BPM: Egwu

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
118 BPM
Beats per bar
4 beats
Bars per minute
29.5
Length of 1 beat
0.5085 sec
Length of 1 bar
2.0339 sec
Beats per second
1.9667 Hz

Fractions for base 16

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


1/16
1/16
6.25%
127 ms
7.87 Hz

2/16
1/8
12.5%
254 ms
3.93 Hz

3/16
3/16
18.75%
381 ms
2.62 Hz

4/16
1/4
25%
508 ms
1.97 Hz

5/16
5/16
31.25%
636 ms
1.57 Hz

6/16
3/8
37.5%
763 ms
1.31 Hz

7/16
7/16
43.75%
890 ms
1.12 Hz

8/16
1/2
50%
1 017 ms
0.983 Hz

9/16
9/16
56.25%
1 144 ms
0.874 Hz

10/16
5/8
62.5%
1 271 ms
0.787 Hz

11/16
11/16
68.75%
1 398 ms
0.715 Hz

12/16
3/4
75%
1 525 ms
0.656 Hz

13/16
13/16
81.25%
1 653 ms
0.605 Hz

14/16
7/8
87.5%
1 780 ms
0.562 Hz

15/16
15/16
93.75%
1 907 ms
0.524 Hz

16/16
1/1
100%
2 034 ms
0.492 Hz

24/16
3/2
150%
3 051 ms
0.328 Hz

32/16
2/1
200%
4 068 ms
0.246 Hz

48/16
3/1
300%
6 102 ms
0.164 Hz

64/16
4/1
400%
8 136 ms
0.123 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
75 BPM
Fast dub/reggae
90 BPM
Deep house
96 BPM
Slow house
120 BPM
Electro house
130 BPM
Trance
135 BPM
Dubstep
140 BPM
Hard house
145 BPM
Jungle
160 BPM
Drum&Bass
175 BPM
Gabber
190 BPM
Beats-per-minuteConvert BPM to Hz, bar length, fractions Audio delayCalculate audio delay length in msec Music FrequencyConvert pitch to musical note and wavelength Song lengthCalculate song length from BPM Music ScaleGenerate scales with frequencies Tap your tempoTap to find the BPM of a song or a heartbeat

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.