Tempo is the speed of the pulse in a piece of music, written as beats per minute (BPM). A slow ballad may sit around 60–70 BPM, most pop and rock songs fall between 90 and 130 BPM, house music is usually 120–128 BPM and drum and bass runs at 160–180 BPM. Knowing the exact number lets you set a metronome, sync a DAW project, match songs in a DJ set or pick music for running and workouts.
The easiest way to measure an unknown tempo is to count beats: tap your foot, count every beat for 15 or 30 seconds and enter the count and the time. Longer counts give a more precise result. If you already know how long one beat or one bar lasts – for example from a waveform in your editor – the calculator works backwards from that instead.
The time signature matters for everything that follows. Its lower number tells which note value carries the beat (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note) and its upper number how many beats fill a bar, so the same BPM gives a 2-second bar in 4/4 but a 1.5-second bar in 3/4.
How to use the BPM Calculator
- I know…
- Time signature — The lower number is the note that gets one beat; the upper number is beats per bar.
- Tempo
- Beats counted
- Time spent counting
- Beat duration
- Bar (measure) duration
Results update as you type, every field has its own unit menu, and everything is calculated in your browser.
How it works
Pick what you know. From a count, BPM = beats × 60 ÷ seconds; from a beat length, BPM = 60 ÷ beat; from a bar length, BPM = beats per bar × 60 ÷ bar. The beat is the note value named by the lower number of the time signature, and all other note lengths are found by halving or doubling it.
Worked example
You count 30 beats in 15 seconds of a song in 4/4. Tempo = 30 × 60 ÷ 15 = 120 BPM. One beat (a quarter note) lasts 60 ÷ 120 = 0.5 s = 500 ms, a bar of four beats lasts 2 s, a whole note 2 s, an eighth note 250 ms and a sixteenth note 125 ms. At 100 BPM the beat would be 600 ms instead.
Tempo markings and typical BPM
| Marking | Meaning | Approximate BPM |
|---|---|---|
| Grave | very slow, solemn | 25–39 |
| Largo | broadly | 40–59 |
| Larghetto | rather broadly | 60–65 |
| Adagio | slow, at ease | 66–75 |
| Andante | at a walking pace | 76–107 |
| Moderato | moderately | 108–119 |
| Allegro | fast, bright | 120–155 |
| Vivace | lively | 156–175 |
| Presto | very fast | 176–199 |
| Prestissimo | extremely fast | 200+ |
Inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| I know… | Choose one: The tempo in BPM, How many beats I counted in a time span, How long one beat lasts, How long one bar lasts |
| Time signature | Choose one: 2/2 (cut time), 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 (common time) …. The lower number is the note that gets one beat; the upper number is beats per bar. |
| Tempo | In BPM |
| Beats counted | A number |
| Time spent counting | Units: s, min, ms |
| Beat duration | Units: ms, s |
| Bar (measure) duration | Units: s, ms, min |
What each result means
- Beat duration = 60÷[Tempo]
- Bar duration = [Beats per bar]×60÷[Tempo]
- Whole note = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]
- Half note = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]÷2
- Quarter note = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]÷4
- Eighth note = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]÷8
- Sixteenth note = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]÷16
- Thirty-second note = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]÷32
- Dotted quarter note = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]÷4×1.5
- Quarter-note triplet = 60÷[Tempo]×[Beat note]÷6
- Bars per minute = [Tempo]÷[Beats per bar]
- Beat frequency = [Tempo]÷60
Formula
BPM = beats counted ÷ seconds × 60
Beat duration (s) = 60 ÷ BPM
Bar duration = beats per bar × beat duration
Whole note = beat × lower number of the time signature
Worked example
Inputs — I know…: How many beats I counted in a time span; Time signature: 4/4 (common time); Beats counted: 30; Time spent counting: 15 s.
Results — Tempo = 120 BPM; Tempo marking (approximate) = Allegro (fast, bright); Beat duration = 500 ms; Bar duration = 2 s; Whole note = 2,000 ms; Half note = 1,000 ms; Quarter note = 500 ms; Eighth note = 250 ms; Sixteenth note = 125 ms; Thirty-second note = 62.5 ms; Dotted quarter note = 750 ms; Quarter-note triplet = 333.33 ms; Bars per minute = 30; Beat frequency = 2 Hz.
Key terms
- BPM
- Beats per minute – the number of pulses in one minute.
- Time signature
- Two numbers at the start of a score: beats per bar (top) and the note value of one beat (bottom).
- Bar (measure)
- A group of beats between bar lines.
- Note value
- The written length of a note – whole, half, quarter, eighth and so on, each half of the previous.
- Triplet
- Three notes played in the time of two of the same value.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate BPM by counting?
Count beats for a known time and scale to a minute: 30 beats in 15 seconds is 30 × 60 ÷ 15 = 120 BPM.
How long is one beat at 100 BPM?
60 ÷ 100 = 0.6 s, or 600 ms.
What BPM is a beat of 0.5 seconds?
60 ÷ 0.5 = 120 BPM.
How long is a bar of 4/4 at 120 BPM?
Four beats of 0.5 s = 2 seconds; a bar of 3/4 at the same tempo lasts 1.5 seconds.
In 6/8, is the BPM counted in eighths or dotted quarters?
The calculator counts the note named by the lower number (eighths). Musicians often feel 6/8 in two dotted-quarter beats; divide the eighth-note BPM by 3 to get that tempo.
What tempo is Allegro?
Roughly 120–156 BPM; markings are traditional guides, not exact numbers, and editions disagree slightly.
How accurate is counting for 15 seconds?
One miscounted beat changes the result by 4 BPM; count for 30–60 seconds or count bars for better accuracy.