To convert BPM to milliseconds, divide 60,000 by the BPM. That gives one beat, a quarter note in 4/4: at 120 BPM a quarter note lasts 500 ms, an eighth 250 ms and a dotted eighth 375 ms. To skip the maths, type or tap your tempo into BPM to ms and press any value to copy it.

The formula

There are 60,000 milliseconds in a minute, so one beat lasts 60,000 / BPM ms. Every other note value is a multiple of that beat:

Two more multipliers cover the rest:

• Dotted: multiply by 1.5. A dotted note is half as long again, so a dotted eighth is three sixteenths.
• Triplet: multiply by 2/3. Three triplets fit in the space of two straight notes.

A worked example at 128 BPM: 60,000 / 128 = 468.75 ms for a quarter note. Halve it for an eighth (234.375 ms), then multiply by 1.5 for a dotted eighth: 351.6 ms, so set your delay to about 352 ms.

Delay times at 120 BPM

Every note value at 120 BPM, rounded to the nearest millisecond (to a tenth below 100 ms):

Delay times at other common tempos

The values people reach for most, in ms:

Not sure of your tempo? Tap it or read it from the audio first: see how to find the BPM of a song.

Dotted or triplet: which delay to use?

A straight delay repeats on the grid, on top of the notes you already play. That is clean, but it can blur a busy part.

A dotted eighth delay repeats off the grid, so the echoes fall between your notes and fill the gaps. It is the sound of a lot of rock guitar (The Edge in U2 built his style on it) and works on vocal throws and plucks too. A triplet delay repeats three times in the space of two beats, which adds a swung, rolling feel. Try it on a straight hi-hat or a synth stab when a groove feels stiff.

How do I convert BPM to Hz for LFOs?

LFOs, tremolo and auto-pan often take a rate in Hz rather than a note length. Hz is cycles per second, so:

Hz = 1000 / ms

A quarter note at 120 BPM lasts 500 ms, so 1000 / 500 = 2 Hz. For a quarter note you can also divide the BPM by 60: 120 / 60 = 2 Hz. At 120 BPM:

A filter LFO at a quarter note pulses once a beat; at an eighth triplet it wobbles three times a beat.

Where to use the numbers

Most plugin delays have a sync switch, so why work in ms at all? Because plenty of things don't sync: hardware pedals, many reverbs' pre-delay, compressor release, gates and older plugins. And a value in ms lets you set a delay a few milliseconds shorter or longer than the grid to push or drag the feel.

• Delay: set the time to the note you want, then adjust the feedback for how many repeats you hear.
• Reverb pre-delay: the gap before the reverb starts keeps a vocal's words clear of the wash. A short note value, like a 1/32 (62.5 ms at 120 BPM) or half of it, is a starting point that stays in time.
• Reverb decay: a tail that dies before the next big hit, say within a half note, keeps the mix from smearing.
• Compressor release: a release around an eighth or a sixteenth lets the gain recover before the next beat, so the compression moves with the groove.
• Kick length: at 128 BPM a beat lasts 469 ms, so a kick much longer than that runs into the next one in a four-on-the-floor. See how to make a kick drum.

These are starting points. Set them by ear once they're in the right range.

How to use BPM to ms

1. Open BPM to ms at tools.aden.space/tempo, or search "BPM to ms" in ⌘K. No account needed.
2. Set the tempo: type it, use minus and plus (or the arrow keys in the field), or tap it. To tap, press Tap in time with the song, or press T anywhere on the page. A pause of two seconds starts a new count.
3. Press the metronome button to hear a click at the tempo. It follows the tempo as you change it, so you can check it against the song.
4. Switch between ms (delays, reverb pre-delay) and Hz (LFOs, tremolo).
5. Read the table: every note from a whole note to a 32nd, straight, dotted and triplet. Press a value to copy it, then paste it into your plugin.

The tool stops at a 32nd note. For a 64th, halve the 32nd.

In ChatGPT or Claude, BPM tapper by Aden (mcp.aden.space/bpm-tapper) answers the same questions in the chat, like "What is a dotted eighth delay at 128 BPM?".

Related: LUFS targets for streaming and free music tools for producers.

FAQ

How do I convert BPM to milliseconds?

Divide 60,000 by the BPM to get the length of one beat, a quarter note in 4/4, in milliseconds. At 120 BPM that is 500 ms. Multiply by 0.5 for an eighth note, 0.25 for a sixteenth, 1.5 for a dotted note and 2/3 for a triplet.

What is a dotted eighth delay at 120 BPM?

375 ms. A quarter note at 120 BPM is 500 ms, an eighth is half of that at 250 ms, and a dotted eighth is one and a half eighths, 375 ms.

What is the difference between a dotted and a triplet delay?

A dotted delay is one and a half times the note, so its repeats land off the grid and fill the gaps between your notes. A triplet delay is two thirds of the note, three repeats in the space of two, which gives a swung, rolling feel.

How do I convert BPM to Hz?

Divide 1000 by the note length in milliseconds. For a quarter note you can also divide the BPM by 60, so a quarter note at 120 BPM is 2 Hz and an eighth note is 4 Hz.

Does the time signature change the delay time?

Not when the BPM counts quarter notes: a quarter note lasts 60,000 / BPM milliseconds in 4/4, 3/4 or 7/8 alike. Some music in 6/8 or 12/8 gives its tempo in dotted quarter notes instead, and then 60,000 / BPM is the length of a dotted quarter.