BPM Tapper

Counting by tapping

Tempo is beats per minute, so finding it is a matter of timing the gap between beats and dividing sixty seconds by it. Tapping along and averaging several gaps is far more accurate than counting beats for fifteen seconds and multiplying, because it uses every tap rather than a single count.

The reading appears from the second tap and improves with each one. Four is usable; eight or more is reliable. The steadiness figure shows how much your taps varied — a large number means the reading is a rough average of uneven tapping rather than a precise measurement.

Half time and double time

This is the part that trips people up, and it is not really an error. If a track sits around 140 BPM, you can genuinely tap it at 70 or at 140 and both feel correct, because they are the same pulse counted at different densities.

Which is "the" tempo is partly convention by genre. House is usually counted around 120–130, drum and bass around 170–175 rather than 85, hip-hop often around 85–95 rather than 170. Both numbers describe the same music, so all three are shown.

Tap on the beat you would clap on

Not every note — the pulse you would nod your head or tap your foot to. In most popular music that is the quarter-note, four to a bar. Tapping on the snare instead gives half the tempo, which is why the half-time figure is useful.

Common uses

• Matching a metronome to a recording you are learning.
• DJ beatmatching and planning a set's energy curve.
• Setting a tempo before recording a new track.
• Choosing music to run to — many runners aim for a cadence around 170–180 steps a minute and pick tracks near that.
• Working out a delay time for an effect. A quarter-note delay at 120 BPM is 500 ms; the beat length is shown above.

Questions people ask

How many times should I tap?

At least four for a usable reading, eight or more for a reliable one. It averages every gap.

Why do I get half the tempo I expected?

Because you tapped on every other beat, probably the snare. Both numbers are valid — the half and double figures are shown for that reason.

What tempo is typical for different genres?

House around 120–130, hip-hop around 85–95, drum and bass around 170–175. Conventions differ on whether a style is counted at half or double.

What does the steadiness figure mean?

How much your taps varied. A large number means the reading is an average of uneven tapping rather than a precise measurement.

How do I work out a delay time from BPM?

60,000 divided by the BPM gives the quarter-note in milliseconds. That figure is shown as the beat length.