BPM Counter

BPM Counter and Tap Tempo Tool for Measuring Beats per Minute

This BPM Calculator is perfect for musicians (songwriters, DJs), for dancers, or whoever wants to know the BPM of a song, a sample, or a backing track. This tap BPM tool allows you to calculate the tempo of any song by tapping to the beat. For instance, if you want to know the BPM of a sample or a song, you just have to tap along with the beat. 

In addition, you can double or half the BPM you calculated with the “x2” and the “÷2” buttons. This can be useful if you tap in eighth notes instead of quarters or want to half the half-time BPM. In case of really slow songs it can also be helpful to tap twice as fast and halve the value later on to get the BPM. Furthermore, I added a sound feature that plays a metronome sound each time you tap. It is not necessary, however, maybe it is good to get some acoustic feedback.

Tap the beat of any song to determine its BPM

You can use the green “TAP” button or any key (for example, the space bar) on your keyboard to tap the tempo of your song. You only have to tap in the quarter notes for a few seconds to quickly calculate the BPM without waiting a whole minute. However, the longer you tap the beat, the more accurate the result will be. You can see the tap count on the lower left side of the BPM calculator. If you want to start all over you can use the “Reset” button or press “Escape” on your keyboard to reset the BPM counter. The calculator resets itself automatically after three seconds. But you can also adjust this time.

Online Tempo Tapper

Whether you’re working on a set, playing live with a drummer, trying to learn how to play a song, or looking to sync your playing to a beat, knowing the BPM is key. Intelligent tap tempo calculators, like the one on this page, take the time difference between your taps and calculate an average differential. In other words, the BPM counter (or beat counter) calculates the tempo range and finds out the average BPM of your taps.

While you can use this BPM tapping tool to measure the Beats Per Minute of existing songs, you can also use it to find the BPM of a song you want to make. For example, I like to use this BPM Calculator on my smartphone. This allows me to check the BPM of any vibe directly. For this purpose, I added this page to my home screen. In Chrome, you can find this option in the menu (three dots) on the upper right. After you determined the tempo of your song, you might want to use a metronome to keep the timing.

What is Beats Per Minute (BPM)?

Beats Per Minute (BPM) is a measure of tempo in music. Simply put, it’s how many beats there are in a sixty-second time interval. 120 BPM for example means that there is one beat every 0,5 seconds. The note value of a beat is defined by the denominator of the time signature. This means within the most common time signature 4/4 one beat is one quarter note. You can choose the length of a bar in the advanced section of the calculator. Thereby you define the note value. Besides beats per minute, there are also other tempo measures like measures per minute and bars per minute. If you want to learn more about tempo in music check out the Wikipedia article.

In electronic music, BPM is used extensively, particularly in dance music, where a song’s tempo is crucial for determining genre, vibe, and beat matching. Whether you need to measure the BPM of classical or electronic music, our BPM tap tool is the perfect solution. In classical music however different BPM values correspond to certain musical terms:

• Larghissimo – extremly slow (24 bpm and less)
• Adagissimo – very slow (24-40 bpm)
• Grave – very slow (25–45 bpm)
• Largo – slow and broad (40–60 bpm)
• Lento – slow (45–60 bpm)
• Larghetto – rather slow and “broad” (60–66 bpm)
• Adagio – slow with great expression (66–76 bpm)
• Adagietto – slower than andante (72–76 bpm) or slightly faster than adagio (70–80 bpm)
• Andante – at a walking pace (76–108 bpm)
• Andantino – slightly faster than andante (80–108 bpm)
• Marcia moderato – moderately, in the manner of a march (83–85 bpm)
• Moderato – at a moderate speed (108–120 bpm)
• Andante moderato – between andante and moderato (92–112 bpm)
• Allegretto – by the mid-19th century, moderately fast (112–120 bpm)
• Allegro moderato – close to, but not quite allegro (116–120 bpm)
• Allegro – fast, quick, and bright (120–156 bpm)
• Vivace – lively and fast (156–176 bpm)
• Vivacissimo – very fast and lively (172–176 bpm)
• Allegrissimo or Allegro vivace – very fast (172–176 bpm)
• Presto – very, very fast (168–200 bpm)
• Prestissimo – even faster than presto (200 bpm and over)

While these classical music terms may not be necessary to know, depending on what kind of music you’re making, it’s worth thinking about the types of moods that different BPM can generate. Therefore, some genres are associated with specific BPMs.

Which genre has which BPM?

The style of a song is not only determined by the sounds and rhythm but also the tempo. You likely have some idea about the genre of a song when you hear it, based on your experiences as a music listener. Here are “typical” BPM ranges for a number of common music styles:

• Dub: 60-90 bpm
• Hip-hop: 60-100 bpm
• House: 115-130 bpm
• Techno/trance: 120-140 bpm
• Dubstep: 135-145 bpm
• Drum and bass: 160-180 bpm

Of course, a Hip-hop song not always has to be between 60 and 100 BPM. These are just guiding values. Let me know what you are using the BPM Calculator for, in the comments below!

BPM Finder for Heart Rate or Pulse

Similarly, you could also use this tempo tapper to quickly calculate heartbeats per minute, heart rate, or resting pulse. My professor, for example, was interested in this application to find out the best Beats Per Minute value for his workout. So he could listen to music that fits his running tempo. Maybe, I will integrate more functions in the future. If you need a specific feature, let me know in the comments below.