The Metronome by Soundbrenner

Review by eFreeware

Keeping time is the part of playing an instrument that nobody escapes. You can learn chords, scales and songs, but if the pulse drifts, everything built on top of it wobbles. A metronome is the oldest fix for that problem, and the phone in your pocket is now the most convenient place to keep one.

The Metronome by Soundbrenner is a free app from the developer Soundbrenner, filed under Music & Audio. It pairs a metronome with a practice tracker, so the same tool that keeps you in time also records how much time you put in. That combination is the pitch, and it is a sensible one for anyone trying to build a regular routine rather than squeeze in a few minutes whenever the mood strikes.

The numbers suggest it has found an audience: over 5 million installs and a 4.6 average across more than 90,000 ratings. It first appeared in December 2015. I'll go through what it offers, what it asks of you, and which players are likely to get the most from it.

Tempo control without fuss

At its core this is a metronome, and the basics are covered in the way most players would expect. You can set the tempo by tapping along to the beat you already have in your head, which is the fastest route when you are working from a recording or a riff you have been playing by ear. That tap tempo feature alone removes a lot of fiddling with sliders.

The app lets you customize the time signature, the subdivision and the beat accents, so odd meters and subdivided passages are within reach rather than locked to a default 4/4 click. The clock is described as ultra-precise, and that matters most in exactly the situations where a metronome earns its keep: slow practice at a tempo you keep wanting to rush, and long sessions where a small drift would be obvious.

There are more than 20 metronome sounds to choose from, and you can switch between dark and light themes depending on where you are practicing. A customizable count-in gives you a run-up before the beat starts, which is useful when you want to begin a passage cleanly instead of scrambling to catch the first bar.

Setlists, sounds and visual cues

Saving presets is where a metronome stops being a one-off tool and starts behaving like part of your setup. You can store your settings and load them back into the metronome whenever you need them, so a set of tempos for a rehearsal or a run of pieces does not have to be rebuilt from scratch each time. For anyone playing several songs in a row, that is the difference between a smooth transition and dead air while you poke at the screen.

The app also offers customizable visual effects that pulse along with the beat, which can help you stay locked in when a click is not enough on its own, or when you are working in a setting where you would rather not rely on sound alone. Combined with the count-in and the range of click sounds, there is a fair amount of room to shape the experience around how you actually practice.

Connectivity is handled more seriously than I would expect from a phone metronome. If your practice space includes a DAW, a hardware synth or a drum machine, that puts the click in the same timing world as the rest of your rig rather than leaving it as an isolated app on a stand.

Tracking hours, streaks and goals

The practice tracker is the second half of the app's identity. It records your practice and reports it back to you, and it can separate those hours by instrument, so a guitarist who also plays keys can see where the time actually went. If you have ever finished a week unsure whether you practiced as much as you intended, that breakdown is the answer.

Streaks, goal setting and one-time or recurring reminders push the same idea further. You set a target, the app nudges you, and the streak gives you a reason not to break the chain. High scores track your strongest sessions and give you something to beat, which turns practice into a series of small personal competitions rather than an open-ended grind.

This is motivational machinery, and it works best for people who respond to visible progress. If you already practice on a fixed schedule and dislike being measured, the tracking layer may not appeal to you. If your problem is consistency rather than technique, it addresses the actual obstacle.

What the Plus tier adds

The app is free to download, with some features behind a Plus tier. Three tools sit behind that line. Incremental tempo change raises the metronome's tempo gradually, which is a standard way to push a passage past the speed where it currently falls apart. The muted beats trainer silences the click at intervals so you have to hold the pulse yourself. Songs and setlists stay backed up and reachable on your other devices through cloud sync.

Those are the kinds of features that matter once the basics are second nature. The muted beats exercise in particular is a real test of internal timing rather than a cosmetic extra, and cloud sync is the sort of thing you only appreciate after a phone change. Whether they are worth paying for depends on how far along you are; a beginner working on steady quarter notes at a slow tempo has less use for a tempo ramp than someone preparing a piece for performance.

Where the app asks something of you

Nothing here is complicated, but the app does expect a certain amount of engagement. The tracker, streaks and reminders only mean anything if you actually log sessions, and the MIDI and Ableton Link features only pay off if you have gear or software that speaks those protocols. Used as a bare click, the app works fine, but a good part of what it offers sits unused.

The core job is not fenced off. The Plus features are additive rather than corrective. That is a reasonable split.

The other thing worth weighing is how much of your practice you want quantified. An app that tracks hours, per-instrument totals, streaks and high scores changes the feel of sitting down to play, and not everyone wants a dashboard between them and their instrument.

Who this fits

This is built for instrumentalists who practice regularly and want the timing side of it handled by something reliable, with a record of the work kept alongside. Drummers, guitarists, pianists and anyone else working on tempo will find the core toolset familiar and the extras relevant. Teachers and students could use the per-instrument tracking to keep an eye on how much time goes into each area.

It also suits players whose setup extends beyond the instrument: if you record, use a DAW, or run hardware that syncs over MIDI or Ableton Link, the connectivity is a genuine reason to choose this over a simpler click. Producers working to a grid will find the same features useful when tracking live parts.

Players who want nothing more than a click at a fixed tempo, with no interest in logging, streaks or gear integration, are paying in attention for features they will not touch. The app is not worse for that, but the fit is looser.

A metronome worth keeping on your phone

The Metronome by Soundbrenner does the essential job well and then adds a layer that many players genuinely need: a record of whether they are actually practicing. The rhythm controls, the range of click sounds, the count-in and the visual cues cover the practical side, while the tracker, streaks and reminders address the habit side. The MIDI and Ableton Link support makes it a credible part of a larger setup rather than a standalone gadget.

The trade-offs are modest and mostly about scope. The tracking features reward people who engage with them.

If you play an instrument and want one app that keeps time and keeps you honest about how much you practice, this is an easy one to install and try. If you need only a bare click, you can leave the rest alone.

What's new in version 1.33.2

Thanks for using The Metronome by Soundbrenner! We update our app regularly with new features, bug fixes and performance improvements. For more information about the latest update, go to "Settings" inside the app and check "What's new".