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
170BPM
Beats per bar
4 beats
Delay fraction
11/16 bar

Converted to seconds

Length of 1 beat
0.353 sec
2.834 Hz
Length of 1 bar
1.412 sec
0.708 Hz
Delay length
0.971 sec
1.03 Hz

Repeated delays

A repeated delay syncs with the beat after 16 delays = 11 bars

1 reps
11/16
970.6 ms
2 reps
11/8
1941.2 ms
3 reps
33/16
2.912 sec
4 reps
11/4
3.883 sec
5 reps
55/16
4.853 sec
6 reps
33/8
5.824 sec
7 reps
77/16
6.794 sec
8 reps
11/2
7.765 sec
9 reps
99/16
8.736 sec
10 reps
55/8
9.706 sec
11 reps
121/16
10.677 sec
12 reps
33/4
11.647 sec
13 reps
143/16
12.618 sec
14 reps
77/8
13.589 sec
15 reps
165/16
14.559 sec
16 reps
11
15.53 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

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.