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BPM Tapper

Find the tempo of any song: tap the pad, or any key, in time with the beat and the BPM counter shows the beats per minute after two taps. The more you tap, the more accurate it gets. Below it, turn any BPM into milliseconds for delay and reverb times.

Tempo

–BPM

exactly ·

Tap at least twice to see the BPM.

Taps: 0
Steadiness: –
Half / double: –

Play on the metronome

Pause for 2.5 seconds and the next tap starts a new count, so you can move straight on to the next song.

BPM to milliseconds (delay time calculator)

Milliseconds per note at a tempo, with dotted and triplet values, for setting delay, reverb pre-delay, compressor release or LFO rates in time with a song. A quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM ms.

Tempo BPM

Note	Straight (ms)	Dotted (ms)	Triplet (ms)	Rate (Hz)

Enter a tempo between 1 and 1,000 BPM.

Typical BPM by music style

Rough ranges to check your result against. If your count is half or double what you expect, you may be tapping every other beat, or every eighth note.

Ballads and slow R&B60–80

Hip-hop80–100

Reggae60–90

Pop and rock100–130

House118–130

Techno125–150

Trance130–145

Dubstep138–142 (felt as 70)

Drum and bass160–180

Punk160–200

Waltz84–90 (Viennese waltz about 180)

March110–120

Need to practise at that speed? Open the online metronome.

Version 1.0

About the BPM Tapper

The BPM Tapper counts the tempo of a song while you listen. Tap the big pad, or press any key, on every beat, and it works out the beats per minute from the gaps between your taps. After two taps you get a first reading; after eight or more it settles on an accurate number. It also shows how steady your tapping is, the half-time and double-time values, and a BPM to milliseconds table for delay and reverb times. Pause for a couple of seconds and the next tap starts a fresh count.

How to use it

1 Play the song and listen for the kick drum or the beat you would clap to.
2 Tap the pad or press any key on each beat; keep going for 10 to 20 taps.
3 Read the BPM, and check steadiness is high.
4 Open the tempo on the metronome, or use the table to set delay times.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the BPM of a song?

Play the song, tap along on every beat for about 10 seconds and read the BPM. Tapping the kick drum or the beat you would clap or nod to gives the most reliable result. The more taps, the more accurate the average.

How is BPM calculated from taps?

The tapper measures the time between your taps, averages the last 12 gaps and divides 60,000 by that average in milliseconds. Taps half a second apart give 60,000 ÷ 500 = 120 BPM.

Why is my BPM half or double what I expected?

You may be tapping every other beat, or every eighth note. Both are valid ways to feel the same song: dubstep at 140 BPM is often felt at 70. The tapper shows the half-time and double-time values so you can pick the one that matches.

What does steadiness mean?

How even your taps are. 100% means every gap was the same; below about 80% the result may be off by a few BPM, so keep tapping or start again.

How do I convert BPM to milliseconds?

Divide 60,000 by the BPM to get a quarter note in milliseconds: at 120 BPM a quarter note is 500 ms, an 8th note 250 ms and a dotted 8th 375 ms. The table on this page does it for every note length.

Can it detect BPM automatically from audio?

Not yet; it counts your taps. That is often more reliable than automatic detection for live music, rubato and songs with complex rhythms.

How to tap tempo accurately

A few habits make a big difference to how close your count is to the real tempo:

Tap with one finger on a phone, or the space bar on a computer, so every tap feels the same.
Follow the kick drum and snare, not the vocal line, which pushes and pulls against the beat.
Keep going for at least 8 to 16 taps; the first one or two are usually early or late.
Watch the steadiness score. If it drops, stop for three seconds and start a new count.
Check the result against the genre table: house is rarely under 118 BPM, hip-hop rarely over 100.

BPM to ms: delay and reverb times

Producers and guitarists set delay and reverb in time with the song so the echoes fall on the beat. The rule is simple: a quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. Halve it for an 8th note, halve again for a 16th; multiply by 1.5 for a dotted note, or by 2/3 for a triplet.

At 120 BPM: quarter 500 ms, 8th 250 ms, dotted 8th 375 ms, 16th 125 ms.
At 100 BPM: quarter 600 ms, 8th 300 ms, dotted 8th 450 ms.
At 90 BPM: quarter about 666.67 ms, 8th 333.33 ms.

The dotted 8th delay is the classic rhythmic echo of U2-style guitar parts. The Rate (Hz) column gives the same note lengths as a frequency, for syncing tremolo, filters and other LFO effects.

Tapper, BPM counter or metronome?

A tapper (also called a BPM counter or tap tempo tool) measures the speed of music you hear. A metronome does the opposite: it plays a click at a speed you choose. Musicians often use both, tapping a recording to learn its tempo, then practising with the metronome at that tempo, or slower. The “Play on the metronome” button carries your result straight across.

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