Rhythm training has you tap the screen (or clap) along to a metronome click and measures how accurate your timing is. Unlike chord or scale training, you are not answering "which note is it?" — you sharpen how many milliseconds off the exact beat you are (your timing accuracy). A steady sense of rhythm is the foundation of playing, whether in an ensemble or alone.

This page is a manual for choosing the settings. Each setting is designed around established methods from music education. For each setting that calls for a decision, we give the recommended choice, what it is for, and what it trains — with the evidence behind it. If you arrived from a "?" in the settings screen, scroll to the option you need.

Input Mode (Tap / Clap)

When in doubt, choose Tap. It gives the most stable measurement. Switch to Clap (Mic) only when you want to move your body or check on a real percussion instrument; with Clap, wired headphones are steadier than the speaker.

This setting decides how you enter the rhythm. It is the most important choice because it directly affects measurement accuracy. You pick between Tap and Clap (Mic).

Tap
Tap the screen to enter the rhythm. Touch detection is nearly delay-free (low latency), so measurement noise is small and no headphones are needed — the default for measuring your sense of timing cleanly.
Clap (Mic)
Detects the sound of claps or percussion through the mic (clap = hand clap). It is closer to embodied practice, but mic input carries device-dependent delay (latency), and reveals warnings and latency-compensation controls.
The evidence behind it

Either input trains sensorimotor synchronization — aligning your movement to the click you hear. Tap adds the least input delay, so it mirrors your own deviation accurately. Tapping synchronization can be measured systematically, as broadly shown in reviews of the tapping literature.

Ref.: Repp (2005) [1]

Tempo (BPM)

When in doubt, start near 90–100 BPM. Once stable there, slow down before speeding up and check that you stay steady at a slower tempo — that builds real underlying control.

Sets how fast the metronome runs. The unit is BPM (beats per minute), and the slider covers 40–200. Fast tempos (150+) let you react reflexively but can feel "on" while being sloppy; slow tempos (around 60) leave long gaps and test your internal pulse (your own sense of timekeeping). Mid tempos (90–120) are the practical band used in most music.

The evidence behind it

Tempo is adjustable because how hard it is to lock on changes with speed. Timing variability grows as the tempo slows (so slow is genuinely harder to fake), as repeatedly reported in reviews of the tapping literature. Checking that you stay steady at a slow tempo therefore builds the underlying ability to synchronize.

Ref.: Repp (2005) [1]

Difficulty

When unsure, start at Beginner. Step up one level once you reliably score high. Especially with Clap (Mic), device latency is added in, so don't jump straight to Advanced or Pro.

Decides how strict the "passing line" for timing is. The tolerated deviation from the exact beat (in milliseconds) narrows step by step, and the Perfect / Great / Good thresholds tighten with it. Where chord and scale difficulty change the breadth of questions, rhythm difficulty changes the precision of the scoring.

Beginner
±100ms — basic timing. A wide tolerance for first getting the feel of roughly landing on the beat. Start here.
Intermediate
±60ms — standard accuracy. The level of judging that holds up in everyday ensemble playing for most people.
Advanced
±40ms — high accuracy. Near the threshold at which people begin to perceive timing as "off," surfacing fine unevenness.
Pro
±25ms — pro level. A strict standard that even professional players cannot hold all the time. For those who want to push precision to the limit.
The evidence behind it

Tightening the passing line in stages lets you lower the processing load early — with a lenient judgment — then push precision once you are comfortable. The tiers follow cognitive-load theory: keeping demands low early in a new skill aids learning. Fixing the feel of landing on the beat under a wide tolerance before narrowing it gets you there faster than starting from a strict standard.

Ref.: Sweller (1988) [2]

Time Signature

When in doubt, leave it on 4/4. Build steady timing in 4/4 first, expand to 3/4 and 6/8, and save the odd meters 5/4 and 7/8 for last — that order is the easiest to handle.

Sets how many beats fit in a bar (and the beat unit). For example, 4/4 is four-beat time and 3/4 is the three-beat feel of a waltz; this changes where bars divide and where the strong beats fall. The six choices are 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, 2/4, 5/4, and 7/8.

4/4 and 2/4
The most common meters. The vast majority of pop and rock is in 4/4. 2/4 is the light two-beat feel of marches. To build rhythm fundamentals, start here.
3/4 and 6/8
Triple-feel meters. 3/4 is a waltz; 6/8 splits two beats into triplets for a rolling groove (ballads, Irish music). A good next step once four-beat time feels easy.
5/4 and 7/8
Odd meters. The beat count does not divide evenly, so the strong beats arrive at irregular intervals. Used in prog, jazz, and folk traditions — an advanced challenge.
The evidence behind it

You can choose the meter so that the sensorimotor synchronization of aligning your movement to the pattern of strong beats (the metrical hierarchy) is trained across different frameworks. Moving from regular 4/4 to odd meters, where strong beats fall irregularly, tests your ability to synchronize using that beat structure as a cue. That metrical structure shapes synchronization is shown in reviews of the tapping literature.

Ref.: Repp (2005) [1]

Click Density

When in doubt, start at Every Beat. Once you land accurately, pick up the backbeat with Beats 2 & 4, and once steady, thin out — Beat 1 Only → Every 2 Bars → Every 4 Bars — to train your internal pulse. The trick is to keep counting in your head on the silent beats.

Decides how much the metronome is "thinned out." Clicking on every beat is easy to follow; the fewer beats click, the more you must fill the silent beats with your internal pulse. It is one of the most effective settings for building rhythmic feel, and a difficulty indicator (1–5 dots) shows the rough level.

Every Beat
Beginner. The click sounds on every beat — basic practice syncing to an external click, and the first step.
Beats 1 & 3 (Downbeat)
Clicks only on the downbeats (beats 1 and 3) at the front of the measure. Practice focusing on the downbeats to maintain rhythm.
Beats 2 & 4 (Backbeat)
Clicks on beats 2 and 4, the offbeats (backbeat — the core of jazz and funk feel). The accent's weight shifts back, making this ideal for training groove.
Beat 1 Only (Internal Pulse)
Clicks only on beat 1 of each measure. You keep the remaining beats yourself, developing internal pulse and self-reliant timing.
Every 2 Bars (Phrase Feel)
Clicks once every 2 bars. You must hold your own tempo over a long stretch, strengthening 2-bar phrase awareness.
Every 4 Bars (Pro Level)
Clicks once every 4 bars. Advanced training that requires maintaining tempo across 4 bars — the most demanding setting.
The evidence behind it

Clicking on every beat acts as a scaffold — an external cue that lowers the processing load by handing you the alignment. As you get comfortable, fewer beats click, removing the scaffold and gradually raising the load of filling the gaps with your own internal pulse. Lowering the load early and reducing the scaffold with mastery follows cognitive-load theory.

Ref.: Sweller (1988) [2]

References
  1. Repp, B. H. (2005). Sensorimotor synchronization: A review of the tapping literature. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12(6), 969–992.
  2. Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285.