Machines · Study 069
Metronome
A wind-up pendulum metronome. Move your pointer up or down to slide the weight along the rod and set the tempo from 40 to 208 beats per minute.
What you're looking at
The rod pivots near its base and carries a sliding weight above the pivot. Raising the weight slows the swing and lowering it speeds the swing up, the reverse of an ordinary pendulum, because the weight is counterbalancing a heavier bob hidden below. The marker on the right flashes on each beat.
The idea behind it
Johann Maelzel patented the metronome in 1815 and Beethoven was among the first composers to print its numbers in his scores. The traditional scale runs from 40 to 208 beats per minute, and the Italian tempo words printed beside it, from largo to presto, are still how musicians name those speeds.
Try this
Move the pointer up for slower tempos and down for faster ones. The tempo name updates as you go.
