About the BPM to Milliseconds Calculator
This BPM to milliseconds calculator turns a song tempo into the exact time of every note value, so you can set delay, reverb pre-delay, compressor release, LFO rates and gate times that lock to the groove. Enter the tempo and pick the note value you want; the full chart shows straight, dotted and triplet times from whole notes down to 1/64 notes, in milliseconds and in hertz.
It is built for producers, mix engineers, live sound techs and guitarists using pedals without tap tempo. A dotted-eighth delay at the song tempo, for example, gives the classic rhythmic echo used on countless guitar parts, while a 1/64 or 1/32 note is a common starting point for reverb pre-delay.
Times assume the beat is a quarter note (as in 4/4, 3/4 and most DAWs). A dotted note lasts 1.5 times as long as the plain note, and a triplet note lasts two-thirds as long, because three triplets fit in the time of two.
With the default inputs, the delay time is 375 ms. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the bpm to milliseconds calculator
- 1Enter the song tempo in BPM (check your DAW or use the tap tempo tool).
- 2Pick the note value you want the delay or effect to follow.
- 3Choose straight, dotted or triplet feel.
- 4Type the millisecond value into your delay, reverb pre-delay or compressor release.
- 5Use the Hz column for LFO, tremolo or auto-pan rates.
Formula and method
A minute has 60,000 milliseconds, so one beat lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM ms. Taking the quarter note as the beat, a half note is 2 beats, an eighth note 0.5 beats and a sixteenth 0.25 beats, and a whole note is 4 beats.
A dot adds half the note’s value again (× 1.5), and a triplet squeezes three notes into the space of two (× 2/3). To express a time as a rate for LFOs, tremolo or auto-pan, divide 1,000 by the time in milliseconds to get cycles per second (Hz).
- BPM
- Tempo in quarter-note beats per minute
- beat
- Length of one quarter note in milliseconds
- Hz
- Repetitions per second for the chosen note value
Worked examples
Dotted-eighth delay at 120 BPM
At 120 BPM one beat is 60,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms. An eighth note is 250 ms, and dotting it multiplies by 1.5 to give 375 ms (2.667 Hz) — the classic rhythmic guitar echo.
Quarter-note delay at 90 BPM
60,000 ÷ 90 = 666.67 ms per beat, so a quarter-note delay repeats every 666.67 ms. A sixteenth is a quarter of that, 166.67 ms, and a bar of 4/4 lasts 2.667 seconds.
Eighth-note triplet at 140 BPM
One beat at 140 BPM is 428.57 ms, so an eighth note is 214.29 ms. Three triplet eighths fit in one beat, so each lasts 428.57 ÷ 3 = 142.86 ms.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert BPM to milliseconds?+
Divide 60,000 by the tempo. At 120 BPM a quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms; halve it for eighth notes (250 ms) and halve again for sixteenths (125 ms).
What is a dotted eighth delay?+
A delay set to 1.5 eighth notes, i.e. three sixteenths. Played against straight eighths it creates a galloping echo pattern; at 120 BPM it is 375 ms.
How do I calculate triplet delay times?+
Multiply the straight note time by 2/3. At 100 BPM an eighth note is 300 ms, so an eighth-note triplet is 200 ms and a quarter-note triplet is 400 ms.
What reverb pre-delay should I use?+
A common approach is to set pre-delay to a short note value such as 1/64 or 1/32 at the song tempo, typically 10–60 ms, so the dry sound stays clear before the reverb starts.
Does the time signature change the delay time?+
Not if the BPM counts quarter notes, which is how most DAWs define tempo. In 6/8 the felt pulse is the dotted quarter, so a pulse-length delay is the dotted-quarter value.