BPM finder · half and double time
Tap tempo
Tap along to the beat of any song you're hearing to find its tempo in BPM. Free, with no account, and it works offline.
How to use it
- Tap the big pad along with the beat, or press Space, Enter or T. After three taps the tempo shows in BPM, with its Italian marking and a word for how steady your taps are.
- If the number is half or double what you feel, step Time at the top to Half time or Double time. Stop for two seconds and the next tap starts a new count; Escape starts again.
- Press Play in metronome to practise at that tempo. More has a click on each tap, a decimal, tapping once a bar, and the milliseconds per beat for delay times.
Tempo markings in BPM
The Italian words a score uses for speed, with the tempos this tool and our metronome file under each. The ranges are a convention, not a rule: books differ by a few BPM, and the music decides as much as the number does.
| Marking | BPM | Roughly means |
|---|---|---|
| Grave | Below 40 | Very slow, solemn |
| Largo | 40 to 59 | Broad and slow |
| Larghetto | 60 to 65 | A little less slow than Largo |
| Adagio | 66 to 75 | Slow, at ease |
| Andante | 76 to 107 | At a walking pace |
| Moderato | 108 to 119 | Moderate |
| Allegro | 120 to 155 | Quick and bright |
| Vivace | 156 to 175 | Lively |
| Presto | 176 to 199 | Very fast |
| Prestissimo | 200 and up | As fast as possible |
Finding the tempo by ear
No pad to hand? Count the beats for 15 seconds and multiply by four: 23 beats in 15 seconds is 92 BPM, an Andante. Tapping is quicker and steadier, because it keeps measuring as you go.
Tap where you'd tap your foot. If the song is very slow, tap the half-beats and halve the number; if it's very fast, tap once a bar.
For delay times, divide 60,000 by the BPM to get milliseconds per beat: 120 BPM is 500 ms a beat and 250 ms an eighth. More shows both for the tempo you tapped.
Tapping 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8
In compound time each beat is a dotted quarter note, split into three eighths: two beats a bar in 6/8, three in 9/8 and four in 12/8. Jigs, lullabies and plenty of choir music are written this way.
Tap the dotted beats, not the eighths. The number is then the dotted-quarter tempo, as a score marks it. Our metronome counts 6/8 in eighths, three to each dotted beat, so a dotted quarter at 60 is 180 there; or pick 2/4 with Triplets and keep 60.
Why a choir needs the tempo
A count-in at the right speed starts everyone together. Tap the recording you're learning from, then give the group a bar of beats at that tempo before you begin.
To find out whether you rushed, tap along to a recording of your run near the start and again near the end, and compare the two numbers.
Free tools by Stackapella
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Questions
How do I find the BPM of a song?
Play the song and tap the pad, or press Space, on every beat you'd clap or tap your foot to. After three taps the number is its tempo in beats per minute, and it gets finer the longer you keep going. It works for any song you can hear, from a speaker, a rehearsal or your own head, but it can't read a song from a link or a file.
How many taps do I need for an accurate BPM?
Three taps give a first number; keep going until it says Steady and the number stops moving. It reads up to your last 32 taps, so a longer run gives a finer number. Turn on Show a decimal, in More, to see it to a tenth of a BPM.
Why does my reading jump around?
Usually one tap came early or late. The tool takes the middle of the gaps between your taps (the median), not their average, so one fumbled tap barely moves it. If it says Uneven, keep going: it settles as your taps even out.
Is it 70 or 140 BPM?
Both can be right: it depends which pulse you count as the beat. A slow song felt at 70 can also be counted twice as fast, at 140. Step Time to Half time or Double time to switch, and pick the one that matches how the music is written or how your group counts it.
How do I tap a song in 6/8 or 12/8?
Tap the big beats, each a dotted quarter note: two a bar in 6/8, four in 12/8. The number is then the dotted-quarter tempo, the way a quick 6/8 is usually marked. In our metronome, 2/4 with Triplets (or 4/4 for 12/8) plays it with its eighths.
Is tempo the same as BPM?
Nearly: tempo is how fast the music goes, and BPM, beats per minute, is the usual way to measure it. A tempo marking like Andante says it in words instead, and covers a range of BPM. Which note counts as the beat depends on the time signature.
What tempo marking is 90 BPM?
Andante, at a walking pace: this tool files 76 to 107 BPM under it. The ranges are a convention, not a rule, and books differ by a few BPM. Whatever you tap, the marking shows under the number.
How do I find the tempo of a slow ballad?
Tap twice on every beat, on the half-beats, then step Time to Half time. Long gaps are hard to tap evenly, so a faster tap halved is steadier. For fast music it works the other way round: in More, set Each tap is to a bar of 2, 3 or 4, and tap once a bar.
Can I use the tempo on a metronome?
Yes: press Play in metronome and our free metronome opens at that tempo, ready to start. Copy, in More, puts the tempo and its marking on your clipboard, for a score or a message.
Does it work offline and on my phone?
Yes. The pad answers the moment your finger lands, and once you've opened this page it works without a connection; you can add it to your home screen like an app. Nothing you tap is kept or sent.
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