Speed trainer metronome: increase tempo by complete bars
A speed trainer metronome raises the tempo after a chosen number of complete bars. Start at a pace you can control, hold each stage, and stop before rushed repetitions become the habit.
Try a short three-stage ladder
Choose a familiar passage or one simple movement: a scale fragment on piano, two chord changes on guitar, or alternating strokes on a practice pad. Keep the musical task small enough to notice the pulse.
- Set the starting tempo to 60 BPM, the target to 80 BPM, and the increment to 10 BPM.
- Choose four beats per bar, a quarter-note beat, and four bars per step. The preset uses a three-minute maximum timer; the ladder finishes sooner.
- Play four bars at 60, then four at 70, then four at 80. The change happens on the first beat of the next bar. There is no extra count-in between stages.
- If control slips, use Finish. Save a note about the difficulty and choose a lower start or a smaller increment for your next session.
Why the ladder lasts 41.714 seconds
Each stage contains 16 selected beats. Its duration in seconds is beats × 60 ÷ BPM. The three stages take 16, 13.7142857 and 12 seconds. Their sum is 41.7142857 seconds for 48 beats. A speed ladder needs the sum of its stage times; using a simple average of BPM values gives the wrong answer.
A saved “completed BPM” means that a full beat at that tempo elapsed. Pocket Pulse cannot determine whether you played that beat accurately.
Choose a useful increment
A 10 BPM jump makes the demo easy to hear. For a difficult passage, a 2–5 BPM step may be more manageable. Choose the amount according to control, not the desire to finish the ladder. If a target is not divisible by the increment, the final step lands exactly on the target: 60 to 73 in steps of 10 becomes 60, 70, 73.
The timer, bar limit and final ladder stage are independent stopping conditions. The first to finish ends the session. At each speed the trainer keeps the same beats-per-bar, note value, subdivisions and first-beat accent. It does not change the musical task for you.
Save what actually happened
Finish the session, add a note, then save. The record includes actual running seconds, completed beats and bars, the last completed tempo, and the highest completed tempo. Pausing excludes that waiting time. Starting the next tempo briefly does not count as completing a beat at it.
Continue on a card loads its last completed tempo as the new start. The original target is retained if it is at least that high. Review the settings before starting: a technical tempo record is a useful reference, while comfort and accuracy are your judgment.
Common questions
Does adding subdivisions double the BPM?
No. Two clicks per selected beat split it into equal halves. At 60 BPM, that produces 120 clicks per minute while the selected beat remains 60 BPM.
Can I practise silent bars during a speed ladder?
The first version keeps them as separate modes so the exercise has one clear focus. Use silent bars at a stable tempo, then return to the ladder.
Does pause start a new bar?
No. Resume continues the current musical timeline and waits for the next scheduled click. If you paused mid-beat, the remaining portion of that beat comes first.
Use a short practice routine to decide what to work on. The method page explains note values and saved metrics.
Background: Musicca recommends gradual tempo increases when a passage can be played without mistakes. Soundbrenner’s manual discusses beat values and subdivisions. The ladder and timing examples here are our own arithmetic. Checked 10 October 2026.