How do I use tap BPM?

Open the studio, play a song and tap any key, click or touch the pad on each beat. The tempo shows from the second tap and is marked steady after about eight.

Does the tap tempo work on a phone?

Yes. Tap the pad with a finger; the time of each touch comes from the event itself, so the reading is as accurate as on a computer.

How many times should I tap for a tap BPM reading?

At least eight. The counter uses your last sixteen taps, so more taps make it steadier, and a pause of two seconds starts a new count.

Why does my tap tempo reading change a little each time?

Human taps vary by a few milliseconds. Keep tapping until the reading is steady and round to the nearest whole number, or check it on the metronome.

Why is the number half or double what I expected?

You may be tapping every other beat, or every half beat. The BPM tap reading shows half and double next to it so you can pick the right one.

Can I use it to measure my heart rate?

Yes. Tap along with your pulse for about fifteen seconds; the reading in beats per minute is your heart rate. It is not a medical device.

Which keys work with the BPM tapper?

Any key except the ones that control the page: the space bar is the easiest. Escape resets the count.

Yes, with no account and nothing to install. Everything runs in your browser.

Tap BPM: Tap Tempo to Find a Song's BPM

no sign-up, nothing to install: Free
to the first reading: 2 taps
or the mouse, or a touch: Any key
shown next to every reading: Half, double
plays the tapped tempo back: Metronome
in ms, for delays and reverbs: Note lengths

How do you find the BPM by tapping?

Play the song and tap along to its beat on any key, the mouse or the screen, at least eight times. The tap BPM counter averages the time between your taps and shows the tempo in beats per minute. Tap on the kick or the snare, keep going until the reading is marked steady, and check it against the metronome.

Use the BPM tapper in three steps

A song on a speaker, a phone or the radio works too.

Play the song
Play it anywhere, or pick one of the tracks in the studio to tap along to.
Tap the beat
Tap any key, click or touch the pad on every beat. The tempo shows from the second tap.
Read and use it
Keep tapping until it says steady, then start the metronome or copy a note length.

A tap tempo counter that settles fast

A BPM tapper that gives the number you meant, even when a tap comes late.

Tap BPM on any key

The space bar, any other key, a mouse button or a finger on the screen all count. The time of each tap comes from the event itself, not from when the page got round to it, so a busy phone doesn’t skew the reading.

A late tap is left out

Each reading uses your last sixteen taps. A tap that comes far too late or a beat tapped twice is set aside, so one slip doesn’t drag the number, and steady means eight taps within 4% of each other.

Half and double, side by side

Tapping on every other beat gives half the tempo, tapping on the hi-hat can give double. The tap BPM reading shows both, so you can pick the one that matches how the song is counted.

Check it on a metronome

Start the metronome and it plays the tapped tempo on the browser’s audio clock, with the first beat accented. Play the song alongside: if the clicks drift, nudge the tempo up or down by one.

Note lengths for delays

Quarter, eighth, dotted eighth, triplet and sixteenth notes in milliseconds at the tapped tempo, ready for a delay or a reverb’s pre-delay.

Tap along in the studio

Play one of the tracks made here at an exact tempo, or your own song, and tap along while it plays. The tracks show their true BPM, so you can see how close you got.

Tap BPM samples to tap along to

Three tracks made here at exact tempos. Play one and watch the beat light up, then tap BPM in the studio to test your timing.

Tap tempo guide: timing, genres and milliseconds

How to tap tempo accurately

Most tapping errors come from chasing the sound instead of feeling the pulse. Listen for a bar or two first, then tap with the kick drum or the snare, the parts that land on the beat.

1Tap at least eight times; the reading is marked steady after that.
2Keep your eyes off the number while tapping; looking makes you rush.
3Use the space bar or a finger on the pad, whichever feels most natural.
4If you lose the beat, stop for two seconds and the count starts again.

Why a BPM tapper gives half or double

Many songs can be counted two ways. A hip hop beat felt at 90 BPM can also be tapped at 180 on the hi-hats, and a trap song at 140 is often felt at 70. Neither tap is wrong: the BPM tapper shows half and double next to every reading.

Pick the number that matches how the music is written or danced. When in doubt, tap the snare: in most pop and rock it falls on beats two and four.

Typical tempos by genre and dance

These ranges are typical, not rules, but they help you check a reading that looks off.

1Hip hop and boom bap: about 85 to 95 BPM.
2Reggaeton: about 90 to 100 BPM.
3House: about 120 to 128 BPM; techno about 125 to 140.
4Drum and bass: about 170 to 178 BPM.
5Waltz: about 84 to 90 BPM; cha-cha about 120 to 128.

From BPM to milliseconds

A quarter note lasts 60,000 divided by the BPM, in milliseconds: 500 ms at 120 BPM. An eighth is half of that and a dotted eighth three quarters of it, the classic echo for guitar and vocals.

Set a delay to one of these values and the echoes fall on the beat. The tap tempo page lists them for the tempo you tapped, so there is nothing to work out.

Practicing with the tapped tempo

Tap the tempo of a song you are learning, start the metronome, then play along. Lower the tempo by a few BPM to practice a hard passage slowly and raise it step by step.

Choose 3 beats per bar for a waltz and 6 for songs in 6/8; the accented click marks the start of each bar.