# The metronome, and the ladder

A click to practice to, and a tempo ladder that raises the speed one rung at a time and drops back a rung when you miss.

## Press M

The metronome is on the practice screen, and one key starts it. While it runs, it shows the tempo and two buttons to adjust it, so you can change the speed without leaving the drill.

![The metronome row on the practice screen, running, with the BPM and its controls.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/tempo/metronome.webp)

| Keys | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `M` | Start or stop the metronome |
| `+` `=` | One BPM faster |
| `-` `_` | One BPM slower |

## Tempo and meter

Set the tempo in Preferences and pick the meter. In 4/4 and 3/4 the first beat is accented; 6/8 is compound, with a strong accent on beat one and a medium one on beat four. The accents let you hear where each bar begins.

![The tempo and meter settings.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/tempo/settings.webp)

The click can be a sound, a visual flash, or both. The flash helps when the sound is a problem: in a quiet house, with headphones on, or when it covers up your own playing.

![Metronome style: audio only, visual only, or both, with a volume slider.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/tempo/style.webp)

## The tempo ladder

With **Progressive tempo** the speed becomes part of the exercise. You start slow, play a set number of clean repeats, and the metronome goes up a step. If you miss a chord, it drops back a step, so the tempo only rises while your playing stays clean.

At the top of the ladder the drill moves on to the next key or scale, and the tempo goes back to the bottom for the new material.

![Progressive tempo: from 60 to 140 in steps of 20, after 2 repeats, with decrease-on-failure ticked.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/tempo/progressive.webp)

> The ladder also shows your working tempo: the highest speed at which you can play the material twice in a row without a mistake.

## Start the click

- Try it: [Triads at 60](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=0&tempo=60): Slow enough to think about each chord. Press M to start the click.
- Try it: [Climb from 60 to 140](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=0&tempo=60&ptempo=true&ptfrom=60&ptto=140&ptstep=20&ptafter=2&ptdec=true): Two clean repeats per rung, and a step back after a miss.
- Try it: [In three](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=0&tempo=90&meter=3%2F4): The same chords with a 3/4 accent.
- Try it: [Sevenths, climbing](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=6,7,8&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=0&tempo=50&ptempo=true&ptfrom=50&ptto=110&ptstep=10&ptafter=2&ptdec=true): Seventh chords on a ladder from 50 to 110.

Related: [Piano sound and volume](https://pianokitty.com/features/sound.md), [Play each chord three times](https://pianokitty.com/features/repeat.md), [“Now practice it in all twelve keys”](https://pianokitty.com/features/all-keys.md)

Source: https://pianokitty.com/features/tempo