⏱️ Metronome Beat Duration Calculator

Enter a tempo in beats per minute (BPM) to see the duration of whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes in milliseconds.

Tempo (BPM)

One division of a minute

A minute holds 60,000 milliseconds, so the length of a beat is that divided by the tempo. Every other note value is the beat doubled or halved:

quarter note = 60000 / BPM
whole  = quarter × 4     half     = quarter × 2
eighth = quarter / 2     sixteenth = quarter / 4
dotted = × 1.5           triplet   = × 2/3

At the default 120 BPM the quarter note is 500 ms, the eighth 250 ms, the sixteenth 125 ms, and the dotted quarter 750 ms. The dotted row is there because a dot adds half the note's own value - it is not a separate kind of beat. Everything assumes the quarter note gets the pulse, which is true of 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 but not of 6/8, where the dotted quarter row is the one to read.

Tempos worth knowing

BPM	Quarter note	Marking
60	1000.0 ms	Larghetto, one beat a second
90	666.7 ms	Andante
120	500.0 ms	Allegro, most dance music
140	428.6 ms	Allegro, up-tempo rock
174	344.8 ms	Presto, drum and bass

For delay pedals and plugins the useful value is often the dotted eighth, which the tool does not print directly: halve the dotted quarter. At 120 BPM that is 375 ms, the rhythmic echo heard all over stadium rock.

Frequently asked questions

How many milliseconds is one beat at 120 BPM?

500 ms, from 60,000 / 120. Two beats a second, which is why 120 BPM feels like walking pace and why so much dance music sits there.

What delay time is in time with my track?

Use the beat divisions straight from the list. At 120 BPM a quarter-note delay is 500 ms, an eighth is 250 ms and a dotted eighth 375 ms. Slower tempos scale the same way: at 90 BPM the eighth is 333.3 ms.

How do I work out triplet timings?

Multiply by two thirds, since three triplets fill the space of two ordinary notes. At 120 BPM an eighth-note triplet is 166.7 ms and a quarter-note triplet is 333.3 ms.