Editing Metronome (section)

==History and types==
===Mechanical metronomes===
[[File:Metronome Mälzel 1.jpg|Maelzel's Metronome|thumb|right]]
Historical credit for the mechanical metronome is spread across Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and German contributors.

According to historian [[Lynn Townsend White Jr.]], the Andalusian [[Inventions in the Islamic world|inventor]] Abbas Ibn Firnas created "some sort of metronome" in the 9th century.<ref>[[Lynn Townsend White Jr.|White, Lynn Townsend]] (Spring 1961). "Eilmer of Malmesbury, an Eleventh Century Aviator: A Case Study of Technological Innovation, Its Context and Tradition", ''[[Technology and Culture]]'' '''2''' (2), p. 97–111 [100]: "Ibn Firnas was a polymath: a physician, a rather bad poet, the first to make glass from stones (quartz), a student of music, and inventor of some sort of metronome."</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maqqarī |first=Abu-'l-ʻAbbās Aḥmad Ibn-Muḥammad al- |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaxCAAAAcAAJ&dq=metronome+Firnas&pg=RA2-PA426 |title=The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain: Extracted from the Nafhu-t-Tib Min Ghosni-l-Andalusi-r-Rattib ... by Aḥmad B. Muḥammad Al Makkari |volume=1 |date=1840 |publisher=Oriental Translation Fund |language=en |pages=148, 426}}</ref> [[Galileo Galilei]] studied and discovered key concepts involving the [[pendulum]] in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, famously inspired by a steadily swaying chandelier in [[Pisa Cathedral]].<ref name=pendulum>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUHyhL8MyIQC&pg=PA41 |last=Murdin |first=Paul |title=Full Meridian of Glory: Perilous Adventures in the Competition to Measure the Earth |publisher=Springer |year=2008 |pages=41–43 |isbn=978-0-387-75533-5}}</ref> In 1696, musician [[Étienne Loulié]] built a pendulum-based "[[chronomètre]]", consisting of a lead weight hanging from an adjustable string alongside a {{convert|6|ft|m|0|adj=on}} vertical ruler. However, his design produced no sound, and did not have an [[escapement]] mechanism to keep the pendulum in motion.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.franzmfg.com/history.htm | title = A Brief History of the Metronome | publisher = Franz Manufacturing Company | access-date = 2010-04-02 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100324143043/http://www.franzmfg.com/history.htm | archive-date = 2010-03-24 }}</ref> To get the correct tempo with this type of visual device, a musician would need to watch the pendulum as if watching a conductor's baton.

The more-familiar mechanical musical chronometre was invented by [[Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel]] in [[Amsterdam]] in 1814, based on a [[Mainspring|spring]]-powered, inverted pendulum rod with fixed and adjustable weights to achieve compactness. Through questionable practice,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HugqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA17 "The Metronome"]; ''The Harmonicon'', Vol. 8 (1830), p. 17.</ref> [[Johann Nepomuk Maelzel|Johann Maelzel]], incorporating Winkel's ideas, added a numerical scale, called it a metronome, and started mass-manufacturing the pyramid-shaped device in 1816 under his own name: "Maelzel's Metronome." The original text of Maelzel's patent in England (1815) can be downloaded.<ref name=maelzel>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dO80AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA7 "Specification of the Patent granted to John Maelzel, ... which he denominates a Metronome or Musical Time-keeper. Dated December 5, 1815."]. ''The Repertory of Arts, Manufactures, and Agriculture'', Vol. 33 (1818), pp. 7–13. ([https://books.google.com/books?id=-b8-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA7 alternative link])</ref>

Maelzel's mechanical metronome uses an adjustable weight on an inverted pendulum rod to control tempo. The weight slides up the pendulum rod to decrease tempo, or down to increase tempo. (This mechanism is also called a double-weighted pendulum, because there is a second, fixed weight on the other side of the pendulum pivot, inside the metronome case.) The pendulum swings back and forth in tempo, while a mechanism inside the metronome produces a clicking sound with each [[oscillation]]. A mechanical metronome does not need an [[electric battery]], but runs from a spring-wound [[clockwork]] escapement.<ref name=maelzel/> For uniform beats, the metronome should be placed on a hard, level, unmoving surface, and away from any strong magnets. Small variations in pendulum speed can also result from differences in temperature, air pressure, or gravity.<ref name=pendulum/>

Since Maelzel's era, musical tempo is almost always measured in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes often display both BPM numbers and traditional [[tempo markings]], which are written words conveying a range of tempos and an associated character. For example, the Italian term ''Vivace'' indicates a tempo typically between 156 and 176 BPM, but it also communicates that the music should be played with a lively character.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theonlinemetronome.com/metronome-tempo-markings-defined.html|title=Common Tempo Markings in Music|first=Andrew|last=Swinney|work=The Online Metronome|access-date=2024-03-06}}</ref>

