Audio delay calculator

Give the tempo and the time signature

Express the length of the delay as fractions of a bar

Musical tempo

Beats per minute
126BPM
Beats per bar
4 beats
Delay fraction
23/24 bar

Converted to seconds

Length of 1 beat
0.476 sec
2.1 Hz
Length of 1 bar
1.905 sec
0.525 Hz
Delay length
1.825 sec
0.548 Hz

Repeated delays

A repeated delay syncs with the beat after 24 delays = 23 bars

1 reps
23/24
1825.4 ms
2 reps
23/12
3.651 sec
3 reps
23/8
5.476 sec
4 reps
23/6
7.302 sec
5 reps
115/24
9.127 sec
6 reps
23/4
10.953 sec
7 reps
161/24
12.778 sec
8 reps
23/3
14.604 sec
9 reps
69/8
16.429 sec
10 reps
115/12
18.254 sec
11 reps
253/24
20.08 sec
12 reps
23/2
21.905 sec
13 reps
299/24
23.731 sec
14 reps
161/12
25.556 sec
15 reps
115/8
27.382 sec
16 reps
46/3
29.207 sec
17 reps
391/24
31.032 sec
18 reps
69/4
32.858 sec
19 reps
437/24
34.683 sec
20 reps
115/6
36.509 sec
21 reps
161/8
38.334 sec
22 reps
253/12
40.16 sec
23 reps
529/24
41.985 sec
24 reps
23
43.81 sec

Visualized

1 bar2 bars3 bars4 bars5 bar6 bars7 bars8 bars
♩♩♩♩♩♩♩♩
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

How to use this page

If you have a 135 BPM song, and you want a phase modulation of 4 beats (1 bar): that is 1777.6 ms
If you have a 128 BPM song, and you want an audio delay of 2/3 of a beat: this is 312.5 ms

Music calculators & converters

Beats-per-minute
Convert BPM to Hz, bar length, fractions
Audio delay
Calculate audio delay length in msec
Music Frequency
Convert pitch to musical note and wavelength
Song length
Calculate song length from BPM
Music Scale
Generate scales with frequencies
Tap your tempo
Tap to find the BPM of a song or a heartbeat

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate delay time from BPM?

For quarter note delay: 60000 ÷ BPM = ms. At 120 BPM: 60000÷120 = 500ms. For other note values: multiply by the fraction. Eighth note = 250ms, dotted eighth (3/16) = 375ms, sixteenth = 125ms.

What is a dotted delay and why use it?

A dotted note is 1.5× the original length. Dotted eighth = 3/16 bar. At 120 BPM: dotted eighth = 375ms (vs 250ms for eighth). Dotted delays create a "bouncing" feel popular in rock and pop music - the delay hits between beats.

How do I sync delay to my DAW tempo?

Most DAW delays have "sync" mode that locks to tempo. For hardware or manual setup: calculate ms using this tool and enter the value. Common musical delays: 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, dotted 1/8, or triplet variations.

What delay time for reverb pre-delay?

Pre-delay separates dry sound from reverb tail. For tempo-sync: use 1/32 or 1/64 note (15-30ms at 120 BPM). For natural sound: small rooms 1-10ms, medium rooms 10-30ms, halls 30-50ms. Too long = echo effect, too short = muddy sound.