BPM / Tempo to Delay & Note Length Calculator
Tools like Ableton, FL Studio, and stompbox delay pedals need note lengths in milliseconds at a given BPM. Enter your tempo (or tap it on the TAP button to derive it from beats) and the table immediately gives you ms and Hz for every standard note value from whole down to 64th, in straight, dotted, and triplet variants. Below the table are quick presets for common echo delays (1/4, 1/8, 1/8 dotted — the legendary U2 / The Edge delay, 1/16, full bar) — click any value to copy. Click a cell to copy that single value. Useful for setting delay pedals, synthesizer LFO rates, sidechain release times, autopan rates, and any other time-based effect that wants to sync to the groove.
| Note value | Straight | Dotted (×1.5) | Triplet (×2/3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole (𝅝) | 2.000 s | 3.000 s | 1.333 s |
| Half (𝅗𝅥) | 1.000 s | 1.500 s | 666.67 ms |
| Quarter (♩) | 500.00 ms | 750.00 ms | 333.33 ms |
| Eighth (♪) | 250.00 ms | 375.00 ms | 166.67 ms |
| Sixteenth (𝅘𝅥𝅯) | 125.00 ms | 187.50 ms | 83.33 ms |
| 32nd (𝅘𝅥𝅰) | 62.50 ms | 93.75 ms | 41.67 ms |
| 64th (𝅘𝅥𝅱) | 31.25 ms | 46.88 ms | 20.83 ms |
Quarter note ms = 60000 / BPM. Dotted notes are 1.5×, triplets are 2/3×. Frequencies are the inverse (1000 / ms).
How to use
- Type the BPM, or tap the TAP button on each beat to derive it (works after 2+ taps, resets after 4 seconds of silence).
- Read note lengths in ms from the table. Click any cell to copy that single value.
- Use the preset row for common delay times — 1/8 dotted at 120 BPM is 375 ms (the classic U2 delay), full-bar at 120 BPM is 2000 ms (long reverb tail).
- The Hz column shows the rate as a frequency, useful for setting LFOs or autopan in synthesizer plugins.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the formula?
- Quarter note ms = 60000 / BPM. A whole note is 4× that, a half is 2×, an 8th is ÷2, a 16th is ÷4, etc. Dotted notes are ×1.5 (add half their length); triplets are ×2/3 (three in the space of two).
- Why is 1/8 dotted famous?
- Because at typical pop/rock tempos a 1/8 dotted delay gives a syncopated bounce that fits perfectly between straight 1/8 hi-hats — classic U2 / The Edge sound, also heard in Pink Floyd, Coldplay, etc. At 120 BPM it's 375 ms; at 140 BPM it's 321.4 ms.
- How accurate is tap tempo?
- It averages the intervals between your taps (up to the last 4 seconds). Two taps gives an estimate, 4–6 taps is much more accurate. Anything outside 20–500 BPM is rejected as a misread. Tap on the beat or on every quarter for the most consistent result.
- What about non-4/4 time signatures?
- The numbers don't change — a quarter note is always 60000/BPM ms regardless of time signature. What changes is how many quarters fit in a bar. The 'one bar' preset assumes 4/4 (four quarters); for 3/4 use ¾ of that value, for 6/8 use 1.5× the dotted-quarter.
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