InstrumentLIBRARY
A blue 3D-printed pyramid-shaped metronome stand holding a small circuit board with a screen
Photo: Adafruit via Thingiverse, CC BY 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
General · Metronome Other DIY

Metronome CLUE

A working electronic metronome on an Adafruit CLUE board, in a classic printed metronome stand

Designed by Adafruit (John Park), published on Adafruit Learn

CC BY 4.0 (stand); code MIT Commercial use OK Build info 5/5

Licence verified on Thingiverse, 21 October 2026.

Get the plans on Adafruit Learn ↗ Watch the demo
Build type
Electronics and code, with a 3D-printed stand (no soldering)
Difficulty
Easy
Main part
An Adafruit CLUE board
Tempo
40 to 330 BPM, in steps of 1 or 10, per the code
Time signatures
4/4 and 3/4

About the CLUE Metronome

This turns an Adafruit CLUE (a small board with a colour screen, buttons, touch pads and a speaker) into a metronome. You copy the CircuitPython code and libraries onto the board, and it clicks out the beat and shows the tempo on screen.

You set it with the board's own controls: button B starts and stops it, button A switches between 4/4 and 3/4, touch pad 0 switches between steps of 1 and 10 BPM, and touch pads 1 and 2 slow it down or speed it up. The code starts at 120 BPM and allows 40 to 330.

As a bonus, Adafruit designed a classic pyramid-shaped metronome stand to hold the CLUE. It prints in PLA at 0.2 mm with no supports. The CLUE snaps into a case back and front cover, which push into the stand.

Licences. The stand files on Thingiverse are CC BY 4.0, and the code file carries an MIT licence header. Who it's for. Anyone who wants a simple, working DIY metronome without soldering. We haven't built one ourselves; this is a summary of Adafruit's guide.

What you'll need

Materials

  • PLA filament for the stand (optional)

Bought parts

  • An Adafruit CLUE board
  • A USB data cable
  • Optional: 3 small rubber bumper feet

Tools

  • A computer to copy the code
  • A 3D printer for the stand (optional)
  • Optional: CA glue for a firmer fit

Build overview

Our own outline. The full guide, code and library list are on Adafruit Learn.

  1. Install CircuitPython. Put the latest CircuitPython for CLUE on the board.
  2. Add the libraries. Copy the libraries listed in the guide into the board's lib folder.
  3. Copy the code. Save the metronome code to the board as code.py.
  4. Print the stand. Print the stand parts in PLA at 0.2 mm, no supports. The bottom cover isn't needed.
  5. Assemble. Put the CLUE in the case back, snap on the front cover, push it into the stand face, and add rubber feet to the base.

Print settings

  • Material: PLA
  • Layers: 0.2 mm
  • Supports: None

Video

Play video: Demo (loads YouTube)
Demo, Adafruit Industries. Plays from youtube-nocookie.com after you click.

Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. Video thumbnails are © their creators.

← Back to General