A metronome is any type of instrument that keeps a regular or metrical beat.
It was actually discovered by Galileo Galilei around 1581.
He discovered that pendulums of any length vibrated in the same time whether the pendulum was large or small.
It was another century before Christian Huyghens and George Graham applied his theory to clocks.
They needed something that would deliver impulses to the pendulum.
This would keep it in motion and would not interfere with its motion.
In 1696 Etieune Loulie applied this pendulum principle to the metronome.
He fashioned a machine that was an adjustable pendulum with calibrations but no way to keep it in motion.
Then came a few inventors who tried to figure out how to make it work.
Most of these were unsuccessful because of the length of the pendulum needed to beat some of the low tempos used in music.
In 1812 Dietrik Nikolaus Winkel in Amsterdam found a way to make the pendulum work.
He put a weight on each side of the pivot.
It did not seem to matter if the pendulum was long or short.
This was a good way to beat low tempos.
The metronome that we use today was invented by a man named Johann Nepenuk Maelzel.
This is the metronome used successfully to this day.
It is manufactured by Swiss, German, French and American manufacturers.
They all vie for the limited business available.
The action of "The Beat" seems to be something that this world depends upon.
The beat of the clock, the beat of our hearts, and the beat of our rhythm seem to keep us going.
What would music be without a beat? What would the clock do without a beat? What would we do without a heart that beats? The beat goes on.