How to convert BPM to milliseconds
One minute has 60,000 milliseconds, so one beat lasts 60,000 divided by the BPM, in milliseconds. At 120 BPM a quarter note lasts 500 ms. At 128 BPM it lasts 468.75 ms, and at 140 BPM about 428.57 ms.
Eighth, sixteenth, dotted and triplet notes
A quarter note is one beat. An eighth note is half a beat and a sixteenth is a quarter of a beat. A dotted note lasts one and a half times the straight note, and a triplet lasts two thirds of it. At 120 BPM that gives 250 ms for an eighth, 125 ms for a sixteenth and 375 ms for a dotted eighth, which is 0.75 of a beat. To get the length of a whole bar, multiply the beat length by the beats per bar, as the time signatures guide explains.
Milliseconds to BPM
To find a tempo from a time, divide 60,000 by the quarter note length in milliseconds. A 500 ms quarter note is 120 BPM. The second box in the calculator does this for you.
Using a BPM calc for delay times
Plugins and hardware that cannot sync to a tempo need the delay time entered by hand. Setting it to a quarter, eighth or dotted eighth value keeps the repeats in time with the track, which is why producers reach for a BPM to ms calculator.
Tap tempo calculator: start from the song
If you do not know the BPM yet, tap it out on the tap tempo page and enter the number here. You can also hear the grid in the metronome.
Common questions
What is the formula for BPM to ms?
Milliseconds per beat equals 60,000 divided by the BPM.
How do I work out a dotted eighth delay?
Multiply the quarter note time by 0.75. At 120 BPM that is 500 times 0.75, or 375 ms.
How long is an eighth note triplet?
One third of a beat, so the quarter note time divided by three.