BPM Delay Calculator
Delay and reverb times in milliseconds and hertz for every note value from 1/1 to 1/64 at a tempo, with dotted and triplet notes, or the tempo from a delay time.
Result…
How it's calculated
Quarter note (ms) = 60,000 ÷ BPM Note value = quarter note × beats (1/1 = 4, 1/2 = 2, 1/8 = ½, 1/16 = ¼ …) Dotted = × 1.5 · Triplet = × 2/3 · Hz = 1000 ÷ ms · BPM = 60,000 × beats ÷ ms
A minute has 60,000 milliseconds, so at a tempo of B beats per minute one beat, a quarter note, lasts 60,000 ÷ B ms: 500 ms at 120 BPM. Each shorter note value halves it, a dotted note is one and a half times its plain value, and a triplet fits three notes in the space of two, so it is two thirds as long. Delay plug-ins that do not sync to the host tempo take these times directly; LFOs and modulation take the same values as a rate in hertz (1000 ÷ ms). Tempo here counts quarter-note beats, as most music software does; in a time signature like 6/8, check which note your BPM counts.
Your numbers, step by step
About the BPM Delay calculator
This BPM delay calculator turns a song's tempo into delay and reverb times that sit in time with the music. Enter the beats per minute and it gives the length in milliseconds of every note value from a whole note (1/1) down to a sixty-fourth (1/64), each as a straight, dotted and triplet note, with the matching rate in hertz for LFOs and modulation. It also works backwards: enter a delay time and say which note it is, and it finds the tempo. Producers and mixing engineers use it to set delay plug-ins and hardware units that do not sync to the host tempo, and to choose a reverb pre-delay and decay. The steps list the full table with your tempo. A beat here is a quarter note, as in most music software.
How to use it
- Under “I know”, choose “Tempo (BPM)” or “Delay time”.
- Enter the “Tempo” in BPM, or the “Delay time” in ms.
- For a delay time, pick which note “That time is one” and the “Note type”: straight, dotted or triplet.
- Read the quarter-note time, the common note values and the full 1/1 to 1/64 table in the steps.
Worked example
At 128 BPM a quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ 128 = 468.75 ms, a rate of about 2.13 Hz. An eighth note is 234.375 ms, a sixteenth 117.1875 ms, a dotted quarter 468.75 × 1.5 = 703.125 ms and a quarter-note triplet 468.75 × 2/3 = 312.5 ms. Going backwards, a 450 ms delay heard as a dotted eighth (0.75 of a beat) means a tempo of 60,000 × 0.75 ÷ 450 = 100 BPM.
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Questions people ask
How do I calculate delay time from BPM?
Divide 60,000 by the tempo to get a quarter note in milliseconds, then halve it for each shorter note value. At 120 BPM a quarter note is 500 ms and an eighth is 250 ms.
What is the formula for dotted and triplet delay times?
A dotted note is the straight value × 1.5 and a triplet is × 2/3. At 120 BPM a dotted eighth is 375 ms and an eighth-note triplet about 166.67 ms.
How do I turn a delay time into hertz?
Divide 1000 by the time in milliseconds: 500 ms is 2 Hz. The frequency calculator converts between period and frequency for any signal.
What reverb pre-delay should I use?
A common starting point is a short note value such as 1/32 or 1/64 at the song's tempo, with the decay set to a longer value, then adjusted by ear. There is no single correct setting.
Why does my delay sound off-beat in 6/8?
The calculator counts BPM in quarter-note beats, as most software does. In compound time some people count dotted quarters as the beat, so check which note your tempo refers to.