Beats-per-minute calculator: 98bpm

Give tempo and time signature

The speed at which music is played/performed is expressed as beats-per-minute or BPM. The more BPM, the faster the music goes. Most music uses the same BPM range as the human heartbeat: 60-140 bpm.
A base of 16 means that the bar is divided in 16 parts of length 1/16. The most common bases are 4, 8, 16 or 32. Use base 12 or 24 if you also want calculations for triplets.
This is also used in "Quantising": the process of snapping notes to the nearest beat subdivision.

Quick BPM overview

Beats per minute
98 BPM
Beats per bar
3 beats
Bars per minute
32.7
Length of 1 beat
0.6122 sec
Length of 1 bar
1.8367 sec
Beats per second
1.6333 Hz

Fractions for base 1

These are some common fractions (handy for setting delays, LFO and modulation parameters)


1 bars
1/1
100%
1 837 ms
0.544 Hz

2 bars
2/1
200%
3 673 ms
0.272 Hz

3 bars
3/1
300%
5 510 ms
0.181 Hz

4 bars
4/1
400%
7 347 ms
0.136 Hz

6 bars
6/1
600%
11 020 ms
0.0907 Hz

8 bars
8/1
800%
14 694 ms
0.0681 Hz

12 bars
12/1
1200%
22 041 ms
0.0454 Hz

16 bars
16/1
1600%
29 388 ms
0.0340 Hz

24 bars
24/1
2400%
44 082 ms
0.0227 Hz

32 bars
32/1
3200%
58 776 ms
0.0170 Hz

48 bars
48/1
4800%
88 163 ms
0.0113 Hz

64 bars
64/1
6400%
117 551 ms
0.008507 Hz

How to use this page

If you have a 135 BPM song, and you want a phase modulation of 4 beats: that is 1.778 sec
If you have a 98 BPM song in a measure of 3/4, and you want to know how long 8 bars is: 14.7 sec
If you have a 128 BPM song, and you want an audio delay of 2/3 of a beat: this is 313 ms
If you have a 80 BPM song, and you want an LFO of 5/4 of a bar: this is 4687.5 ms

Musical genres

These are some popular modern music genres with typical BPM speeds.

Slow dub/reggae
Fast dub/reggae
Deep house
Slow house
Electro house
Trance
Dubstep
Hard house
Jungle
Drum&Bass
Gabber

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert BPM to milliseconds?

Divide 60,000 by the BPM. At 120 BPM: 60000÷120 = 500ms per beat. For subdivisions: quarter note = 500ms, eighth note = 250ms, sixteenth = 125ms. This is essential for setting delay times in DAWs.

How do I convert BPM to Hz (frequency)?

Divide BPM by 60. At 120 BPM: 120÷60 = 2 Hz (2 beats per second). This is useful for syncing LFOs, modulation, and effects to the tempo. A quarter note at 120 BPM = 2 Hz, eighth note = 4 Hz.

What is a good delay time for my BPM?

Common musical delay times: 1/4 note (one beat), 1/8 note (half beat), dotted 1/8 (3/16), or 1/16 note. At 120 BPM: quarter=500ms, eighth=250ms, dotted eighth=375ms, sixteenth=125ms. Dotted delays create a "bouncing" feel.

What does the time signature mean for BPM?

Time signature defines beats per bar, not speed. 4/4 = 4 quarter notes per bar, 3/4 = 3 (waltz), 6/8 = 6 eighth notes. BPM stays constant, but bar length changes. A 120 BPM song in 4/4 has 2-second bars; in 3/4, bars are 1.5 seconds.