this, it is clear that the feeling and perception of rhythm are conveyed much more by the performers choice of emphasis or 'pulse' than by strict adherence to any absolute metronomic rhythm.⁹

—Brinton Smith, in a thesis of a recording of Emanuel Feuermann

...this series of even, perfectly quantized, 16th notes, is no more evocative of samba, than a metronome would be. In fact this representation neglects what makes up the samba essence in the first place: the swing!¹⁰

—Pedro Batista

References

Further reading

• Metronome Techniques, by Frederick Franz, New Haven, Connecticut, 1988

See also

• Rhythm
• Poème Symphonique for 100 metronomes
• Beat