A mechanical metronome's tempo is usually adjustable from 40 to 208 BPM. The most-common arrangement of tempos on a Maelzel metronome begins with 40 beats per minute
and increases by 2 BPM: 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60,
then by 3 BPM: 63 66 69 72,
then by 4 BPM: 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 120,
then by 6 BPM: 126 132 138 144,
then by 8 BPM: 152 160 168 176 184 192 200 208.
Some modern metronomes allow adjustment to more-precise tempos (e.g., increasing 120 to 121), but such a difference is hardly perceptible.<ref>{{cite web |last=Paterson |first=Robert |title=Standard Metronome Timings and Ratios |date=2006 |url=https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/standard-metronome-timings-and-rati |access-date=2020-07-04}}</ref>

===Electromechanical metronomes===
[[File:Franz metronome.jpg|right|thumb|Franz eletromechanical metronome]]
Electromechanical metronomes were invented by Frederick Franz in the US and patented in 1953.<ref>[https://patents.google.com/patent/US2715841A/ "Patent US 2,715,841: Drive mechanism for electric metronomes or the like—Frederick Franz, West Haven, Conn."] (1953).</ref> Instead of a clockwork or a [[Crystal oscillator|quartz crystal]], a plug-in electric motor operates the mechanism. Most use a [[Adjustable-speed drive#Mechanical drives|mechanical variable-speed drive]] combination with a momentary switch and a cam wheel to time the beats. A frequent feature is an embedded [[neon lamp]] that flashes in time with the beat. Franz and Yamaha were common manufacturers in the 1960s and 1970s; a popular model was the Franz LB4.

After the fall of the [[Soviet Bloc]] in 1991, the {{convert|75|ft|m|adj=on}} electromechanical [[Prague Metronome]] was installed as a silent [[kinetic sculpture]] overlooking the city, an inverted pendulum symbolizing the passage of time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/prague-s-iconic-metronome-celebrates-30-years-of-relentlessly-ticking-into-the-future |title=Prague uncovered: The iconic Metronome celebrates 30 years of relentlessly ticking into the future |first=Raymond |last=Johnston |work=Expats.cz |date=2021-05-14 |access-date=2024-02-15}}</ref> It may still be the world's largest metronome, although [[Geneva]] (since 1972) and [[Gdańsk]] (since 2016) each have a larger [[pendulum clock]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patrimoine-horloge.fr/mec-geneve.html |title=Genève [Geneva] |first=Gérard |last=Guilbaud |publisher=Patrimoine-Horloge |language=fr |access-date=2024-02-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=https://media.muzeumgdansk.pl/komunikaty/814591/rusza-konkurs-na-nowa-nazwe-dla-rekordowego-zegara-z-muzeum-nauki-gdanskiej |title=Rusza konkurs na nową nazwę dla rekordowego zegara z Muzeum Nauki Gdańskiej [A competition for a new name for the record clock from the Gdańsk Science Museum is starting] |first=Andrzej |last=Gierszewski |publisher=Gdańsk Museum |language=pl |date=2023-06-29 |access-date=2024-02-15}}</ref>

===Electronic metronomes===
[[File:Electronic-metronome.jpg|right|thumb|Wittner electronic metronome]]
Most modern metronomes are [[Electronics|electronic]] and use a battery-powered quartz crystal to maintain accuracy in any position, comparable to wristwatches since the 1980s. Electronic metronomes are considerably smaller and more rugged than the earlier types. The simplest electronic metronomes have dials or buttons to control the tempo and volume. Some also produce or measure tuning notes, usually around the range of [[A440 (pitch standard)|A440]] (440 [[hertz]]). Sophisticated metronomes can produce two or more distinct sounds. Tones can differ in pitch, volume and/or timbre to distinguish [[Beat (music)#Downbeat|downbeats]] from other beats, as well as compound and complex [[time signature]]s. Many [[Synthesizer|electronic musical keyboards]] have built-in metronome functions with [[Drum machine|selectable rhythm patterns]].

===Software metronomes===
{{listen|image=none|filename=120BPMclicktrack.ogg|title=Click track at 120 BPM in {{time signature|4|4}} measures
|filename2=50BPMclicktrack.ogg|title2=Click track at 50 BPM, subdivided into sixteenth notes}}
21st-century digital software metronomes run either as standalone applications on computers and smartphones, or in [[Music sequencer|music sequencing]] and audio [[Multitrack recording|multitrack]] software packages. In [[recording studio]] applications, such as [[film score|film scoring]], a software metronome may provide a [[click track]] to synchronize musicians.

Portable [[MP3 player]]s including [[iPod]]s can play pre-recorded MP3 metronome click tracks, which can use different sounds and samples instead of the usual metronome click or beep. Users of smartphones can install a wide range of metronome applications. The Google search engine includes an interactive metronome that can play between 40 and 218 BPM.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=metronome|title=metronome – Google Search|website=www.google.com|access-date=2019-05-14}}</ref> Either method avoids the need to bring a physical metronome to lessons or practice sessions.