Open Metronome

A free, open source metronome for Windows and Windows Mobile

Downloads

Desktop/Laptop users (if unsure, choose MIDI):

[Download] MIDI Open Metronome for Windows

[Download] WAV Open Metronome Installer Windows

PDA, XDA, iPAQ (etc) users (see below):

[Download] Open Metronome for Windows Mobile *

[Download] Open Metronome for Pocket PC 2002 *

Developers:

[Download] All source code, or [GoTo] SourceForge.

[Open] Misc files (also installer script files etc).

Copyright

Open Metronome is released under the GPLv3 Licence. It may only be copied, modified, redistributed etc. under the terms of that licence.

Features

User definable beats per minute;

Measure can be set to any length, with emphasis on any beat(s);

Each beat can be one or more of over forty MIDI voices or custom WAV samples;

Each beat has a visual indication as well as audible output;

Pocket PC metronome will keep itself alive during suspend-states (but will allow the screen to be turned off to conserve power).

(Pocket PC 2002 metronome simply inhibits suspend completely).

Installation

Windows (95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7) (desktop & laptop users)

Decide whether you want the WAV-based metronome or the MIDI; if unsure, go for MIDI, or just go for the original Weird Metronome! The WAV-based version should theoretically have better beat-timing, and also allows the user to customise the beat-sounds. Both versions should run on any Windows (95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, hopefully Vista and Windows 7 too:)

MIDI Version

The MIDI metronome will "just run": save the file to your desktop and double-click it to run it.

WAV Version

The WAV metronome is a Windows Installer package (MSI file) - save the file to your desktop or wherever, and run it to install. A shortcut will be placed on your desktop and in your start menu.

Problems with MSI Windows Installer package files

Older PCs will not be able to install the MSI files without first installing Windows Installer (the link there is for Windows 9x, the page provides a link for NT and 2k lower down).

If you don't like or can't use the MSI file, and are comfy with ZIP files (the excellent, free 7-Zip is good for handling ZIPs on older PCs), you can just [Download] a ZIP of the WAV metronome; the "Samples" directory needs to be in the same folder as the main executable.

Windows Mobile (PDA, PocketPC, XDA, etc)

Put the appropriate CAB file onto your mobile device (e.g. using ActiveSync): the 2002 version should run on anything; the "Windows Mobile" version will only run on Pocket PC 2003 or better (so Windows Mobile 5, 6, or better is fine), but will provide better power management. Both versions will only run on an ARM-based CPU (most mobile devices seem to have this, e.g., iPAQ, HTC TyTn II).

You can uninstall through the "Start->Settings->System->Remove Programs" option on your device.

* Windows Mobile Internet Explorer Will Not Save CAB files

Windows Mobile Internet Explorer may try and display the CAB files as text. This is stupid. I recommend Opera Mobile, or download via your desktop. This problem is further complicated by the fact that earlier versions of IE will not render the SourceForge download pages correctly.

To Avoid CAB Files Altogether

If the CAB file does not work, you can always just [Download] and unpack the Windows Mobile ZIP directly onto your mobile device (or [Download] the 2002 version if you prefer).

How to Use

There is an FAQ and a ReadMe for the original Weird Metronome which will mostly also apply to Open Metronome, as they share the same user-interface. Please don't contact David (the author of Weird Metronome) about Open Metronome issues, however, contact me!

Compiling

The source can be built using the free Microsoft Visual C++200*e Compiler for Windows, or the free eVC++4.0 compiler for Windows Mobile (and eMbedded Tools 3.0 for older WinCE3). Unfortunately, MSVC++200*e does not produce executables that will run on Windows 9x or NT (I use my own copy of MSVC++6 for this, try eBay; a workspace is provided in the source ZIP).

Support

Details of how to get in touch are provided in the application, and in the source code. I am happy to fix bugs (if I can replicate them!); I am unlikely to have the time to undertake the addition of major new features; I will happily help as much as I am able if you choose to add them to the source, however:)

I can be contacted at 5thWheel@gmail.com, or through SourceForge; try not to trip gmail's spam filters:)

Why another metronome?

This program exists because I had been using the excellent freeware Weird Metronome for guitar practice, but it did not run on my PDA (or Windows-based phone). In order to make it run on my phone, it looked like I needed to heavily modify the original source to make it WAV-based, rather than MIDI-based. Hence, this project is a branch of the original, and is not supported by the original author. The new Windows version supports both WAV beat-voices and the original MIDI (with some tweaks for timing on slower PCs); the Windows Mobile version is WAV-only. Please do not contact David Johnston regarding this software, I am the sole contact for support for Open Metronome; of course, if you fancy trying out the original Weird Metronome, please feel free to go for it, and talk to him about that as much as you like!

I am not aware of any other open-source PDA metronomes.

For anyone wanting a metronome that will run in their browser, there is a free online metronome at webmetronome.com that allows control of tempo and number of beats etc. It doesn't currently run on Windows Mobile, but is just fine for regular Windows.

Thankyou!

Thank you for Weird Metronome, David Johnston, I would not have bothered porting a lesser app to my PDA!