BARBARA the Metronome

Asteroid Zone Software Oy

About this app

If time signatures change in the middle of the piece you are practicing, BARBARA is the right metronome for you.

BARBARA plays sequences of bars (measures) with metronomic sounds.

BARBARA has several pages of buttons with which you can make it play sequences of bars with quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and even thirty-second notes. You can specify how many times, or minutes, each bar is played.

Selecting bars to be played is called programming. A sequence of bars can contain bars with different time signatures as well as rests, tempo changes, and repeat signs.

BARBARA can be made to tick certain sections of music with a different metronome sound. One way to utilise this feature is to create a sequence in which the primary metronome sound is played for some minutes, and after that a few bars are played with the alternative metronome sound. When this kind of sequence is repeated, there is a warm-up routine in which the musician can move to a different warm-up exercise when she or he hears the alternative metronome sound. Especially some drum teachers recommend a set of exercises in which each exercise lasts a few minutes.

As musicians most often need the basic metronomic functionalities, BARBARA has a Quick Start button with which you can quickly start making some traditional rhythms or a monotonous metronome sound. You can set the tempo and activate the metronome by tapping an empty area of the main screen.

BARBARA will store the sequences of bars that you create. You can name your sequences and play them later. The metronome app contains many demo sequences that will help you to learn how the metronome can be used.

BARBARA is a very flexible tool for musicians. It can be the metronome that you have been waiting for all your life.

What’s new

Some modifications to the main metronome screen have been made. The 'balls', which are shown simultaneously when metronome sounds are heard, are now drawn in more attractive way.

Now it is possible to randomly silence beats while the metronome is operating. To use this feature, you must first activate "Volume Control & Silencing" in Info & Settings. This selection brings a speaker symbol to the upper left corner of the main screen. Tap the speaker symbol for volume-related operations.